Hi Debian GNOME Team,
I wanted to share some feedback about the offline updates feature in
GNOME. I run Debian Sid as my daily driver, and I’ve noticed that
offline updates sometimes run automatically during boot.
For a Sid user, this is disruptive. Sid is a fast-moving branch, and
updates can and do occasionally break things. That’s why I prefer to run
them manually, at a time when I’m ready to deal with any fallout. Having
updates apply themselves during a quick restart interrupts my workflow
and takes away that control.
I understand this behavior might make a lot of sense for regular Debian
stable, where updates are less risky and less frequent. But on Sid, it
ends up being more of a hassle than a help and turns a 30 second reboot
into a 10 minute affair. If I wanted my computer to decide when it
updates itself, I’d be running Windows.
My suggestion would be either not enabling offline updates by default on
Sid, or at least making it easier for users to opt out cleanly.
I’m not sure if your team is the best place to send this feedback, but
since you’re listed as maintainers for GNOME in Debian, I figured I’d
reach out. Please feel free to point me to a better channel if there’s one.
Thanks for your time and for all the work you put into keeping GNOME in
good shape. I just wanted to make sure this perspective from someone
using Sid day-to-day reaches you.
Best,
Tom Aspenwall
