> what is the problem with helping people building local packages > there, having the chance of giving them skills that can be of use > in Debian proper at a later time?
100% with this remark. I've been starting to package .deb a few months ago for a linux audio based-on-debian (basicaly an external repo) and I've been asking question a few time things at #debian-mentor. Those questions, and more over, their answers have been helping me learning some of the ropes of the debian packaging that I didn't find and/or understand when reading the maint guide or other online ressources. This allowed me to start working *properly* on a packaging which is expected to get in debian official repo when done. If I would have been flicked on an common-ground #packaging channel which *obviously* will not have the same level of competences that #mentors have, I wouldn't have certainly be able to learn efficiently deb-packaging things. For my case, it would have been a loss. Let's says as well that I'm using my external repo to test stuff and I'm reporting oftenly improvements to packages to the BTS. So the "barrier" between "what is debian, and what is not debian" appears to be vague here. Enjoying this communication to say thanks to the people who have been helping me on #mentors in answering my questions and pointing me in the right direction when it was needed. Olivier
