Re: Remove a bunch of old Python packages

[Greg Troxel <gdt%lexort.com@localhost>]

Benny Siegert <bsiegert%netbsd.org@localhost> writes:

> On Thu, 4 Dec 2025, Adam wrote:
>> I am going to remove them within a week, if there is no objection.
>
> I feel like it's late in the branch for that. My vote goes to:
>
> 1. Do not remove them now.
> 2. Mention in the release notes of 2025Q4 that this is the last branch
> containing these modules.
> 3. Remove them after the branch.
>
> What do you think?

I object to 2, as it is implicitly adding a new rule that we should
announce removals in release notes before they happen.  That's in
general not reasonable; were it January 15th, what Adam did would have
been 100% ok and in line with our documented policy and actual practice.
These packages are not important and likely there are zero users.  The
notice has been on pkgsrc-users, which is where it's supposed to go.

Beyond that, removal warnings of woefully unmaintained packages believed
to have zero users would be just noise in a release announcement.


I think Adam's removal proposal is entirely ok.  But I also think we
have been moving to fewer changes leading to freeze, and a "no removals
of packages unless they are actively causing trouble" would be fine to
add for 12/1.

Thus, I am fine with 1 and 3.