In Diablo we have repository promotion as follows:

extras-devel -> copy package -> extras

In Fremantle we introduced Extras-testing, but this should not change the flow:

extras-devel -> copy package -> extras-testing -> copy package -> extras

The same unchanged package gets copied from one repository to the next. It doesn't get removed from the origin repository. (At least not until we do some cleanup run to remove anything older than the last 3 versions or so)

I think we all agree that 'rejected' packages should be removed from the testing queue (page). But would it also make sense to remove the package from the repository? It is a waste of effort for people to keep testing an already rejected package.

This whole QA part can be as elaborate as we want it to be, but basically we would already gain a lot by just determining if the application "works". If you take that concept forward, then it makes sense to view every package version uploaded as a completely different package.

It shouldn't inherit votes from a previous version. Votes represent the state it is in now. You can easily break an application with a small fix, even if your previous versions worked perfectly.