[packman] 25 Jahre Packman – und nun? // Packman at 25 – where do we go from here?

[Luigi Baldoni]

On 8/27/26 11:58 PM, Marc Schiffbauer wrote:

> Dear Packman community,
> 
> After 25 years, the time has come for us to hand over the Packman
> project. If no one is found who wishes to continue Packman, we will
> discontinue the project on 31/12/2026.

I must apologize for the late reply. I skipped this thread and I had no 
idea the situation was so dire.

> = Why we are leaving =
> 
> 25 years is a long time. And if we are honest: Packman passed its zenith
> some time ago.
> Distributions have evolved; Flatpak and other mechanisms
> have reduced the need for many classic Packman packages. Both of us have
> realised that we can no longer muster the energy and the time that
> Packman requires. We would rather end it consciously and transparently
> than let it slowly fade away, leaving users with orphaned packages in
> the end.

Packman is still of paramount importance to openSUSE users. Don't 
underestimate your work.

> = Successors wanted =
> 
> We are looking for a person or a team prepared to continue Packman –
> hosting, build infrastructure, repository management, and community
> coordination. Splitting these tasks among several people is absolutely
> conceivable.
> 
> We would also like to invite thoughts on alternative models. An obvious
> question: Could Packman (or at least parts of it) be transferred to the
> openSUSE Build Service (OBS)? However, there is a major restriction –
> Packman only exists because the official OBS maintains an application
> blacklist and cannot build the exact multimedia codecs that define
> Packman. Nevertheless, it is worth asking the question anew and
> discussing which models would be feasible today.

Since no other system exists (short of doing it on one's own) to have up 
to date uncrippled codecs, couldn't the openSUSE board (or SUSE itself?) 
lend a helping hand? Not sure about the legal ramifications with regard 
to distributing patented software, though.

Regards.