RE: Node.js and it's future in debian

["Hans-Peter F. Oeste" <hoeste@shaw.ca>]

I thought I'd also chime in with one aspect that perhaps hasn't been
articulated.  This could have a huge impact in 'Health and Public Safety', a
place where many hams use the tools and the debian distribution as an
appliance.  The node and ax25 package is used worldwide providing
communications infrastructure that may people rely on in times of disaster
and emergency, be it a forwarding of medical information to gain insight to
people health problems to local floods or fires to events like Katrina.
Hams often provide the backbone to the communications for these events.

That they treat the Debian distribution as an appliance says that they trust
the distribution to not break down, and this is something to be proud of.
That they use it as an appliance should not be considered a stupidity,.
Consider how many of us nowadays make changes to the engine in their
vehicles themselves.  Not many, it's done by enthusiasts.  The package node
and its attendant  packages is an engine for many ham operators.  So please,
be very careful in your consideration in making changes. The ramifications
could affect you personally inadvertently.

If you are going to muck with it, please consider a phased in approach that
gives warning of potentially at least year, if not longer, so that warning
is give and propagated to the mentors that these ham operators use, so that
customizations can be 'fixed' and any migrations and mitigation is
flawlessly executed.  This may mean that you yourselves may be asked to help
troubleshoot issues/problems that arise.  Please be patient.

While I am a ham, I am also a mediocre programmer, so I can see both sides
of this argument.  In addition, I've used Linux longer than I've been a ham.

Hans Oeste
VE7OES