DebConf6: Hot, spicy, and working hard to satisfy Debian users (NewsForge)
In many ways, Debian is more of a social movement than a free software distribution. One of the greatest tenets of this movement is that quality control is more important than release schedules, feature requests, and even usability. If a free software package is accepted as one of the 15,000+ currently supported as part of the main Debian distribution, it is a virtual guarantee that it is stable, does what it is supposed to do, and interacts correctly with other Debian-endorsed software packages. A free software developer -- individual or corporate -- whose work becomes part of Debian can rightfully point to that inclusion with pride."
Posted May 22, 2006 19:17 UTC (Mon)
by sjj (guest, #2020)
[Link]
Posted May 23, 2006 3:55 UTC (Tue)
by pjm (guest, #2080)
[Link]
The claim is somewhat overstated. A package can be allowed in Debian stable even if it has known bugs (doesn't do what it is supposed to do) or even known crashes (is not stable). Sometimes, the version of a package in Debian stable is believed to be more buggy than a more recent version: Debian stable picks the older version where at least we're more confident that there are no "release-critical" bugs: bugs of severity ‘serious’ or greater from http://www.debian.org/Bugs/Developer#severities, even if this older version has more known "important" bugs (having a "major effect on the usability of the package").
Thanks to all Debian developers for keeping at it, year after year, making it all work somehow.Debian!
criterion for Debian stable
If a free software package is accepted [into] the main Debian distribution [which we'll assume to mean Debian stable], it is a virtual guarantee that it is stable, does what it is supposed to do, and interacts correctly with other Debian-endorsed software packages.