GNOME3 PPA End of Life Announcement

[Ari Torhamo]

Thanks for the information. I have one question. Is it always obvious 
from the name or otherwise, that a PPA is one of those you are talking 
about? I think many GNOME users who have installed PPA's may have this 
question in their mind.

Ari Torhamo

On 29.03.2017 17:00, Jeremy Bicha wrote:
> 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
>