Your message dated Thu, 21 May 2026 11:17:56 +0200
with message-id <[email protected]>
and subject line Re: Bug#1136336: tech-ctte: Request for intervention on Bug
#1135385 (gnome-control-center donation popup)
has caused the Debian Bug report #1136336,
regarding tech-ctte: Request for intervention on Bug #1135385
(gnome-control-center donation popup)
to be marked as done.
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1136336: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=1136336
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--- Begin Message ---
To: [email protected]
Package: tech-ctte
Severity: serious
Followup-For: Bug #1135385
X-Debbugs-Cc: [email protected],
[email protected]
I request the Debian Technical Committee intervene regarding Bug
#1135385, concerning the default-enabled donation notification in
gnome-control-center, currently dismissed as a duplicate of Bug
#1120511.
The maintainer, Jeremy Bícha, has declined to address the core issue,
that a default-enabled fundraising notification violates Debian Social
Contract Clause 4: "We will be guided by the needs of our users and
free software community. We will place their interests first."
This feature imposes an external agenda (GNOME Foundation fundraising)
without user consent, undermining user autonomy and Debian’s ethical
foundation. It is not a minor usability concern, but a policy and
philosophical violation, analogous to Bug #964359 (SMPlayer donation
nag), which was patched out due to reputational risk.
The maintainer’s responses (closing as duplicate, telling users to
run commands to disable the notification, etc), fails to engage with
the ethical and policy dimensions. This constitutes a willful
disregard of Debian’s stewardship principles. The issue leaves no
remaining ambiguity and is a direct conflict between upstream agendas
and Debian’s values.
Per Debian Constitution §6.1.4, I ask the TC to:
Overrule the maintainer’s decision to dismiss Bug #1135385 and
to discontinue ignoring Bug #1120511.
Require that the donation notification be either:
Patched out of the Debian package, or
Disabled by default with a clear, informed opt-in mechanism.
Clarify that maintainers must consider Debian Social Contract
violations as actionable, especially when upstream decisions conflict
with user interests.
Consider whether the maintainer’s continued refusal to address a
documented policy violation constitutes an unambiguous failure of
stewardship.
References:
Bug #1135385: https://bugs.debian.org/1135385
Bug #1120511: https://bugs.debian.org/1120511
Bug #964359 (SMPlayer): https://bugs.debian.org/964359
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
On Sun, 17 May 2026 16:15:57 +0200 Timo =?utf-8?Q?R=C3=B6hling?=
<[email protected]> wrote:
==== BEGIN CTTE BALLOT ====
[D] The Technical Committee declines to overrule the
gnome-control-center maintainer in regard to the donation
popup (cf. #1135385), as they have merely exercised discretion
within their constitutional bounds.
However, the TC explicitly refrains from ruling on whether or
not package maintainers should generally allow donation
requests in Debian and what kind of solicitation is considered
acceptable. It is up to the Debian project as a whole to
develop a policy in this matter.
[N] None of the above
==== END CTTE BALLOT ====
The vote has concluded and option D wins unanimously. Thanks to everyone
who contributed to the discussion!
And if I may add a personal remark: I would strongly prefer that people
did not submit bugs to the Technical Committee anonymously. It makes the
whole process less transparent and potentially less fair. For example,
if nobody knows what relation the submitter has to the project, nobody
can determine if there might be conflicts of interest involved.
Cheers
Timo
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