Please don't include xchat (abandoned upstream) in 18.04
Affects | Status | Importance | Assigned to | Milestone | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
xchat (Debian) |
Fix Released
|
Unknown
|
|||
xchat (Ubuntu) |
Won't Fix
|
Undecided
|
Unassigned |
Bug Description
The xchat package was removed from debian on 2016-01-30[1]. The mentioned reason is "dead upstream; active fork available". It hasn't had a stable release in 8 years, and it's been replaced by hexchat, which is still actively developed.
All other distros have removed the xchat package and replaced it with hexchat.
On 2017-08-08, LocutusOfBorg reuploaded xchat to debian with all the patches it had previous to its removal and a few new patches backporting fixes with CVEs from hexchat, resulting in 44 patches on top of the last xchat release from 2010, making it effectively another fork maintained by debian.
TingPing, the main developer of hexchat, contacted the debian maintainer, and the reason for this reintroduction seems to be "nostalgia" and "new libraries not available [in older distros]". See the full blog post[2] for the complete exchange.
As a member of the IRCv3 working group[3] it saddens me to see debian picking up an old version of a client and shipping it as if it were new.
I realize the right place to complain about this would be debian, but the more immediate risk here is ubuntu including it in a LTS release. Having LTS users using xchat is going to hold back the progress of the IRC ecosystem as a whole until 2023. Please don't do this to us.
Not to mention the lack of ipv6, python3 support (with the python2 EOL in two years), SSL SNI, and all the bugs that were not considered worth a CVE. Without looking too far, launchpad bug 349754 (crash when pressing ctrl-i several times) is still unfixed in this xchat package and doesn't affect hexchat. There are other 114 bugs in this tracker alone. And no real upstream.
[1]: https:/
[2]: https:/
[3]: https:/
Changed in xchat (Debian): | |
status: | Unknown → New |
Changed in xchat (Debian): | |
status: | New → Fix Released |
Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.