Package: zookeeper Version: 3.3.5+dfsg1-2+deb7u2 The zookeeper package uses update-alternatives to manage a symlink at /etc/zookeeper/conf. This seems wrong to me for several reasons: * There's no apparent value in doing it this way instead of just installing the default configuration to /etc/zookeeper/conf, and there are no other packages in the archive that provide other alternative targets for this symlink * The use case for alternatives suggested by the DPM clearly doesn't apply here: https://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ap-pkg-alternatives.html * Every other alternative on my system, for example, is outside of /etc * When the user customizes the configuration, they'll have to either replace the symlink with a real folder, install another alternative with update-alternatives, or edit files under conf_example. This is very weird compared to how other packages deal with files under /etc * If a user makes the mistake of updating the symlink at /etc/zookeeper/conf outside of update-alternatives, then during the next upgrade, the package will actually revert back to the example config and then restart zookeeper, which is a pretty severe outcome if that zookeeper instance was being used for anything :)
I'd suggest updating the package to migrate away from this, and just install conf_example as a plain directory at /etc/zookeeper/conf. Also a note regarding this bug: I had to pick a version, but this problem exists in all versions of the package.
