Re: Anti-features

On 2026-07-31, Sam James wrote:
>> What if instead of only marking slop packages, it will be possible to 
>> mark all anti-features[0]? So users could be warned not only about 
>> slop packages, but also about non-free network services, bundled 
>> dependencies and other practices discouraged by Gentoo's high quality 
>> standards.
>>
>> This can be done either in profiles or in the ebuild itself. The term 
>> "anti-feature" is generic and future-proof.
> 
> Well, IMO, the most important part of the discussion was how to handle
> the marking and the UX around that. I set out a few options in my email.

I think it doesn't need to be implemented directly in Portage and could 
be a third-party service as well. Submissions could be made by users 
themselves and approved by maintainers (for example, by replying to a 
confirmation e-mail).

Integration with Portage could be as simple as maintaining a file in 
/etc/portage/package.mask/.

If anyone is interested, let's collaborate.