Debian GNU/Linux is in many ways a unique distribution, being developed
and maintained by far more than 400 volunteers spread across the entire
planet.

Debian has no need to hide behind any of the commercial Linux distributions
on the market. It can be purchased just as easily from local CD or book stores,
often at a far better price.

The Debian distribution is being put together with a lot of care, and you
will notice that. We have written down some items that should explain
this statement.

Continuity

The Debian packaging system permits a seamless transition to newer
program versions without the requirement to begin a new installation from
scratch, and it won't delete your old configuration. The dependencies between
programs are handled automatically.

Stability

Debian has no commercial pressure and will not release a new and possibly
unstable version just because the market requires that. The Debian maintainers
will test the system thoroughly and attempt to remove all known bugs before
releasing a new version of Debian.

Variety

More than 2100 packages offer applications for every need. Debian is
the largest available collection of free software. All packages come
precompiled and preconfigured.

Just install and go!

Availability

Debian is available completely free on the Internet -- if you want that.
Usually it is cheaper to purchase the CD, updates can be downloaded
from the Internet. A list of vendors can be found at:

http://www.debian.org/distrib/vendors

Freedom

Debian consists completely of Free Software. This provides for an
unlimited use of Debian even in commercial environments. All source code
for the software is available.

Community

You can either just enjoy Debian for yourself, or you can participate actively.
Debian always welcomes suggestions, criticism, questions and bug reports.
The worldwide Debian community helps you 24 hours a day via the Internet.

More information:
http://bugs.debian.org/
http://www.debian.org/Mailing-Lists/subscribe

IRC: irc.debian.org, #debian
     Germany: irc.uni-erlangen.de, #debian.de



A distribution, created by a bunch of voluntary programmers, spread across
the whole world -- can this work at all?

We say, ``Yes, it works``, and our success is the proof. Debian is
nowadays one of the most important Linux distributions.

The success of Debian rests upon a few elements which we would like to
introduce to you now.

Debian is based on a couple of important texts like the
Social Contract, the DFSG (Debian Free Software
Guidelines) and the Debian Policy. You can read these texts
online at 'http://www.debian.org'.

The Social Contract defines some commitments of the Debian project
which we abide by, and its purpose is to give both developers and users
certain safeties.

For example, all of our effort is oriented towards the needs of our
users and free software. Debian allows the free sale of the distribution
and of systems designed around it. If we develop software for Debian, we
will license it as Free Software.

Our Bug Reporting System (BTS) is publically available because there is
nothing we need to hide from our users. You can at any time find out how
far the processing of a bug report has proceeded.

Our most important commitment, the Social Contract, guarantees that now
and in the future Debian will consist of completely free software.
On the one hand this makes the commercial use of Debian possible at all,
while on the other hand this ensures that the project will live on.

Debian has its own definition of Free Software in the DFSG.
Our demands are for the software to be freely redistributable and the
source code to be available. This gives us the chance to adapt programs
to Debian's needs, remove bugs or even to continue the development of a
software if its original author has lost the interest in it.

The Debian Policy defines basic requirements for the packages that
get assembled for Debian in order to keep up the high quality of the whole
distribution. These standards, paired with automatic verification
mechanisms, provide you with an easy installation of packages and painless
accomodation without unpleasant surprises.

These were but a few items that led to Debian's success. If you want to
learn more about the Debian project, please visit our website at
http://www.debian.org, or check out Linux events in your
local area (like Linux exhibitions, congresses, installation parties or user
groups) -- there is a good chance for you to meet some Debian experts
or users there.

See you then!