Rich Freeman posted on Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:45:04 -0500 as excerpted:

> Again, you're using coreutils as an example, and that doesn't seem like
> something that would be much of a value-add to place in RDEPEND.
> However, if you had a package that required openssh, that would seem to
> be a much better candidate for an RDEPEND, since it is trivial to boot a
> system without openssh installed despite it being in system.

For years I had openssh in package.provided, since I literally did not 
have a use for it at all.  Then portage changed something and that didn't 
work, so I had it added as a negative dependency in packages (where 
busybox and module-init-tools are now, since I don't need either, all 
modules built-in so no module-loading needed and I have a full backup 
system install image copied over and test-booted for verification as my 
rescue image so no rescue shell needed, and I never could get busybox to 
build back when I used to try, until I gave up as no need for it anyway).

But when I got the netbook setup with the build chroot on the main 
system, I installed ssh to handle secure rsyncing and remote admin from 
my main system.  So THEN I needed it and simply deleted the negative 
dependencies.

But I STILL argue that ssh doesn't belong in @system.  It's as optional 
and special-purpose as X is, and xorg isn't in system.  If people want 
it, they can merge it, just like any other package.  Really, the same 
applies to busybox, and arguably, even to module-init-tools (and the more 
recent replacement, kmod...), since that's not needed if people choose to 
build all their drivers into the kernel.

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman