At 2020-12-20T22:44:09-0600, Dave Kemper wrote: > On 12/20/20, G. Branden Robinson <g.branden.robin...@gmail.com> wrote: > > At 2020-12-16T20:30:33-0600, Dave Kemper wrote: > >> Ubuntu is a Debian-derived distro, and the concurrent "local timezone" > >> thread here points out Debian's proclivity to customize groff in > >> incompatible ways. > > > > I don't think that statement is quite fair--I've known Colin for a > > long time and he is a diligent developer and package maintainer. > > Different projects face different pressures. > > It's true, I shouldn't have generalized one example to a "proclivity." > But my comment wasn't meant as an indictment of Debian's decision or > Colin's work, merely an observation that it changed functionality from > stock groff, and I apologize if it came across otherwise.
And I don't mean to be a scold, either. I have vivid and unpleasant memories of the OpenSSL project's relationship with Debian, wherein a Debian package maintainer approached the upstream project with a problem, a question, and a proposed resolution, but because he didn't bear a key to the Cool Kids' Clubhouse where the _real_ OpenSSL development discussions took place, he was ignored to the future embarrassment of both projects, at which point OpenSSL contributor Ben Laurie erupted in vituperation, thrusting accountability away from himself and his fellow core team members as hard as he possibly could.[1] I gather that Mr. Laurie is enjoying a highly remunerative career, which I don't begrudge him--but I do wonder how high a salary would overcome my abhorrence at the idea of having to work alongside a person who makes blame-shifting a major portion of his _considered_ response to a crisis. The world is probably in a more optimized Pareto state if his and my paths never cross. As someone with a fondness for (and development time invested in) both the Debian and groff projects, I have a selfish interest in keeping the level of comity between them high. :) Regards, Branden [1] https://web.archive.org/web/20170628144754/http://www.advogato.org/person/branden/diary/5.html
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