<!--
TODO:
- bugs in upstream versions should be reported upstream!
- - fill in ftp and www server discussion
- - porter instructions - - volunteers needed for this x86-centric maintainer!
+ - porter instructions - - volunteers needed for this x86-centric
+ maintainer!
+ - add information on how to get accounts on different architectures
- talk about CVS access
-->
<author>Adam P. Harris, current maintainer <email/aph@debian.org/
<author>Christian Schwarz <email/schwarz@debian.org/
<author>Ian Jackson <email/ijackson@gnu.ai.mit.edu/
- <version>version &version;, &date;
+ <version>ver. &version;, &date;
<copyright>
+ <copyrightsummary><p>
Copyright ©1998 Adam P. Harris. Copyright ©1997,1998
Christian Schwarz.
<p>
the Debian package or how to generate Debian packages; that is
discussed in the <url
id="http://www.debian.org/doc/packaging-manuals/packaging.html/"
-name="Debian Packaging Manual">. Nor is this reference intended to
-give details on standards for how Debian software must behave, which
-is documented in the <url
-id="http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/" name="Debian Policy
-Manual">.
+name="Debian Packaging Manual">. Neither does this reference detail
+the standards to which Debian software must comply; that information
+can be found in the <url id="http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/"
+name="Debian Policy Manual">.
<chapt id="new-maintainer">Applying to Become a Maintainer
<p>
Firstly, subscribe to <email/debian-devel@lists.debian.org/ if you
haven't already. Send the word <tt/subscribe/ in the <em/Subject/ of
-a mail to <email/debian-devel-REQUEST@lists.debian.org/. In case of
+an email to <email/debian-devel-REQUEST@lists.debian.org/. In case of
problems, contact the list administrator at
<email/listmaster@lists.debian.org/. More information on available
mailing lists can be found in <ref id="mailing-lists">.
Your name.
<item>
Your preferred login name on <tt/master/ (seven characters or
-less<footnote>Can anyone clarify for me why logins on <tt>master</tt>
-cannot be eight characters?</footnote> ), as well as the email address
-at which you'd prefer to be subscribed to
+less<footnote>It is not clear to the author why logins on
+<tt>master</tt> cannot be eight characters or greater. If anyone can
+clarify why, I would appreciate it.</footnote>), as well as the email
+address at which you'd prefer to be subscribed to
<email/debian-private@lists.debian.org/ (typically this will be either
your primary mail address or your new <tt>debian.org</tt> address).
<item>
-A phone number where we can call you.
+A phone number where we can call you. Remember that the new
+maintainer team usually calls during evening hours to save on long
+distance tolls. Please do not give a work number, unless you are
+generally there in the evening.
<item>
A statement of intention, that is, what package(s) you intend to work
on, which Debian port you will be assisting, or how you intend to
If emailed, please sign the mail with your PGP key.
</list>
</list>
+ <p>
If you do not have a PGP key yet, generate one. Every developer needs
a PGP key in order to sign and verify package uploads. You should read
the PGP manual, since it has much important information which is
critical to its security. Many more security failures are due to
human error than to software failure or high-powered spy techniques.
<p>
+Our standard is to use <prgn>pgp</prgn> version 2.x. You can use
+<prgn/pgp/ version 5, if and only if you make an RSA key. Note that
+we are also working with the <prgn/gpg/ team so that we can have a
+free alternative to PGP; however, this may take a little bit of time.
+ <p>
Your PGP key must be at least 1024 bits long. There is no reason to
use a smaller key, and doing so would be much less secure. Your key
must be signed with at least your own user ID. This prevents user ID
-tampering. You can do it by executing `<tt>pgp -ks
-<var/your_userid/</tt>'.
+tampering. You can do it by executing <tt>pgp -ks
+<var/your_userid/</tt>.
