Debian MIA: Raiders of the "Lost" Maintainer
Debian project maintainers who just stop maintaining their software packages and fail to respond to mail are a big problem for the free Linux distribution. Now, Debian is introducing new rules to resolve the issue.
This was the decision taken by the Debian Quality Assurance (QA) team that met last week in Merida, Spain. The MIA team is responsible for volunteer Debian developers who go “missing in action” .
Now, whenever somebody reports a Debian developer as inactive to the MIA database, the following process applies. The team first sends a friendly mail to the “missing person” and waits 15 days for a response. The message is then repeated, after all, the original message might have gone astray. After another 15 days, the team sends another package that the team is considering tagging the Debian package as orphaned. The maintainer then has 30 days to respond before the team actually explicitly threatens to tag the package as orphaned. After another 15 days the package is then finally classified as orphaned, and after another 90 days, the Debian project sends a goodbye mail to the ex-developer.
The MIA project is quick to point out that sending mails to Debian developers is not its only purpose in life: it also happy to help volunteers to secure more help for package maintenance. The MIA database is non-public as it contains personal data.
The MIA Team is still looking for Debian developers interested in helping out. For more information, refer to the chapter Debian Developer Documentation
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Cairo Dock 3.6 Now Available for More Compositors
If you're a fan of third-party desktop docks, then the latest release of Cairo Dock with Wayland support is for you.
-
System76 Unleashes Pop!_OS 24.04 Beta
System76's first beta of Pop!_OS 24.04 is an impressive feat.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 is Available
Linus Torvalds has announced that the latest kernel has been released with plenty of core improvements and even more hardware support.
-
Kali Linux 2025.3 Released with New Hacking Tools
If you're a Kali Linux fan, you'll be glad to know that the third release of this famous pen-testing distribution is now available with updates for key components.
-
Zorin OS 18 Beta Available for Testing
The latest release from the team behind Zorin OS is ready for public testing, and it includes plenty of improvements to make it more powerful, user-friendly, and productive.
-
Fedora Linux 43 Beta Now Available for Testing
Fedora Linux 43 Beta ships with Gnome 49 and KDE Plasma 6.4 (and other goodies).
-
USB4 Maintainer Leaves Intel
Michael Jamet, one of the primary maintainers of USB4 and Thunderbolt drivers, has left Intel, leaving a gaping hole for the Linux community to deal with.
-
Budgie 10.9.3 Now Available
The latest version of this elegant and configurable Linux desktop aligns with changes in Gnome 49.
-
KDE Linux Alpha Available for Daring Users
It's official, KDE Linux has arrived, but it's not quite ready for prime time.
-
AMD Initiates Graphics Driver Updates for Linux Kernel 6.18
This new AMD update focuses on power management, display handling, and hardware support for Radeon GPUs.