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Debian OpenSSH Packages and Slop as Risk to Properly Understood Debian Packages
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Chiark ☛ Colin Watson: GSS-API support split out from main Debian OpenSSH packages [Ed: Recall what happened before: "Edward Brocklesby was "expelled" from Debian for hacking and privilege escalation with overtones of politics, however, the idea that joint authors can expel each other is nonsense. The discovery of his deeds was significant because he was also maintaining packages like shells, compilers and ssh2, these would all be interesting for somebody who wanted to place back doors in Debian."]
In an option review I did in 2024, shortly after the xz-utils backdoor, I explained that having GSS-API authentication and key exchange support in the main OpenSSH packages is problematic. The key exchange patch is large and intrusive.
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Aigars Mahinovs ☛ Optimistic take on AI
As I am writing this, there is a vote ongoing in the Debian project on how to deal with AI in general and AI-assisted contributions to Debian specifically. Massive discussions have happened in debian-vote and other locations. I have also asked questions there and offered my perspective. IMHO now is the time to summarize that, after all the discussions that I've had with people on multiple sides of this debate both online and offline, and explain how I will be voting and why. Hopefully that will be helpful to someone else as well. None of this has been compiled with AI assistance, but only because I think that forming opinions is not something where AI can really be helpful. Spellcheck was used though.
So, first I will describe how I see each of the 8 proposals, then what my vote will be, and then a bit more detail on the reasoning and thinking behind this. WARNING - this went long.
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Iustin Pop: Another optimistic take on AI
Disclaimers
The current discussion in Debian aroun the Hey Hi (AI) GR is very heated, and I won’t add to that, however, I am very confused about some of the viewpoints there. But, I had no idea how to even try to write this, so did shut up, until I saw Aigars’ excellent Optimistic take on AI, which motivated me to try, at least.
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Wouter Verhelst ☛ Wouter Verhelst: Programming and GR 2026 002
Programming language generations
When I was young, I learned about a model of classifying programming language: the system of programming language generations.
In this model, first generation programming languages are, basically, where you program the computer in the language that is defined by its architecture. On a Von Neumann machine, with its load-and-store architecture, you do that by inputting a string of numbers. The first programmer in human history -- her name was Ada Lovelace -- wrote in a first-generation language. 1GLs aren't so much invented as they are a byproduct of the computers for which they're created.