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Debian turns tenDebian turns tenPosted Aug 18, 2003 23:29 UTC (Mon) by Peter (guest, #1127)In reply to: Debian turns ten by josh_stern Parent article: Debian turns ten
One could argue that the good of the many would be better optimized by allowing the release schedule for the different hardware platforms to become staggered when necessary Consider that Debian is the only major Linux distribution where non-i386 architectures are considered first-class citizens (excluding single-arch distros like YDL) and it seems they intend to keep it that way. By treating portability bugs as release-critical, they force maintainers not to sweep them under the rug, and thereby make it possible to maintain a single archive most of which works out-of-the-box on 12 architectures. Think of Debian as the equivalent of an ADA-compliant Linux distribution. Sure, maybe 99% of people have little need for ramps as an alternative to stairs, but the Debian policy is "nevertheless, we will provide ramps, and we refuse to just build a building first, let it operate with stairs only for awhile, and add the ramps later when it's convenient".
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Debian turns ten Posted Aug 19, 2003 5:04 UTC (Tue) by josh_stern (guest, #4868) [Link] Bad analogy...Using m68K-based (old) computer = choice. Confined to wheelchair = non-choice % of Linux community using m68k = miniscule % of public with ambulatory disability = more than miniscule One rev back from latest software on linux m68k = small hobby problem Unable to access essential public facilities = big life problem One can always ride any purported inequality issue like a hobby horse. Suppose someone claims that all releases should be held until every package is fully internationalized in, say, the 50 most popular languages. Why is your m68k position more legitimate than that one?
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