[SID - Unstable] Bug reporting etiquette for out of date packages in unstable/experimental?

[rollingraider]

Hi there, new to Debian Sid coming from other rolling release distributions.

I read through the Debian Bug Reporting wiki (https://www.debian.org/Bugs/Reporting) but didn't see this topic addressed. What's the etiquette in the project regarding reporting out of date packages in Sid (e.g.: gzip, gettext, less, make, gawk, etc.)? If the current version is not already in unstable or experimental on packages.debian.org, should /usr/bin/reportbug be used to notify the package maintainer or is there a more appropriate vehicle?

Thanks, RR

[dilberts_left_nut]

Yes.
The bug report (to Debian) is against the version available in the repo.
It's then up to the maintainer to address, which may involve updating to a newer version, if that addresses the bug, or pushing the report upstream or maybe patching themself in some circumstances.

What you DON'T want to do is submit bug reports against an old version to the upstream devs (reference the Xscreensaver drama).

[wizard10000]

I think before filing a bug report it might be wise to check https://tracker.debian.org/package_name to see if there's a reason why the package hasn't been upgraded.

[dilberts_left_nut]

Ah, misread the OP, sorry.