== Hijacking packages for fun and profit == Please take notes here Controversial topic! What do we mean by "hijack"? How to balance maintainer control against wider requirements? Can include situations where maintainer is just absent - use MIA. * 'salvaging' Is it only a hijack if the existing maintainer objects? What time limits need to be applied between stages? Narrow the scope to where an existing maintainer actively objects to a transfer. * blocking and removing from testing orphaned packages during a freeze. - escalating O: bugs to RC. * nobody wants to be the one left with the decision, except the adjutant. Less contentious are changes of maintainer or changes which can reasonably take a significant amount of time. A series of indications / flags - not strict criteria on which a _must_ rule can be implemented. Hijack token - the number of times a particular maintainer can do a hijack. * given out by the TC or to restore them afterwards? * TC GR - should TC be more or less aggressive. WNPP bugs could "affect" the main package or the BTS could automatically list all O:, RFH: and RFA: bugs for that package. Also, we could start filing these bugs in the package itself instead of WNPP, and use usertags for discovery. Is it *ever* right to hijack? * if a package is *un* maintained? * if a package is *badly* maintained? * if a package is not maintained how you'd like? * if the maintainer is MIA? * if the TC say so? Tech Committee have never explicitly handed over a package as a decision. (lilo maintainership was decided by TC) * lack of uploads * RC buggy without comment Or -- interestingly -- RC buggy, and bug is closed without comment on the particular bug * not packaged as you would like it packaged * the maintainer is a bully towards bug reporters? (i.e. misbehaves) (So package is maintained, just... hurtfully) Different people have widely differing opinions here, so what's right? Can we agree some guidelines? Existing QA guidelines (on removals and orphaning): http://wiki.debian.org/qa.debian.org/removals * is a removal the same as a hijack or salvage? * QA bapase : http://udd.debian.org/cgi-bin/bapase.cgi * How about hijacking ITPs/ITAs, etc?