Re: We might need a better wording for our release page

>> Marc Haber <[email protected]> writes:

> we take special care that upgrades between stable versions work
> smoothly.

(I thought that was a good point that should be in the stable section --
see below)

> We expect from our users running unstable to be able to pinpoint bugs
> and to repear breakage. You should have more than just a basic
> understanding of how Linux systems work (and how to fix them if they're
> broken) to run unstable.

I like this too. i struggle to reconcile to the steer in the FAQ3.1 that
Justin referred to. maybe the answer is simply that the FAQ needs
updating -- the FAQ does currently give the impression that you should
jump to unstable.


Justin B Rye <[email protected]> writes:

> according to FAQ 3.1. "Which Debian distribution
> (stable/testing/unstable) is better for me?" the answer is never
> "testing"...  That text mostly dates back to the noughties, but that's
> before backports.debian.org, let alone easy virtual/containerisation,
> both of which undermine the justification for users running anything
> but stable - unless of course they need the very latest hardware
> support, and we don't mention that aspect here.

I incorporated your other suggestions below, but i didnt have a good
idea how to phrase the bit about the FAQ so it's a bit generic.

I also wonder if the page should mention backports?  experimental? but I
think it's already getting a bit long. So maybe that can be left to the
FAQ.

Maybe also time to take a step back and see if this works - to help
people who come to this fresh so ive made the first sentence a separate
paragraph, with the idea that you can skip the longer second para unless
interested.


------------------------------------------------

Debian Releases

Debian is avialable in three main versions (also called suites, releases
or distributions): stable, testing and unstable.

stable
------
This is the latest official Debian release. It is the version
recommended for beginners and for production services.

The name "stable" refers to the fact that it does not change often:
although we regularly release security fixes, we (almost) never change
the versions of software in it. We do make updates which can introduce
minor changes, but care is taken to not break anything. We generally
release a new version of stable every couple of years, and we take
special care that upgrades between stable versions work smoothly. There
is no fixed timetable for when a new stable is release: we release a new
stable version when it is ready.

The current stable release of Debian is version 12, codenamed
"bookworm". It was initially released on 10 June 2023 and its latest
update, version 12.8, was released on 9 November 2024.

testing
-------
This is where the next version of Debian is tested.

It is updated constantly with packages arriving from unstable (see
below) if no critical bugs have been found in them. In practice many
users treat this as a "rolling release". It requires a lot more active
administration than stable because, for example, it does not receive
direct security support and broken software can only be fixed by
packages migrating from unstable. It does, however, give access to newer
software than stable.

The current "testing" version of Debian is codenamed "trixie".

unstable
--------
This is where active development of Debian occurs.

Generally, unstable is used by developers and advanced users who like to
live on the edge. As the name suggests, using unstable comes with a high
risk of broken software. If you use unstable you should have more than
just a basic understanding of how Linux systems work and be prepared to
fix problems. You should also subscribe to the debian-devel-announce
mailing list to receive notifications of major changes.

The "unstable" version of Debian is always codenamed "sid".


See the [Debian FAQ] for more information on the different versions of
Debian.