jamesh wrote: ↑Tue Oct 16, 2018 10:00 am
And why would we sack anyone?
I said there is no need

Letting the contract expire and then just remove it without telling anyone was a bit strange and may not be entirely intentional?
So when ShiftPlusOne announced it is back again the Monty Python
phrase "We apologise .... Those responsible have been sacked." (which he could jokingly use in his post) immediately came to my mind.
jamesh wrote: ↑Tue Oct 16, 2018 10:00 am
The huge majority of people don't use Mathematica, and had to download it (700MB of the image was Mathematica!) anyway. And it could make a simple apt udpate take forever. On the whole, not having it distributed by default is a win for most people. Having it in the repo is a much better option, if Wolfram are happy with that.
Yes, exactly, this is best way (also mentioned in the first post).
jamesh wrote: ↑Tue Oct 16, 2018 10:00 am
I don't believe there is yet an official position on whether it will remain
No problem, if it is gone and then back again there are still enough Monty Python lines to handle that.