Re: General Resolution: Removing non-free
Hi,
So far, we have always packages ``All the packages fit to
package''. The only criteria has been that we be legally allowed to
package software, and that some one finds it useful enough to spend
the effort packaging it. Indeed, when we could not distribute the
binaries, we created sourece only packages, or installer packages.
It was, IMHO, a judicious mix of free software evengelism, and
one of creating the *BEST* distribution, with all the useful
software we could package. I could almost always find any software
available out there already packaged for debian. We were the
inclusive distribution, and we showed our comitment to free software
by only bundling free software on our CD's, and our commitment to
useful distribution and our social contract by packaging and
supporting the other software that did not meet our guidelines but
was useful to our users.
I like the fact we can cater to people who like free software
(never put non-free in your apt sources), as well as to people who
just want a useful distribution -- and we can, gently, try to win
them over to free alternatives wehre such exist. We offer a choice,
we do not impose. We evangelize, we do not force.
Those who think this does not help Debian obviously have not
really thought it through.
This GR is disturbin. It throws away the promises made in the
social contract. It is exclusionary. It reduces the utility of Debian
to a number of users, and thus would marginalize us into a non
entity. And it makes us committed to the free distribution, as
opposed to the best free distribution.
I am not convinced that this is a good idea.
manoj
--
As I was passing Project MAC, I met a Quux with seven hacks. Every
hack had seven bugs; Every bug had seven manifestations; Every
manifestation had seven symptoms. Symptoms, manifestations, bugs, and
hacks, How many losses at Project MAC?
Manoj Srivastava <srivasta@debian.org> <http://www.debian.org/%7Esrivasta/>
1024R/C7261095 print CB D9 F4 12 68 07 E4 05 CC 2D 27 12 1D F5 E8 6E
1024D/BF24424C print 4966 F272 D093 B493 410B 924B 21BA DABB BF24 424C
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