Debian Weekly News - email

To: debian-policy@lists.debian.org
Subject: Re: [PROPOSED] Change package relations policy to remove references to non-free from main
From: Manoj Srivastava <srivasta@debian.org>
Organization: The Debian Project
Date: 30 Nov 1999 13:26:43 -0600

Hi,
>>"Wichert" == Wichert Akkerman <wichert@cistron.nl> writes:

 Wichert> Yes and no. It's actually a nice addition to the current sent of
 Wichert> relations since we had no way for this kind of reverse relation.

        I agree.

 Wichert> It's true that for some of the existing relations replacing
 Wichert> Suggests with Recommends puts the responsibility on the
 Wichert> wrong package. However a reverse relation is the only way to
 Wichert> completely remove references to non-main packages from main,

        Since when has political correctness and quick hacks been
 favoured over doing things the right way? The correct thing is not to
 coerce the relationship into what it is not because we have been
 cowed by the FSF.

 Wichert> which is what this proposal is all about. It's not all about
 Wichert> design, there is a political message here as well. We want
 Wichert> to be able to have a completely free system and be able to
 Wichert> say "here, you can use this and you'll be happy. You don't
 Wichert> need anything that's not free at all". If we put weaken
 Wichert> Suggest or create a new weaker version of it we don't do
 Wichert> that since we still tell people that there are non-free
 Wichert> packages that can improve things.

        For gods, sake, there's your answert. Do not *SHOW* people the
 non-free package, or ever allude to t in any UI. Have dpkg and
 dselect and apt not offer non-free package, unless told. That is what
 you *WNAT* to do. These hacks being proposed here are, IMHO, grotesque.

        I would strongly oppose any dilution of technical design for
 the sake of religion. Especially since the only thing preventing us
 from the right solution seems to be, well, laziness.

        Why can't we set up our package management system to do the
 politically correct thing for those who choose to be politically
 correct without imposing our religion on everyone?


        manoj
--
 Established technology tends to persist in the face of new
 technology. Blaauw, one of the designers of System 360
Manoj Srivastava   <srivasta@debian.org> <https://www.debian.org/%7Esrivasta/>
Key C7261095 fingerprint = CB D9 F4 12 68 07 E4 05  CC 2D 27 12 1D F5 E8 6E

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