Re: [Fsuk-manchester] Talking about non-free software on the list

[Bob Ham]

On 2013-02-21 15:13, MJ Ray wrote:
> Simon Ward <address@hidden>
> > > Debian **(without the non-free repository)** as a "free software"
> > > distribution

> apparently it's not a free system distribution mainly because the
> project makes it too easy to discover that non-free software exists.
> Like anyone didn't know already.  Heck, the Free Software Definition
> mentions non-free programs!  Should FSF be condemned for recommending
> non-free software?  Or does whether it's a recommendation depend on
> who's talking about it?

This is a straw man.  The Free Software Definition describes the 
concept of non-free software, it doesn't recommend non-free programs and 
it doesn't explain how to go about acquiring them.  Debian GNU/Linux 
does recommend particular non-free programs and also describes how to 
acquire non-free programs through the non-free repository.

Here's what the FSF Guidelines say in the section on documentation:

  "[Documentation] must take care not to recommend nonfree software.
  ...
  a free system distribution may have documentation for users setting 
up dual boot systems. It could explain how to access filesystems of the 
proprietary operating system, import settings from it, and so on. That 
would be helping people install a free system distribution on a machine 
which already has proprietary software, which is good.
  ...
  What would be unacceptable is for the documentation to give people 
instructions for installing a nonfree program on the system, or mention 
conveniences they might gain by doing so."


Mentioning non-free software is not the issue.  Instructing users on 
how to install non-free software is one of the issues, along with 
encouraging the use of non-free software.


> Now, as I mentioned, we're rather snookered with the repository.  Its
> supporters don't want to move it, its opponents don't really want to
> work on its content at all, and since the FDL many are ambivalent
> towards FSF - so who's got any incentive to move it?
>
> Actually, I agree it's distributing non-free software.  That's not 
> the
> same as the project recommending it

Maintaining the non-free archive is not, by itself recommending 
non-free software.  Providing instructions on how to install non-free 
software could, arguably, be construed as encouraging the use of 
non-free software.

Putting these issues aside though, Debian recommends non-free software 
explicitly by having packages whose Recommends or Suggests fields point 
to packages from contrib or non-free.

--
Bob Ham <address@hidden>

for (;;) { ++pancakes; }