Comment 5 for bug 2015979

Revision history for this message
Aaron Rainbolt (arraybolt3) wrote (last edit ):

I don't have the authority to decide if Lubuntu will follow that "strategy" by default all by myself, so I can't say what Lubuntu will and won't do in the future. It's definitely something we can consider and change in future releases, but whether we will or not isn't in my power to decide on my own.

However, it's not as simple as a Git commit. There is a process enforced by the Ubuntu development community for changing anything in an already-released version of any official Ubuntu flavor (Lubuntu included). This process reduces the chances of accidental or detrimental changes being made to Ubuntu as a whole. (You can take a look at it at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/StableReleaseUpdates)

This process is very strict, and it prohibits us from making changes like you are suggesting unless we can make a very strong argument that the current behavior is a "bug" in the strict sense (i.e., an error in how software functions that results in an outcome other than what the developer intended or that could cause significant damage even if it is intended behavior). Certainly it can be argued that the needless use of electricity is damaging, but if an update were to be released that disabled the screensaver by default, it would result in many (if not most) existing users of Lubuntu having their screensaver stop working. Having worked with the Stable Release Updates team, they are likely to consider the screensaver vanishing to be more disruptive than the use of excess power.

This is a design decision that needed to be made before a release of Lubuntu went into Feature Freeze. For released versions of Lubuntu, Feature Freeze is long past, and for Lubuntu Lunar (23.04), Feature Freeze hit about a month or so ago. We are free to make a different design decision for whatever version of Lubuntu comes after Lubuntu Lunar (23.04), but the decision is made now and undoing it isn't within our power.

Again, we may consider only blanking the screen (and not displaying a screensaver) in future releases of Lubuntu (23.10 and higher). Whether we will or not isn't something I decide by myself.

(By the way, this is a good discussion, but it may be better if we had this discussion on our Discourse forum at https://discourse.lubuntu.me/. A bug report isn't really the best place to discuss this.)