Re: PKGBASE Removes FreeBSD Base System Feature

> i think vermadden actually "screamed" because this turned into kind of a "desbsd" discussion. isn't "vmdbsd" either. is, well, "free" bsd, funnily
> 
> before this turns into complete virtual fistfight...
> 
> who has authority on this os anyway?
> 
> i already once mentioned elsewhere that not much goes on in fbsd. as compared to eg, ff. i consider mozilla having gone past "user is our friend approach" lately. unfortunately without users, projects become meaningless
> 
> but here?
> 
> who has, like, powers? is it:
> 
> old devs who have write access to src repo?
> new devs who have write access to src repo?
> currently elected core?
> any of previous core?
> any original guys like mckusick?
> big companies?
> small companies?
> sysadmins?
> users?
> random hackers?
> sunday fbsd users?
> the foundation?
> any other known guys?
> or i mean gals, we have those too, tho i only recall one once had fights over inclusion problems which i don't mind of who wrote the code
> any nation state?
> who else?

   In the mid 1990s, for a short time, it would have been me - David Greenman
as FreeBSD "Principal Architect". I didn't wear that hat very long, because
something not too dissimilar to this came up and I tried to find a compromise
solution that neither party liked. It was a nightmare and ultimately I was
blamed for it. I realized that an authority, at least within a single
person, was not the right way to resolve these things, so I voluntarily
resigned the position.

   You've said a lot of interesting things, and I apologize for trimming
your message for brevity. If others want to selectively respond to that,
then they should quote you directly.

   FWIW, I do have an opinion on this: I think that "pkg delete -af" is
a useful thing that should not destroy your base system. We should find
a way to make that work as it always has - to restore a system to its
base without destroying it. Now, how to do that? Well, one way is the
separate pkgbase. Another is to have some way to flag or protect the
base packages so that they are not included in this instance - make
them immutable somehow. It just doesn't make sense to destroy the running
system no matter how you slice it.

-DG

 *  Dr. David G. Lawrence
* * DG Labs
    Pave the road of life with opportunities.