Re: Adding functionality to a port

On Sun, 14 Nov 2021 16:26:23 +0100, Rob LA LAU <freebsd@ohreally.nl> wrote:

> Hello list,
>
> I'm wondering what the rules/guidelines are for adding functionality to  
> a port, that is not in the upstream package. I can't find anything about  
> this in the porters' documentation.
>
> Background:
> I'm not a porter myself (planning to be one, but that's irrelevant for  
> my current question).
> I ran into a buggy `periodic' script. And when looking for the port  
> maintainer to report the bug, I found that this script is not part of  
> the upstream package, but was added to the port by the port maintainer.
> So I'm wondering now whether I should report the bug in the `periodic'  
> script, or ask the maintainer to remove the script from the port (and  
> maybe submit it as a separate port).
>
> And in more general it would be interesting to know when changes made to  
> a port are considered too drastic, and when port maintainers should be  
> asked to join the upstream development team instead of (or in addition  
> to) maintaining the port.
>
> Thanks for any and all replies.
>
> Cheers,
>    Rob


You can file a bug report on https://bugs.freebsd.org/ . If you use a  
summary like 'www/firefox: Unable to use microphone with ALSA backend' it  
is automatically assigned to the maintainer of the port. So '<full  
portname>: short description of bug'. You can also upload a patch if you  
have it.

If a bug report is not possible you can also just mail the maintainer and  
see what the reaction is.

Regards,
Ronald.