<p>
If your PGP key isn't on public PGP key servers such as
<tt>pgp.net</tt>, please read the documentation available locally
available on public key servers, send a message to
<email/new-maintainer@debian.org/ to register as an offical Debian
developer so that you will be able to upload your packages. This
-message must all the information discussed above. The message must
-also contain your PGP or RSA public key (extracted using <tt>pgp
--kxa</tt> in the case of PGP; note that <tt/gpg/ integration is
-underway) for the database of keys which is distributed from
-<ftpsite/ftp.debian.org/ in
+message must contain all the information discussed above. The message
+must also contain your PGP or RSA public key (extracted using <tt>pgp
+-kxa</tt> in the case of PGP) for the database of keys which is
+distributed from <ftpsite/ftp.debian.org/ in
<ftppath>/pub/debian/doc/debian-keyring.tar.gz</ftppath>, or the
-<package/debian-keyring/ package). Please be sure to sign your
+<package/debian-keyring/ package. Please be sure to sign your
request message with your chosen PGP or RSA key.
<p>
Once this information is received and processed, you should be
contacted with information about your new Debian maintainer account.
-If you don't hear anything within 7-14 days, please re-send your
-original message--the new-maintainer volunteers are typically
-overworked, and mistakes do occasionally happen.
+If you don't hear anything within 7-14 days, please send a followup
+message asking if your original application was received. Do not
+re-send your original application, that will just confuse the
+new-maintainer team. Please be patient, especially near release
+points; mistakes do occasionally happen, and people do sometimes run
+out of volunteer time.
<sect id="mentors">Debian Mentors
<p>
-There is a mailing list called <email/debian-mentors@lists.debian.org/
-which has been set up for novice maintainers who seek help with
-initial packaging and other developer-related issues. Every new
-developer is invited to subscribe to that list (see <ref
-id="mailing-lists"> for details).
+A mailing list called <email/debian-mentors@lists.debian.org/ which
+has been set up for novice maintainers who seek help with initial
+packaging and other developer-related issues. Every new developer is
+invited to subscribe to that list (see <ref id="mailing-lists"> for
+details).
<p>
-Those who prefer one-on-one help (e.g., via private emails) should
+Those who prefer one-on-one help (e.g., via private email) should
also post to that list and an experienced developer will volunteer to
help.
id="http://www.debian.org/Lists-Archives/">.
- <sect>The master server
+ <sect id="servers-master">The master server
+ <p>
+The master server, <tt/master.debian.org/, holds the canonical copy
+of the Debian archive (excluding the non-U.S. packages). Generally,
+package uploads go to this server; see <ref id="upload">.
+ <p>
+<tt/master.debian.org/ is the canonical location for the Bug Tracking
+System (BTS). If you plan on doing some statistical analysis or
+processing of Debian bugs, this would be the place to do it. Please
+describe your plans on <email/debian-devel@lists.debian.org/ before
+implementing anything, however, to reduce unnecessary duplication of
+effort or wasted processing time.
+ <p>
+All Debian developers have accounts on <tt/master.debian.org/. Please
+take care to protect your password to this machine. Try to avoid
+login or upload methods which send passwords over the Internet in the
+clear.
+ <p>
+If you find a problem with <tt/master.debian.org/ such as disk full,
+suspicious activity, or whatever, send an email to
+<email>debian-admin@debian.org</email>.
+
+ <sect id="servers-ftp">The FTP servers
+ <p>
+
+ <sect id="servers-www">The WWW servers
+ <p>
+The main web server, <tt/www.debian.org/, is also known as
+<tt/va.debian.org/. All developers are given accounts on this
+machine.
+ <p>
+If you have some Debian-specific information which you want to serve
+up on the web, you can do do this by putting material in the
+<tt>public_html</tt> directory under your home directory. You can do
+this on either <tt/va.debian.org/ or <tt/master.debian.org/. Any
+material you put in those areas are accessible via the URLs
+<tt>http://www.debian.org/~<var>user-id</var>/</tt> and
+<tt>http://master.debian.org/~<var>user-id</var>/</tt>, respectively.
