283 lines
9.3 KiB
Plaintext
283 lines
9.3 KiB
Plaintext
PEP: 541
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Title: Package Index Name Retention
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Version: $Revision$
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Last-Modified: $Date$
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Author: Łukasz Langa <lukasz@langa.pl>
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Status: Draft
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Type: Process
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Content-Type: text/x-rst
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Created: 12-January-2017
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Abstract
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========
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This PEP proposes an extension to the Terms of Use [1]_ of the Package
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Index [2]_, clarifying expectations of package owners regarding
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ownership of a package name on the Package Index, specifically with
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regards to conflict resolution.
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Existing package repositories such as CPAN [3]_, NPM [4]_, and
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GitHub [5]_ will be investigated as prior art in this field.
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Rationale
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=========
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Given that package names on the Index are sharing a single flat
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namespace, a unique name is a finite resource. The growing age of
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the Package Index causes a constant rise of situations of conflict
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between the current use of the name and a different suggested use of
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the same name.
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This document aims to provide general guidelines for solving the
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most typical cases of such conflicts.
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Specification
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=============
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The main idea behind this document is that the Package Index serves the
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community. Every user is invited to upload content to the Package Index
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under the Terms of Use, understanding that it is at the sole risk of
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the user.
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While the Package Index is not a backup service, the maintainers of the
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Package Index do their best to keep that content accessible indefinitely
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in its published form. However, in certain edge cases the greater
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community's needs might overweigh the individual's expectation of
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ownership of a package name.
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The use cases covered by this document are:
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* Abandoned projects:
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* continued maintenance by a different set of users; or
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* removal from the Index for use with a different project.
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* Active projects:
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* resolving disputes over a name.
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* Invalid projects.
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The proposed extension to the Terms of Use, as expressed in the
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Implementation section, will be published as a separate document on the
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Package Index, linked next to existing Terms of Use in the front page
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footer.
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Implementation
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==============
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Reachability
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------------
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The user of the Package Index is solely responsible for being reachable
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by the Package Index maintainers for matters concerning projects that
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the user owns. In every case where contacting the user is necessary,
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the maintainers will try to do so at least three times, using the
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following means of contact:
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* the e-mail address on file in the user's profile on the Package Index;
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* the e-mail address listed in the Author field for a given project
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uploaded to the Index; and
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* any e-mail addresses found in the given project's documentation
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on the Index or on the listed Home Page.
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The maintainers stop trying to reach the user after six weeks.
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Abandoned projects
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------------------
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A project is considered *abandoned* when ALL of the following are met:
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* owner not reachable (see Reachability above);
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* no releases within the past twelve months; and
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* no activity from the owner on the project's home page (or no
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home page listed).
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All other projects are considered *active*.
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Continued maintenance of an abandoned project
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---------------------------------------------
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If a candidate appears willing to continue maintenance on an *abandoned*
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project, ownership of the name is transferred when ALL of the following
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are met:
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* the project has been determined *abandoned* by the rules described
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above;
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* the candidate is able to demonstrate own failed attempts to contact
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the existing owner;
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* the candidate is able to demonstrate improvements made on the
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candidate's own fork of the project;
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* the candidate is able to demonstrate why a fork under a different name
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is not an acceptable workaround; and
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* the maintainers of the Package Index don't have any additional
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reservations.
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Under no circumstances will a name be reassigned against the wishes of
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a reachable owner.
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Removal of an abandoned project
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-------------------------------
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Projects are never removed from the Package Index solely on the basis
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of abandonment. Artifacts uploaded to the Package Index hold inherent
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historical value.
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An *abandoned* project can be transferred to a new owner for purposes
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of reusing the name when ALL of the following are met:
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* the project has been determined *abandoned* by the rules described
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above;
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* the candidate is able to demonstrate own failed attempts to contact
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the existing owner;
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* the candidate is able to demonstrate that the project suggested to
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reuse the name already exists and meets notability requirements;
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* the candidate is able to demonstrate why a fork under a different name
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is not an acceptable workaround;
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* download statistics on the Package Index for the existing package
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indicate project is not being used; and
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* the maintainers of the Package Index don't have any additional
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reservations.
