Hi Marc,thank you for your reply. It’s telling that the most decisive line in this discussion so far is: “I find it the right thing to follow Upstream's Decisions.” That single sentence encapsulates what has slowly undermined Debian’s role over the years – from curated distribution to passive relay.
If Linux on the desktop is just a boutique platform for occasional casual use, then yes: following upstream, shipping defaults, and avoiding friction is perfectly viable. If only a handful of users care deeply, then who needs to think twice before pushing changes that degrade productivity?
But Debian has never just been “a Linux distro.” It has always stood for deliberation, control, and the ability to resist upstream when needed. That was the reason professionals, power users, and sysadmins trusted Debian – because it wasn’t afraid to say: this default does not serve our users.
The KDE double-click default isn’t just about clicking. It’s about what kind of user Debian values. The change favors passive onboarding over active workflow. It aligns Debian more with “design-driven UX” and less with “tool-driven computing.” That’s a choice – but let’s not pretend it’s a neutral one.
Your dismissal of this thread because of its CC list doesn’t answer the technical criticism. It avoids it. Mocking optics is easier than addressing substance – but everyone reading the list can see the move. And what does it signal to others watching? That feedback should be filtered by tone, not merit?
Upstream is not infallible. It never was. The reason distributions exist is because someone, somewhere, is supposed to ask: does this change help our users? If Debian no longer asks that – if it simply accepts, packages, and pushes – then what exactly is being maintained?
If Debian believes it can afford to lose its power users, then say it plainly. If the desktop is now just a UI clone layer over upstream, then admit it. But let’s not pretend that every “small change” like this doesn’t chip away at what Debian once stood for: choice, clarity, and technical restraint.
This isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about whether Debian wants to remain relevant to people who think critically about their tools – or whether it now caters only to what’s easy to ship and politically safe to accept.
I welcome disagreement. That’s what real projects allow. But what I read here feels less like a disagreement – and more like a quiet surrender.
Regards Lucy Am 23.07.25 um 11:41 schrieb Marc Haber:
Hi,I have noticed that the Cc list is missing the Pope, the President, the Chancellor, the Chairperson of the Central Committee, Udo Lindenberg, Neil Armstrong and Jay Leno. The Person who has chosen this Cc list obviously wants an Audience. We should not give them that.That being said, On Wed, Jul 23, 2025 at 11:01:36AM +0200, Lucy wrote:With the upcoming release of Debian 13 "Trixie", I want to formally raise a critical technical objection to one of the adopted upstream changes that risks undermining the efficiency,consistency, and user trust that Debian has long upheld:KDE Plasma 6's decision to enforce double-click as the default behavior for file interaction.I find it the right thing to follow Upstream's Decisions, ensuring consistent behavior of KDE on different distributions.Can we close this discussion please. Greetings Marc
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