On Wed, Nov 07, 2001 at 09:52:32PM -0700, Richard Stallman wrote: > I see no harm in your idea for /usr/share/doc/<package>/copyright, but > trying to exclude such material from elsewhere would cause big > problems between Debian and GNU. I will urge Debian most strongly > not to adopt this policy. Having permission to do a thing is not the same thing as encouraging it, or trying to do it. As you pointed out in your other reply to me, there's no reason authors can't choose not to exercise the "Copying in Quantity" section of the GNU FDL, even if you don't see why they'd want to do so, and the FSF may elect not to encourage it. Similarly, the nature of my compromise is such that people are not encouraged to "exclude such material from elsewhere"; but they are permitted to do it. I did point out earlier that I didn't think most people would go to the trouble unless the material were really obnoxious. Again, it's not the FSF's unmodifiable content that worries me; it is the potential for abuse on the part of other parties using the GNU FDL that *don't* have the FSF's exemplary track record as good members (indeed, critical, core members) of the community. At the same time I think you can understand why permitting works under a given license into Debian if they come from the FSF, but not some other organization, would be a problematic approach. -- G. Branden Robinson | If you make people think they're Debian GNU/Linux | thinking, they'll love you; but if branden@debian.org | you really make them think, they'll http://people.debian.org/~branden/ | hate you.
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