On January 4, 2017 12:33:43 AM EST, Nikolaus Rath <nikol...@rath.org> wrote: >On Jan 03 2017, Russ Allbery <r...@debian.org> wrote: >> Nikolaus Rath <nikol...@rath.org> writes: >> >>> The thing that's delivered to users in 99% of the cases is the >binary >>> package. In the (comparatively) rare cases where the user is >retrieving >>> the source, I am not convinced that most of these users truly prefer >a >>> Debian-specific source package with patches in debian/patches over a >>> standard Git repository with patches as commits. >> >> Speaking as a Debian user who frequently has to apply local patches >or >> produce local versions of Debian packages for my job (usually weird >> backports or bizarre local requirements), I cannot express to you how >much >> I prefer a Debian source package with patches in debian/patches over >a Git >> repository with patches as commits. > >Yeah, but I was not talking about the strength of preferences but the >number of users that have them :-). Also, you happen to be a Debian >developer and are therefore already familiar with the Debian source >format...
The security team is, IMO, one of the most important non-maintainer consumers of Debian source packages. They are also somewhat familiar with the Debian source format. This matters. As a new Debian administrator learning about how Debian packages worked enough to solve local issues was a high priority. This was long before I was involved in Debian development. Familiarity with Debian source packages isn't particularly obscure. It's quite normal. Scott K
