Subject: Re: Input welcome on the proposed deprecation policy

From: Andreas Enge <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2024 15:43:51 +0200

Hello,

I think we should not only remove packages that are unmaintained upstream,
but also packages that do not build.

Concretely I am thinking of a number of related packages that we have in a
version of 2019, and which has had releases since then. The project does
not build any more, just upgrading the source is not enough, and the package
definition is very complex. I have called out for help, but not received
any reply.

While I might be able to update the project, it feels like a waste of time,
since apparently no Guix user is interested in it right now.

A one-month notice period sounds appropriate to me for this.

So maybe replace:
  Packages that their upstream developers have declared as having reached
  ``end of life'' or being unmaintained may be removed.
by
  Packages that their upstream developers have declared as having reached
  ``end of life'' or being unmaintained, or that do not build in Guix,
  may be removed.

This may be a bit brutal (I would normally argue that one should try an
update first); but if during one month nobody steps in to carry out the
update, that is telling.

Andreas