/dev/chat

2:54 PM

Is this on topic?

1

Q: How do I reassign a bug to another package in the Debian bug tracker?

How to change the software package an issue is filed under in the Debian bug tracker? The help page has these instructions: In case you need to write a message to the bug and also manipulate the bug's metadata, the commands can also be included in the mail to nnn@bugs.debian.org. Do this by star...

It doesn't really seem to be about *nix, but about the Debian project and how they handle bugs.

Stephen Kitt

3:08 PM

Arguably not, but we do have quite a few posts about various projects’ policies rather than the actual use of *nix:

17

Q: How is the authenticity of Debian packages guaranteed?

What security systems and processes are in place to prevent malicious third parties from hacking/compromising the security of code in the Debian mirrors, or to verify that the packages we get are in fact the ones the maintainers think they are?

debian security package-management

0

Q: Finding digest of kernel mailing list

I am looking for the digest of the LKML. The Dell site doesn't seem to have it, even though several places link to it. Additionally, googling just comes up with old links. Does the "digest mode" still exist?

linux-kernel

0

Q: How to submit patches and fixes to LTS Linux kernels?

Is there a separate repo for long time support kernels such as 5.10? In the kernel.org repo I see only tags like vX.Y and vX.Y-rcN Where can we find tags like 5.10.45? A related question - how to submit fixes for v5.10 ? Are back-ports of newer mainstream drivers and fixes accepted? I apologize i...

linux-kernel

0

Q: No kernel updates in over a month debian unstable

I havent gotten any kernel updates in over a month on Debian unstable, which seems like a long time for the unstable distribution. My output of uname -a shows: 5.10.0-8-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 5.10.46-4 (2021-08-03) x86_64 GNU/Linux As you can see, the compilation time is August 3. Is this normal? I'...

debian kernel

10

Q: Debian Linux kernel versioning

On a Debian Stretch distribution, if I run uname -a, I obtain: Linux index 4.9.0-8-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 4.9.144-3.1 (2019-02-19) x86_64 GNU/Linux If I run dpkg -s linux-image-amd64 | grep Version, I obtain: Version: 4.9+80+deb9u6 Three different kernel versions are printed by the above comma...

debian linux-kernel version

Some of those should probably be closed as off-topic too

jesse_b

@terdon do usernames get renamed to "spammer" when they are caught spamming or did that one earlier today just name themselves that ironically?

Stephen Kitt

@jesse_b that was the initial name on the account, an unusually forthright spammer

jesse_b

hah

I guess it wouldn't be ironic huh

it's just the truth

terdon

@jesse_b some mods do that, yes. They find the spammer on the site they mod, where they can change the user name and click on a button to propagate the change to all the user's accounts. So since they know this is a spammer, they change the name and propagate it as a heads up to the other sites.

Stephen Kitt

@terdon ah, I stand corrected!

it did seem surprising

terdon

3:16 PM

@StephenKitt that seems like it is on topic since that is basically asking "how can I be sure what I am installing is what I think I am installing". I also think the one asking about the kernel updates is on topic as, again, it is about the user's installed OS. And the one about kernel versioning.

Conversely, I would say that the mailing list digest is off topic, and the one about patching is borderline. I can see arguments both ways.

Meh. I don't know. Not like it's a very common occurrence. If it becomes a nuisance we can always have a meta discussion, but since these seem to be nicely fielded by one Mr Kitt, I guess we can let it be.

Stephen Kitt

Right, my point is really that there’s a continuum of topics that are increasingly project-specific. Most of them are only practically useful for people using those projects, although some are useful knowledge for others.

terdon

I think my rule of thumb would be that the internal workings of the project (e.g. "how do I report bugs") are off topic, but using the result of the project is not. That question about submitting patches to the kernel is annoying though cause it's kind of in the middle and screws up my nice and simple taxonomy of topics :/

Stephen Kitt

I thought it might ;-). This one might be more clear-cut:

2

Q: Linux-next kernel version of the kernel tree

Is linux-next going to be the the mainline kernel later? If yes, is it the one first turns out to be RCs and eventually the stable kernel version?

kernel linux-kernel

Here’s another recent one that’s not specific to *nix at all, although it was prompted by a Unix-specific security article on WP:

4

Q: From a security standpoint, why should unused software be deleted?

I read the Wikipedia article on Unix security and the first sentence under "services" used to say that unused software should be deleted. I could not think of a reason, can you help me?

security

terdon

@StephenKitt eh, that one is likely also opinion based.

And the Linux-next kernel version of the kernel tree one does seem more off topic than on, somehow.

Point taken that it isn't a clear cut thing though.

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