dist-upgrade: can unwanted "new" packages be prevented?

[chris]

On Thu, 2012-07-26 at 22:38 -0400, Felix Miata wrote:
> I started 'do-dist-upgrade' (oneiric to precise) and looked at the packages 
> to be removed and added. It wants to add about 6X as many as it wants to 
> remove. Many "new" packages are those I long ago removed in order to prevent 
> wasting bandwidth during upgrades by not allowing packages that will 
> absolutely never be used. Mostly that means non-western fonts and anything 
> else related using or doing anything non-English, but I'm sure there would be 
> others if I had a list of candidates to peruse beforehand.
> 
> Pinning as described onhttps://help.ubuntu.com/community/PinningHowto doesn't 
> seem designed to cover a situation like this. For one thing, I have no list 
> of the packages to be prevented. The do-dist-upgrade command scattered 
> packages apparently in random order all over the screen instead of offering a 
> nice alphabetical list I could save or print.
> 
> What do other English Ubuntu users do about this waste?
> -- 
> "The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant
> words are persuasive." Proverbs 16:21 (New Living Translation)
> 
>   Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409 ** a11y rocks!
> 
> Felix Miata  ***  http://fm.no-ip.com/
> 

Use straight Debian 6.05 and avoid Ubuntu at all costs