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Re: "Non-Free GFDL" and correct packaging practices



On Thu, Jan 22, 2004 at 01:32:54AM +0000, Scott James Remnant wrote:

> The package has already undergone Xuification which means two binary
> packages are created; 'gnuhell' which contains the binary and support
> files (all GPL) and 'gnuhell-doc' which contains the info documentation
> (GFDL).

> Assuming the maintainer believes the GFDL is sufficiently non-free to
> warrant taking pre-emptive action and removing it, what's the right
> thing to do?

> Can he simply change the section of gnuhell-doc (with appropriate
> overrides changes) to non-free/doc?  This would mean that the GFDL
> documentation is still in the pristine original tar file, but
> distributed in binary form in the correct package.

As a practical matter, it is not, AFAIK, possible (or at least, not
acceptable) to create non-free binary packages from source packages in
main, nor vice-versa.  Therefore, two separate source packages would
need to be uploaded...

> Or does he have to remove the GFDL-infected documentation from the tar
> file, thereby creating a Debian-native package and remove all trace and
> mention of the 'gnuhell-doc' package from it -- and then create a *new*
> source package for 'gnuhell-doc' which only contains the info file and
> is distributed as non-free.

in which case, you might as well build the tarball for the free source
package the same way as you build the tarball for the non-free source
package (i.e., by carving up the upstream archive).

As a question of principle, I also believe this is the correct practice
because of the contract we've made stating that everything in our main
archive is covered by the freedoms listed in the DFSG.

Cheers,
-- 
Steve Langasek
postmodern programmer

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