On Wed, Aug 07, 2024 at 11:01:12AM GMT, Eli Schwartz wrote: > On 8/7/24 12:34 AM, Kent Overstreet wrote: > > Debian (as well as Fedora) currently have a broken policy of switching > > Rust dependencies to system packages - which are frequently out of date, > > and cause real breakage. > > > > As a result, updates that fix multiple critical bugs aren't getting > > packaged. > > > > (Beyond that, Debian is for some reason shipping a truly ancient > > bcachefs-tools in stable, for reasons I still cannot fathom, which I've > > gotten multiple bug reports over as well). > > > I can help you fathom the reason. > > The inherent purpose of Debian is to not provide updates to software, > since the general class of "computer code" contains the general risk of > "regressions", including "existing config files need to be updated, and > that regresses my ability to run a box unattended for 10 years without > ssh'ing in even once". > > It is therefore the stated purpose of Debian that: > > - if you managed to get a working installation you do not need new > versions of the software to maintain a holding pattern in your ability > to get the same work done today that you were able to get done > yesterday -- whereas upgrading to new features can break that holding > pattern. > > - if you did NOT manage to get a working installation, you do not need > that new stuff, and should stop attempting to have an "off-topic > conversation that misses the purpose of Debian" > > > If you want updates to software, you upgrade debian, rather than > upgrading software. If you want modern software, you either use Debian > sid rather than stable (bcachefs-tools 1.9.1 may not be the most recent > version but it's very much not "truly ancient") or you do the sensible > thing and use a reasonable distro. > > "Reasonable distro" meaning a distro that, when faced with the choice > between: > > - allow people who installed the distro in 2017 to pretend it is still > 2017 and keep using their system the way they did back then > > - improve the user experience for users > > choose the latter. > > In short, it is foolish to criticize Debian for shipping ancient > software since the answer is "the purpose of Debian is so that users can > use ancient software".
This is holding up _bugfix releases_. Anyone would run screaming from a distro that didn't ship updates at all.
