Re: Free Software criteria -- about "Software distributions"

[Davi Leal]

David Paleino wrote:
> > The facts which we currently know are:
> >
> >  * Debian GNU/linux contains non-free software BLOBs in
> >    the Linux kernel, like Ubuntu.
>
> There is people who is working on it.

It is good there are people working to fix it.

> If you use this as a criterion, every GNU/Linux distribution is
> non-free. It's a Linux kernel problem. 

No, it can be fixed.

For example, the gNewSense GNU/Linux distribution removes such BLOBs before 
building the linux-image kernel packages.

Not all GNU/Linux distributions are non-free.


> >  * The Debian organization works to provide easy access to
> >    non-free software.
>
> Not true.

I personally think it is true.  I have read the FAQ you have posted. You can 
read below the rationale.


> > The Debian organization offers the download of non-free software packages
> > (non-free) in the same http/ftp servers than the free software one
> > (main).
>
> Wrong.
> The default repositories exclude both contrib (free software which depends
> on non-free software) and non-free (non-free software).
>
> Then the user must _MANUALLY_ add them. It's not promotion of non-free
> software.

I am not talking about the default configured repositories. I am talking about 
the packages served from the debian http/ftp servers. Debian serves non-free 
software.


> > > If you refer to the non-free repositories, they're not part of the
> > > official Debian distribution, they exist just as a favour to users
> > > which use non-free software.
> >
> > As a favour?  That is a clear promotion of non-free software!  Debian is
> > _working to_ provide easy access to non-free software.
>
> Again, not true. Read the links I posted in my last mail.

The below text is the content of such link:


 > Q: Doesn't even Debian include some non-free software?
 >
 > A: No.
 >    We do allow some non-free packages to use our distribution
 >    infrastructure, but they are not actually part of Debian proper.

The above answer is contradictory!

First it reads
      No.
and later is reads
      We do allow some non-free packages to use our distribution
      infrastructure, ...

How can such packages 'use' the Debian distribution infrastructure and at the 
same time not actually be part of Debian proper.

It is an easy trick, we re-define "Debian proper" to exclude what is 
annoying  :)

  "stressing free software freedoms for their own sake, one learns
   how to lose those freedoms."

I understand Debian want be popular. You know ...

 >    (There are some requirements on licenses for such non-free
 >    programs, so debian-legal does sometimes examine the licenses
 >    of non-free programs for distributability; it is not a priority
 >    though.)   

 >    The existence of this non-free area can lead to confusion, so
 >    some members of Debian would like to remove non-free from our
 >    servers. On the other hand, many packages in non-free have
 >    migrated into Debian proper when their authors changed their
 >    almost-free licenses to make them actually free, and some have
 >    had their functionality painlessly migrated to newly available
 >    free alternatives.      

 >    For this reason, other Debian developers want to retain the
 >    status quo. 

This last sentence must be read too. So, some Debian developers want to retain 
such non-free packages!


Just my current personal opinion,

Davi