Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Sat, 22 Mar 2014 11:50:02 -0700
From:      Nathan Whitehorn <nwhitehorn@freebsd.org>
To:        freebsd-ports@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: reason 23 why we've moved to linux
Message-ID:  <532DDB5A.8090205@freebsd.org>
In-Reply-To: <m261n6rtkf.wl%randy@psg.com>
References:  <m2iorb1ms8.wl%randy@psg.com> <53287821.4040209@freebsd.org> <m2ha6v1m4z.wl%randy@psg.com> <5328A03A.3000305@freebsd.org> <m261n6rtkf.wl%randy@psg.com>

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
On 03/22/14 11:12, Randy Bush wrote:
> from another team member, also a long time freebsd user of decades
>
>      firefox build bombs because something has hardwired gcc47, which is
>      not installed, so firefox's ./configure bombs testing hello world.
>
>      Attempting to figure out what has hardwired gcc47 quickly leads down
>      an entire separate /usr/ports/Mk/ file full of the usual garbage, none
>      of which actually says gcc47.   Presumably it is somehow inheriting
>      from /usr/ports/lang/gcc's version (as opposed to
>      /usr/port/lang/gcc4[69] -- this machine happens to have gcc46
>      installed).
>
>      This is as far as I got before giving up in disgust.  Maybe they'll
>      sort it out by the time I care.  Or maybe I'll wipe and Ubuntu.
>
> essentially, from a user perspective, the ports have become kiddieville,
> with no testing or seeming adult supervision.  if you're just trying to
> get your work done, freebsd ports have become toxic.
>
> randy
> _______________________________________________
> freebsd-ports@freebsd.org mailing list
> http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-ports
> To unsubscribe, send any mail to "freebsd-ports-unsubscribe@freebsd.org"
>

This is actually a serious problem, not just for Randy, but for many 
people. I've stopped updating machines because it is impossible to trust 
that ports actually works -- and has been impossible to do so for a year 
now. I realize that a lot of feature changes have been required for 
modernization (staging, for example), but the pace has been relentless 
enough that things just don't work the majority of the time. Ports used 
to be one of FreeBSD's great strengths -- now it is driving people away. 
This is not anecdotal and not a limited problem.

At least testing branches would be appreciated.
-Nathan



Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?532DDB5A.8090205>