+Please do <em>not</em> put any materials on Debian servers which do
+not relate to Debian.
<p>
-The master server, <tt/master.debian.org/, holds the cannonical copy
-of the Debian archive (excluding the non-U.S. packages). Generally,
-package uploads go to this server; cf. <ref id="upload">. All Debian
-developers have accounts on this machine.
+If you find a problem with the Debian web server, you should generally
+submit a bug against the pseudo-package,
+<package>www.debian.org</package>. First check whether or not someone
+else has already reported the problem on the <url
+id="http://www.debian.org/Bugs/db/pa/lwww.debian.org.html" name="Bug
+Tracking System">.
- <sect>The FTP servers
+ <sect id="servers-cvs">The CVS server
<p>
+<tt/cvs.debian.org/ is also known as <tt/va.debian.org/, discussed
+above. If you need the use of a publically accessible CVS server, for
+instance, to help coordinate work on a package between many different
+developers, you can request a CVS area on the server. Generally,
+<tt/cvs.debian.org/ offers a combination of local CVS access,
+anonymous client-server read-only access, and full client-server
+access through <prgn>ssh</prgn>.
+ <p>
+To request a CVS area, send a request via email to
+<email>debian-admin@debian.org</email>.
+
- <sect>The WWW servers
+ <sect id="servers-mirrors">Mirrors of Debian servers
+ <p>
+The web and FTP servers have several mirrors available. Please do not
+put heavy load on the canonical FTP or web servers. Ideally, the
+canonical servers only mirror out to a first tier of mirrors, and all
+user access is to the mirrors. This allows Debian to better spread
+our bandwidth requirements over several servers and networks. Note
+that newer push mirroring techniques ensure that mirrors are as
+up-to-date as they can be.
+ <p>
+The main web page listing the available public FTP (and, usually,
+HTTP) servers can be found at <url
+id="http://www.debian.org/distrib/ftplist">. More information
+concerning mirrors can be found at <url
+id="http://www.debian.org/devel/mirror/">. This useful page includes
+information and tools which can be helpful if you are interested in
+setting up your own mirror, either for internal or public access.
<p>
+Note that mirrors are generally run by third-parties who are
+interested in helping Debian. As such, developers generally do not
+have accounts on these machines.
<chapt id="archive">The Debian Archive
main/binary-i386/admin/
main/binary-i386/base/
...
-main/binary-m86k
-main/binary-m86k/admin/
-main/binary-m86k/base/
+main/binary-m68k
+main/binary-m68k/admin/
+main/binary-m68k/base/
...
main/source/
main/source/admin/
contrib/
contrib/binary-all/
contrib/binary-i386/
-contrib/binary-m86k/
+contrib/binary-m68k/
...
contrib/source/
non-free/
non-free/binary-all/
non-free/binary-i386/
-non-free/binary-m86k/
+non-free/binary-m68k/
...
non-free/source/
</example>
<p>
As you can see, the top-level directory of the distribution contains
three directories, namely <em>main</>, <em>contrib</>, and
-<em>non-free</>. These directories are called <em>sections</>.
+p<em>non-free</>. These directories are called <em>sections</>.
<p>
In each section, there is a directory with the source packages
(source), a directory for each supported architecture (binary-i386,
-binary-m86k, etc.), and a directory for architecture independent
+binary-m68k, etc.), and a directory for architecture independent
packages (binary-all).
<p>
The <em/main/ section contains additional directories which holds the
fail other requirements. For instance, they might depend on non-free
packages.
<p>
-(The <url id="http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/" name="Debian
+The <url id="http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/" name="Debian
Policy Manual"> contains a more exact definition of the three
-sections. The above discussion is just an introduction.)
+sections. The above discussion is just an introduction.
<p>
The separation of the three sections at the top-level of the archive
is important for all people who want to distribute Debian, either via
~ianmdlvl / developers-reference.git / blobdiff