[ros-users] [Discourse.ros.org] [Packaging and Release Management/Kinetic] Add usb_cam to ROS Kinetic main repository

[Kei Okada]

> In short: to me, the correct way to solve a problem with an unmaintained package that you need is to fork it, patch it, and try to get the patch back to upstream. If that fails and the upstream maintainers seem to have abandoned the project, you can try to get your fork released in under the original name in the ROS ecosystem.

I totally agree your point, in general.

But what's happens today is, although there is a huge request on releasing but it not happens. Why? because I think kinetic did not have usb camera support because it is too important/fundamental package that's why potential maintainer  reluctant/hesitate to fork and  release from their own repo.

What happens here is;

- A lot of people need usb camera drivers, specially beginners, because this is the most spread sensor and this is a good starting point. But  they do not know how to solve this situation, may be they do not know or they hesitate to compile from source. That's ok. That's why ROS is distributed via binary package.
- Expert people knows how to solve this problem and  they realized there is an issue ticket on current maintainer repository. So they're kindly waiting for response... They can fork original release repo to thier own, but they respect original author and politely waiting...... It is not critical for them because they can solve the problem because they know how to compile, build deb by them selves, or may be they have better sensors. 

So for me,if the package is too important specially for beginner useres, then it will be located within in gap between users and current/potential maintainers, it is dead-locked. And I'm afraid we'll have this problem on every year 2016(Kinetic), 2017(Lunar), 2018(M). So question here is can we start thinking any way to solve this? Try to find a way that can help back to the correct path?






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