On Sun, 12 Dec 2010 16:28:54 +0100, Dennis wrote: > > I'm trying to understand what exactly your main concerns are: > > > > 1) The Update Details, which contain instructions for testers as > > well as normal users (and which, unfortunately, are overlong and > > duplicate due to a bug/feature in bodhi). > > > > 2) The update itself, which frightens you somehow. > > Usually the update wouldn't frighten me. It's the message that scared me > and that is my concern. No other package contains this kind of message. Is it a bad thing that "no other package contains this kind of message"? I wouldn't say so. Actually, there is movement to get more update submitters to enter such messages. Most updates so far contain no useful details/notes, or they copy only from the package RPM %changelog. > The > kernel, glibc, xorg drivers are all critical components which could cause > the system to fail in a serious way yet none of the package updates > recommend going through lengthy procedures to make sure they work. There are no such lengthy procedures for glibc and xorg drivers. In the worst the system would be dead already immediately after replacing glibc or after restarting X. Kernel updates OTOH build a corresponding initramdisk on-the-fly, and the most basic test for a kernel update would be to boot the new kernel plus its initramfs image. Booting a new kernel in order to test it is considered a well-known requirement. > Then mdadm comes along and apparently this update is extra dangerous > because it contains these procedures that you are supposed to perform. The > text says "It is recommended that users remake their initramfs images..." > so this is not just a message for developers or testers. Splitting-hairs, isn't it? In my opinion the term "users" refers to everyone in the Fedora Community who might have interest in trying out this update and _using_ it actually. All users of Fedora can influence the release of the update while it is offered in the updates-testing repository. The process if open for the whole community. Test results come from _users_. You don't become anything like a dedicated tester just because you give feedback on some updates. > Maybe it's just my admin sensitivities that make me actually read these > messages before updating packages (most people probably don't) and that > cause me to make an assessment about what that update potentially does to > the system but if these messages are supposed to be only for testers then > they don't belong into the updates for general users. Why trade them like a secret and not display them to everyone interested? The Fedora Project draws its regular testers from the whole community. Even developers are users of packages they don't develop themselves. The details about what *might* be important before or after applying this update is added value. > As I said other > packages don't contain these kind of warnings so why does mdadm require them? Well, in a better world, every kernel update would link to a HOWTO/FAQ that covers non-booting systems and ways to trouble-shoot them. -- test mailing list test@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe: https://admin.fedoraproject.org/mailman/listinfo/test
