On 27-07-2025, I filed the bug 960733 <https://bugs.gentoo.org/960773#>. It was about the fact that on 25-07-2025 portage silently overwritten my custom keyboard layout files situated in CONFIG_PROTECT-ed directory /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols.
Later the same day, when this bug was closed with NOFIX status, I also commented that For me, it is a failure of Gentoo to meet its own specifications and common sense in general because a rolling release distribution definitely should preserve user-changed configuration files. Today, on 28-07-2025, Sam James <[email protected]> wrote there the following: I hadn't seen the new comments in the other bug (bug 957712 <https://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=957712>). Locking accordingly. I won't repeat everything others have said, but I will note that listing the applications in question that weren't using these locations would've been quite helpful in constructively moving forward. Restrict Comments: 1 I wanted to reply to this with the following message, which I have also posted to gentoo-user mailing list: "In my last attempt I have copied the whole /usr/share/X11/xkb/ directory into /etc/xkb and have changed there one symbol in one of my custom keyboard layout files to a different one so that I can tell which of the keyboard layout files are used. I also copied my custom keyboard layout files directly into /etc/xkb/ The result: xfce terminal and firefox use files in /usr/share/X11/xkb/ and do not use those in /etc/xkb It does not exclude the possibility that it will use files from /etc/xkb if those from /usr/share/X11/xkb/ but I have not checked that." but found out that I am "not allowed to make an additional comment on this bug." I suspect that silencing my on this bug report has been done by the same Sam James, as he always appears in discussions of bugs reported by me with a very "helpful" remarks that my "remark aren't really helpful" or something like that. See, for example, the discussion under the bug 947363 <https://bugs.gentoo.org/947363#c3> that has never been even considered and is now already outdated. I wonder who is Sam James and whether this silencing policy represents the official policy of Gentoo. I am using Gentoo already for 12 years from about 30 years of using Linux in general (starting approximately from 1996), however I never been so insulted and disappointed with a Linux distribution policy as I am now (except for the reply of Ubuntu CEO in 2012 that she better knows what will be convenient for the users than the users themselves; that is when I have changed to Gentoo). Recently I came across the following comment <https://www.linux.org.ru/forum/general/16891018> by a Russian Gentoo user on Gentoo policy: "Who would have doubted that Gentoo would end up in such a mess with its current development and governance policies: 1. First, Gentoo ignores the community. 2. Then the community slowly begins to drift away. 3. Response of Gentoo: ‘Don’t like it? Go use another distro.’ 4. The community starts to leave in droves. 5. Maintainers begin to walk away too. 6. New users: ‘This is broken, that is broken.’ Gentoo responds: ‘We don’t have enough maintainers or funding. And we’re volunteers anyway!’ 7. The distro accumulates bugs because there’s no community left to address them. 8. Gentoo reaction: ‘Pretend nothing’s wrong and carry on as usual.’ ← This is where Gentoo is now. 9. Death of the distribution." It is a translation from Russian. The original comment can be found here: https://www.linux.org.ru/forum/general/16891018 I am not sure that step 9 will ever happen but I have a very strong feeling that Gentoo is currently on step 8.