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Name conflict resolution for active projects
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--------------------------------------------
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The maintainers of the Package Index are not arbiters in disputes
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around *active* projects. There are many possible scenarios here,
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a non-exclusive list describing some real-world examples is presented
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below. None of the following qualify for package name ownership
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transfer:
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1. User A and User B share project X. After some time they part ways
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and each of them wants to continue the project under name X.
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2. User A owns a project X outside the Package Index. User B creates
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a package under the name X on the Index. After some time, User A
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wants to publish project X on the Index but realizes name is taken.
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This is true even if User A's project X gains notability and the
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User B's project X is not notable.
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3. User A publishes project X to the Package Index. After some time
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User B proposes bug fixes to the project but no new release is
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published by User A. This is true even if User A agrees to publish
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a new version and later doesn't, even if User B's changes are merged
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to the source code repository for project X.
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Again, the list above is not exclusive. The maintainers of the Package
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Index recommend users to get in touch with each other and solve the
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issue by respectful communication (see the PSF Code of Conduct [6]_).
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Invalid projects
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----------------
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A project published on the Package Index meeting ANY of the following
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is considered invalid and will be removed from the Index:
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* project does not conform to Terms of Use;
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* project is malware (designed to exploit or harm systems or users);
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* project contains illegal content;
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* project violates copyright or licenses;
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* project is name squatting (package has no functionality or is
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empty);
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* project name, description, or content violates the Code of Conduct;
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or
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* project is abusing the Package Index for purposes it was not
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intended.
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If you find a project that might be considered invalid, create
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a support request [7]_.
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Prior art
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=========
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NPM contains a separate section linked from the front page called
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`Package Name Disputes <https://www.npmjs.com/policies/disputes>`_.
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It is described as a "living document", as of January 2017 its
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contents might be summarized as follows:
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* package name squatting is prohibited;
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* users wanting to reuse a project name are required to contact the
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existing author, with cc to support@npmjs.com;
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* all contact must conform to the NPM Code of Conduct;
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* in case of no resolution after a few weeks, npm inc. holds the right
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to the final decision in the matter.
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CPAN lets any user upload modules with the same name. PAUSE, a related
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index, only lists modules uploaded by the primary maintainer or listed
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co-maintainers. CPAN documentation doesn't address disputes otherwise.
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GitHub's terms of service contain an exhaustive list of behavior
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not meeting general conditions of use. While not codified anywhere,
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GitHub does agree for users to reclaim abandoned account names by
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archiving the abandoned account and letting the other user or
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organization rename their account. This is done on a case-by-case
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basis.
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Rejected Proposals
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==================
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The original approach was to hope for the best and solve issues as they
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arise without written policy. This is not sustainable. The lack of
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generally available guidelines in writing on package name conflict
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resolution is causing unnecessary tensions. From the perspective of
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users, decisions made by the Package Index maintainers without written
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guidelines may appear arbitrary. From the perspective of the Package
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Index maintainers, solving name conflicts is a stressful task due to
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risk of unintentional harm due to lack of defined policy.
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References
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==========
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.. [1] Terms of Use of the Python Package Index
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(https://pypi.org/policy/terms-of-use/)
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.. [2] The Python Package Index
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(https://pypi.python.org/)
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.. [3] The Comprehensive Perl Archive Network
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(http://www.cpan.org/)
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.. [4] Node Package Manager
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(https://www.npmjs.com/package/left-pad)
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.. [5] GitHub
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(https://github.com/)
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.. [6] Python Community Code of Conduct
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(https://www.python.org/psf/codeofconduct/)
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.. [7] PyPI Support Requests
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(https://sourceforge.net/p/pypi/support-requests/)
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Copyright
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=========
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This document has been placed in the public domain.
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Acknowledgements
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================
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The many participants of the Distutils and Catalog SIGs for their
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ideas over the years.
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..
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Local Variables:
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indent-tabs-mode: nil
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End:
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