> [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > I have argued before that a2ps and a2gs are effectively replaced by > > genscript, and that we should remove them. I think a similar case could be
Please don't do that. Personally, I am used to a2ps and I'm a lot more attached to my habits than to genscript :-). And I don't see why we should retire a package just because some other package with similar functionality is provided. Think of the different flavours of vi which are available as debian packages. But I see the point that lack of interest might be a reason to retire a package. I can see two cases in which a package would be considered obsolete: a) The package is obsolete because the functionality (in the low level sense of, say, the programs provided) is moved into some other package(s). An example would be what happened to libgr. b) A package is orphaned for a long time and similar functionality (in the high level sense, like genscript vs. a2ps) is provided by another package available. Or the package is considered to be irrelevant for all but a small minority which doesn't express its interest. Maybe such a package should be moved into one directory like {unstable,non-free,contrib}/obsolete for a longer period (to preserve the effort of debianizing the package in case someone wants to take it up later). Eventually, packages can get purged from the obsolete directories if nobody expresses interest in maintaining them. By moving a package into one of the obsolete directories, the distribution maintaines and/or the developers express their opinion that a given package is not sufficiently important from their point of view. At the same time, this acts as a final call for a new maintainer to step forward and express his interest in keeping the package alive. Lukas ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Lukas Nellen | Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Depto. de Fisica Teorica, IFUNAM | Apdo. Postal 20-364 | Tel.: +52 5 622 5014 ext. 218 01000 Mexico D.F., MEXICO | Fax: +52 5 622 5015