Bug#253511: provide guideline to keep the package namespace sane

"Serafeim (Serafi) Zanikolas" <[email protected]> Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:36:35 +0200

Newsgroups	gmane.linux.debian.devel.policy
Message-ID	<DHZ6XISB6S5H.3CBVB0FRQD4WF__45188.8089462713$1776811046$gmane$org@debian.org>

hi Holger,

this is a 22y old bug.

http://ftp-master.debian.org/REJECT-FAQ.html is no more, and the newer
https://ftp-master.debian.org/reject.html says nothing about package names.

there's probably something to be said:

- against common, unqualified words especially ones that represent a whole class
  of applications (e.g. reader, browser)
- in favor of qualifying names based on:
  - the platform they apply to (e.g. elpa-, vim-, neovim-, lib* for libraries)
  - relevant packaging teams' conventions (e.g. -perl, golang-, etc)

would you accept a patch along those lines? anything else to add?

thanks,
serafi

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