Getting Help With Debian LTS¶
As a user of Debian, you may or may not be aware of the wide range of available support channels. In addition to the general support channels, there are several LTS-specific channels as well. They are described on this page.
General Support¶
Many issues that you are likely to encounter as a user are problems of a general nature, rather than being specific to LTS. The support channels available to all users are also available to and applicable to LTS users.
Debian Bug Tracking System¶
If you encounter a bug in a specific package, then the best course of action is to report the bug to the Debian Bug Tracking System. Bugs reported against LTS versions of packages will be routed to the LTS team if they are not handled directly by the package maintainer.
LTS-Specific Support¶
If you encounter an issue that in your estimation is specific to LTS, then you can use the mailing list or IRC channel described in this section.
Mailing List¶
Description: Discussion and coordination of long-term support work for Debian.
Everyone involved or interested in providing Long-Term Support for Debian should feel free to join this list. Discussion of policy, on-going support issues, and anything else relating to LTS are all on-topic here.
Subscription policy: open
Internet Relay Chat¶
There is an IRC channel, #debian-lts on OFTC, dedicated to Debian LTS
development and support. Please note that at times the channel can be busy and
also that at times there could be a considerable delay in receiving a response
to a query. If you ask a question, be sure to stay in the channel long enough
for someone to provide an answer.
IRC Channel: debian-lts (w/o SSL: debian-lts) (webchat) (see IRC on the Debian wiki)
Attention
IRC is a communication medium best suited to quick questions with short answers. If you ask a particularly complex or in depth question in IRC, do not be surprised if you are asked to re-ask the question on the mailing list instead. This has the added benefit of recording the interaction in the public mailing list archive for the benefit of others in the future who might be searching for information on the same issue.
Sensitive Non-Public Issues¶
The LTS team has an email alias which is available for informing the LTS team of undisclosed vulnerabilities. To contact the team via this address, use lts-security@debian.org.
Attention
This email address is not meant for support inquiries. It is meant for informing the LTS team of undisclosed vulnerabilities so that security updates can be prepared in advance of their public disclosure. Support inquiries should be directed to one of the above public channels.
Other Non-Support Communication Channels¶
The following channels are not specifically meant for user support inquiries, though they may still be useful for staying informed on matters related to LTS.
- debian-lts-announce
Description: Important information about new uploads and the status of the LTS distribution are posted here, including security advisories for packages updated in LTS. If you are using the LTS updates on any systems, it is highly recommended that you subscribe to this list, to ensure you are kept fully up-to-date.
Subscription policy: open
- debian-lts-changes
Description: All new package uploads to the LTS (“Long-Term Support”) suite are announced here. You should subscribe to this list if you want immediate notification of every package upload to LTS. If you only wish to receive announcements of new package releases on LTS, you may wish to subscribe to the debian-lts-announce mailing list instead.
Subscription policy: open
- Monthly LTS Team Meetings
TODO: Update this link after site restructure.
The Debian LTS Team holds monthly meetings in public (alternating between IRC and Jitsi each month). Attendance at the meetings is open to anyone in the community, but the meeting is focused on operational and administrative issues of the Debian LTS Team. The meeting is not a general discussion forum nor a support forum.