Hacker News Reader

Comment by glennpratt | Hacker News Reader

You should try patching Debian packages. I too am an outsider, but I have had to modify Debian and it's brutal; every package is different and the number of entry points into the tooling is mind boggling. I have bugs I've never filed over years because I don't understand the particular packages process.

View on HN

I'm sure it's true, all I'm saying is that if you reach the point of walking away, just walk away. A list of grievances at that point is just going to be seen as a parting shot rather than having any real chance of motivating change.

The article mentions he's made attempts to fix some of those issues and the problems he's encountered.

But it probably does have a better chance of motivating change and maybe you are still trying to help. Obviously there are different ways to air your grievances, privately might be better, sure. I'm not sure if you are advocating for leaving without even giving some reasons in private. That to me would be an actively unhelpful way to leave.

I think the tone of the article was pretty stoic and so I didn't take it as "whining". I believe he just sees no future in an ever growing Debian bureaucracy and decided to voice the reason he is moving on. I've been with Debian since it's inception and can relate to what he is seeing.

I think posting publicly has the advantage that other projects can cite this when having discussions of how to set up their infrastructure.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com