Re: Debian vs gNewSense -- FS criteria

[Richard Stallman]

    MJ Ray wrote:
    > I think we already know RMS's opinions because they have been recorded
    > many times:
    >
    > - FDL-with-invariants and the badgeware are not software, so it
    > doesn't matter that they aren't free software and free software
    > distributions may contain non-software somehow;

It is normal for software packages (free or non-free) to contain
various kinds of text (including manuals) which are not software.
Most of us do not find this shocking.

    > - gNewSense is allowed to have bugs but call itself Free still, while
    > debian is not;

Everybody makes mistakes, and we don't expect anyone to be perfect.
We just expect them to check and fix mistakes when reported.  When a
free distribution -- one that has a policy to reject non free software
-- has accidentally included non-free software, we ask them to fix it,
and presumably they do fix it, since it goes against their policy.

What makes Debian unacceptable is that its inclusion of non-free
software is not a mistake.  It is an explicit policy decision.

I wish it were a mistake, because then we could report it
and they would fix it.