>The developers reference says this: >http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/developers-reference/best-pkging-practices.html#bpp-news-debian >"Important news about changes in a package can also be put in >NEWS.Debian files." and "It is better than using debconf notes since >it is less annoying and the user can go back and refer to the >NEWS.Debian file after the install."
Right. So the manual makes an explicit reference to debconf notes, which is what I am asking to consider. And it says that they are annoying, which is what I was speaking about: they are to be used on those rare occasions when you need to be annoying. Look for example at bug 445286, which describes a similar situation where libssl pops a dialog asking to confirm the list of services to be restarted. Another istance is described in bug 174002, where a similar situation occurs when a libc6 upgrade requires a gdm restart, and the user is prompted to accept or give up with the upgrade. (This has happened in a recente libc6 upgrade.) Also look at the Debian 3.0 release notes <http://www.debian.org/releases/3.0/i386/release-notes/ch-upgrading.en.html>, where an ssh incompatible upgrade asks the users if they want to regenerate a compatible configuration. I also occasionally see upgrade notices through debconf which ask me to regenerate the proprietary Nvidia driver on one of my boxes, I think initramfs generates those. These are exceptional situations, those where an upgrade may render your system unstable, or vulnerable, or inaccessible, or anyway cause a serious damage. And breaking backups is one of those situations, IMO. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-bugs-dist-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
