On Thursday 13 October 2011 14:15:54 Sebastian Luther wrote:
> WARNING: One or more updates have been skipped due to a dependency
> conflict:
> 
> dev-python/numpy:0
>   (dev-python/numpy-1.6.0::gentoo, ebuild scheduled for merge) conflicts
> with ~dev-python/numpy-1.5.1 required by
> (sci-mathematics/sage-4.7.1-r2::sage-on-gentoo, installed)
> 
> dev-python/pexpect:0
>   (dev-python/pexpect-2.4-r1::sage-on-gentoo, ebuild scheduled for
> merge) conflicts with ~dev-python/pexpect-2.0 required by
> (sci-mathematics/sage-4.7.1-r2::sage-on-gentoo, installed)
> 
> Fact is that sci-mathematics/sage can't be made work without those deps.
> Fact is that I want this package and couldn't care less if I have the
> latest version of these other two packages.
> 
> If in turn I cared for the other two packages, then I would have to
> remove sage. It's a choice but nothing else.

it's a crap choice.  users shouldn't have to select from diff sets of packages 
because some are too broken to work properly.  it's a bug and needs to be 
fixed.  and it shouldn't require twisting of arms to make people fix their 
broken packages.

also, sci-mathematics/sage is a poor example here.  it isn't in the main tree.  
if people want to add poor packages to their overlays, they're free to.
-mike