Ok, this is a debate I can participate in abill_uk.

I think you are misunderstanding something fundamental. I'm not going to quote and dissect your post you're just going to have to understand where these arguments fit.

There is three repositories that are tied to this community. There is the Extras, the Extras-Testing, and the Extras-Devel.

Inside Extras all apps should be optified and "written right to the device its being programmed into (N900)." Now yes, you will see a change to rootfs on any app, even my pypianobar; because the Linux System itself has a package management system that keeps track of installed packages and their dependencies. We're talking about a tiny flat-file database here which is just enough to change a sha1/md5 checksum of the filesystem but not enough to get paranoid about.

The only time a package can make it into Extras is after having spent 10 days and received 10 votes in Extras-Testing. There is currently being stood up an additional method of "Super Testers" that will run an app through an intensive test cycle, and after 3 approvals from three different Super Testers, as well as after 20 days in the testing repository - then it can be promoted without the 10 vote requirement.

Extras-Testing, as the name implies, is for testing. It is made clear every time you see a post on how to enable testing and devel repositories (at least it should be on every post) a warning telling you that, as the name implies (because apparently naming it Testing and Devel isn't enough for people) - THIS SOFTWARE HAS NOT BEEN TESTED.

Now yes, there has been many people needing to reflash their device because of improperly coded software in the devel repository. It is expected that if you turn that repository on; you are a developer (or at the very minimum don't mind reflashing).

I would like to see a single person that filled their roofts using only Extras installed software. None come to my mind currently, but perhaps I'm wrong and you could be so kind as to provide me the link to the thread of the normal, every day joe user, that did not enable Devel or Testing - that broke their device from improperly coded software.

There *is* a stamp of approval on software in Extras: That stamp is you *know* at least 10 people used it successfully for at least 10 days with no problems and that it is optified.