[Popcon-developers] Bug#765315: please include /etc/debian_version in report

[Bill Allombert]

On Mon, Oct 13, 2014 at 11:09:07PM -0400, Joey Hess wrote:
> Package: popularity-contest
> Version: 1.61
> Severity: normal
> 
> I use popcon data a lot for eg, tasksel, and often one is only
> interested in data for unstable, or stable. But there's no good way to
> separate those in the results. Instead, various workarounds have to be
> used, like trying to tease out information about packages present in one
> version of debian and not in the other.

Dear Joey,

I am a bit confused by your report. I would expect what you request to be
adequately provided by the popcon.debian.org  website and the
popularity-contest version field.  We even provide separate data for stable.

Thus maybe you are using a different interface that is lacking the information
you need ?

> So, could the release information please be included in the report?
> Specifically just the name of the current release from
> /etc/debian_version.

Unfortunately /etc/debian_version is a configuration file and we learnt that
some users modify it.  Beside this is just a round-about way to report the
version of base-files.

> (As a bonus it'll be easier to notice when ubuntu accidentially floods
> debian's popcon with their user reports, as has happened once or twice
> before.)

Now, we use the dpkg VENDOR field for that purpose.

Cheers,
-- 
Bill. <ballombe at debian.org>

Imagine a large red swirl here.