Re: [AMENDMENT]: Release Etch now, with source-less but legal and freely licensed firmware

[Sven Luther <sven.luther@wanadoo.fr>]

On Fri, Oct 06, 2006 at 12:28:38AM +1000, Anthony Towns wrote:
> On Thu, Oct 05, 2006 at 11:05:57AM +0200, Sven Luther wrote:
> > > >   5. We further note that some of these firmware do not have proper license,
> > Ah, no, i forgot to change this to what Manoj suggested this morning :
> >   We further note that some of these firmware do not have individual license,
> >   and thus implicitly fall under the the generic linux kernel GPL license.
> > We then continue by saying that we will distribute them as part of etch, and
> > investigate afterward, in the meanwhile urge the vendors to do the right thing ?
> 
> Oh right, sorry, that's completely different to what I thought you
> were saying.

:)

> > So, given the word modification above, is that not plainly what we say ? 
> 
> Yup. My only comment is that adding that clause to the GR will presumably
> delay us by another week, for no real benefit that I can see. As long
> as we're not trying to do something that we're simultaneously claiming
> is illegal, I'm happy with pretty much anything.

Cool.

> I presume various folks won't agree with the "license does not normally
> allow modification" part (as in, not just sourceless but definitively
> non-free stuff) clause, though -- that's what Manoj proposed his amendment
> to exclude, aiui.
> 
> Steve raised his GR for this issue on the 22nd August; it's now the 6th

Well, Steve was aware that a GR was being drafted by the kernel team, he
disregarded it and prefered to go with his own GR, with the result we saw, and
the mess that was caused by it.

> of September, and it'll be at least the 15th of October. Another week's

I guess that first one was the 6th of october.

> delay will mean we've spent two months trying to work out the right
> phrasing for allowing us to leave a couple of drivers in the kernel for
> now, that we're immediately going to work on removing as soon as etch
> is out. Do we really not have better things to do with our time?

Probably, especially if some start trying to get ad-hominem and bashing at
proposers.

I profundly believe that we should in the future impose a freeze of GRs 6
month before the supposed release date (and maybe a month after the supposed
release date if it slips).

Friendly,

Sven Luther