A checkout is used to get a copy from the current production version of a component (or variations like the previous version or the upcoming nearly-GA version), so that you can start a new version of it. But what about all those checkout requests that happened long time ago (a few days, weeks, months or years ago), and which are still in the same checkout status (= creating a new version of it has not yet started yet)?

Similarly, a stage (we always prefer to use a kind of synonym which is "check-in") is used to somehow indicate that you finished a newer version of a component (which you may re-stage, in the same package, at a later time if you'd want to). The idea is that after some (just one, a few or maybe even dozens), you should have created a final version, which is ready to be promoted / installed soon. But what about all those components that were staged long time ago (months or years ago), and which reside in packages that are not just installed / baselined?

For more details about this issue, checkout these related links:

• Dead checkout requests.
• Dead stage requests.

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