GNOME3 PPA End of Life Announcement

[Jeremy Bicha]

The Ubuntu GNOME team makes available packages from the corresponding
GNOME release that we are not able to get into the regular Ubuntu
release. This provides an early look and valuable early testing of
packages that we hope will be available in the next Ubuntu release.

The GNOME3 PPAs do not have the same level of support as packages in
the regular Ubuntu archives. There may be known and unknown bugs and
regressions. Do not use the PPAs unless you 1) are comfortable using
ppa-purge 2) backup your data and 3) are able to reinstall your
operating system in case of a severe problem.

The Ubuntu GNOME team has realized that we haven't been clear about
the lifetime of these PPAs. Therefore, we are announcing this policy
today.

GNOME3 PPA End of Life Policy
------------------------------------------------
- Each PPA will reach End of Life 7 months after the original release
date of the associated Ubuntu release.

- At End of Life, no further security of bug fix updates will be
released. It is recommended to ppa-purge the GNOME3 PPAs. You can then
either upgrade to the next release or remain on the original release
until that release is End of Life.

- Please use ppa-purge on all your PPAs (but especially the GNOME3
PPAs) before upgrading to a new Ubuntu release. After upgrading, if
you still want a PPA, you are welcome to add it again. You may find
that you no longer need the PPA.

- Because of how ppa-purge works, the Ubuntu GNOME developers cannot
remove packages from the GNOME3 PPAs at the PPA series' End of Life.
Just because the packages are available does not mean they are
actively maintained.

- This policy will apply unless otherwise announced on the
ubuntu-gnome mailing list.

Specific Dates
---------------------
Ubuntu 16.10 "yakkety" GNOME3 PPA End of Life will be the end of May 2017.
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS "xenial" GNOME3 PPA End of Life has been extended to
the end of April 2017.
Ubuntu GNOME 16.04 LTS without the PPAs will reach End of Life in April 2019.
Remember that non-LTS releases are only supported for 9 months from
original release.

Conclusion
----------------
If you are using the GNOME3 PPAs for Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, please
ppa-purge them. Then, either remain on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS or upgrade to
Ubuntu 16.10.

On behalf of the Ubuntu GNOME team,
Jeremy Bicha