I would not say they are "normal", they do not install any system relevant files, which contradicts the very nature of a "package". Their sole purpose is to have dependencies as a means of convenience for easy installation of related package sets.
Very simple heuristics can be used to separate them from the bulk of the archive to allow the user to browse their list easily. For example: 1. Most containt the word "meta" in the name and description. 2. Most do not install anything outside /usr/share/doc 3. Most do not reverze depend on anything else then other matapackes. The only metapackage not passing properly would probably be "pseudometapackage" xfce -- Metapackages difficult to find https://launchpad.net/bugs/13664 -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
