>because git repo > source release so it's clearly not equal.
No, they have different uses. I simply want to install the software, so I want a source release tarball. Source releases include more than what a git repo provides, such as pre-built configure scripts and Makefiles. A tag in a git repo is no substitute for a proper release.
That's true for something that uses e.g. autoconf, but moreutils doesn't build any makefile or configure script, it's right there in the Git repository. So I see what your objection is for packages in general, but it doesn't apply in this case.
We package moreutils in GNU Guix, and it's much more preferable to download a source tarball than have to clone a git repo, so we download the tarball from Debian. We clone the git repo when there's no other choice, but it's far from ideal.
No, they have different uses. I simply want to install the software, so I want a source release tarball. Source releases include more than what a git repo provides, such as pre-built configure scripts and Makefiles. A tag in a git repo is no substitute for a proper release.