Re: Packaging proprietary software

[Ben Finney <ben+debian@benfinney.id.au>]

Brian May <brian@microcomaustralia.com.au> writes:

> On 9 October 2014 09:03, Ben Finney <ben+debian@benfinney.id.au> wrote:
>
> > On that point: It is in poor taste to declare up front that you have
> > no intention of helping the free software community (which is what
> > it means to release proprietary software), and then in the same
> > message ask that same community for help in doing this.
> >
>
> It is possible to release the source to your packaging as open source
> with instructions on how to download the proprietary code and create
> the Debian packages.

Assisting someone to install proprietary software is not helping the
*free software* community.

It may be helping some other community, but not the community of users
making an expressly free operating system. This person was specifically
asking the community of a free software operating system for help in
distributing non-free software. That's what I'm pointing out is in poor
taste.

> So it is possible to package proprietary software and help the
> community in doing so.

I maintain that such help is not to the free software community.

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Ben Finney