Re: Bug#285518: misdn-utils includes a firmware loader
On Tue, Dec 14, 2004 at 10:58:52AM +0100, Tollef Fog Heen wrote:
> * Simon Richter
>
> | > (If the firmware used by this tool really is Free Software, my
> | > apologies. However, in that case, the firmware still does not appear to
> | > be available in Debian.)
> |
> | The tool is generic, hence I cannot make any assumptions on the
> | freeness of any firmware that may be loaded with it once the mISDN
> | stack reaches a non-beta state.
It's fine for software in main to be able to do stuff with non-free
data; that's not the issue. The question is whether there *exists* any free
data that it works with, and if not, whether that's a problem.
> You might also want to look into the ruling from tech-ctte on 119517
> (referenced in the bug logs) wrt "dependency" when it's a minor part
> on a package's purpose.
That's an issue of "Depends:", not of the Social Contract's "never make
the system depend on an item of non-free software", which I believe is
the issue. (My understanding--which may well be wrong, of course--is that
the tech-ctte's authority does not extend to the Social Contract or the
DFSG.)
--
Glenn Maynard
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