Comment 7 for bug 49524

>ubuntu-desktop was already changed in Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy, October 2006) so that many of the default packages, icnluding the one you mention above, can be removed without disturbing the metapackage.

But there should be much, much more of such packages, who can be removed without disturbing the metapackage!

For example, there are so many packages which have real good or better alternatives, or are heavily depending on the users liking.

For example, there are many people who absolutely favour Gnome as their desktop, but thinking that Evolution really sucks as a mail client, at least when it comes to filtering etc., and on stability.
(Evolution crashes very often..)

So when someone wants Thunderbird instead Evolution (because he uses it also on Windows and it is more stable than Evolution), Kopete instead Pidgin (because of the missing Webcam feature in Pidgin aka Gaim), and Tomboy, the ressource-sucking (because of mono?) notes client completely deinstalled, he cannot do without harm his "ubuntu-desktop".

How many packages are really needed to do a proper upgrade?