Bug#839570: Browserified javascript and DFSG 2 (reopening)
]] "Joseph R. Justice"
> I'll be honest, I assumed from what I've read that a decision had
> already been made by the FTP team against Mr. Praveen. I figured that
> it must have been, or else why would he be raising this bug with the
> TC now?
It's not clear that it has, which is one of the reasons why there are so
many questions asked.
> He's just hoping to avoid the stigma of having to be in contrib
> / non-free for the release of Debian Stretch, by seeking a variance
> that this issue is RC-buggy *for now* so that the various pieces of
> software can be in main, while he works on achieving that possible,
> preferable outcome during the preparation of Stretch+1 which will
> permanently resolve the issue of whether this issue is RB-buggy.)
I think it'd be preferable for the software to be in contrib (AFAIK
there's nothing here which is non-free?) until those pretty important
defects are worked out. If that is a black mark on the software, it
might just as easily be seen as motivation for something to be fixed as
some sort of stigma. I also disagree with implying that software in
contrib or non-free carries stigma with it. It just means that it needs
software outside of Debian to build or function, or has a license that
is not DFSG free.
Trying to use the timing of this as some sort of leverage to get an
exception because it's too hard to get grunt packaged in time fills me
with little sympathy. The initial bug was filed back in March (817092),
and did not receive a reply until July. I'd also question that grunt is
so hard to package it takes more than six months to even get it into the
archive at all.
[...]
> I'm not a web developer. I have absolutely no idea how important these
> applications are in actual practice. They may have little use in the
> Real World. They may have tons of use. It may have strong adverse
> effects on users or potential users of Debian if these applications
> are not in Debian main; it may have little or no effect at all. In the
> worst possible case, potential users (be they individuals, or end user
> companies, or people selling software and services making use of
> Debian stable) maybe decide to use another distribution because they
> can't get what they want out of Debian stable main.
On the other hand, if we ship software we can't support and which has
freeness related problems, we might alienate existing or new users.
It's not at all clear that our users are served better by having this
software included.
[...]
> What advice, if any, does the TC have to offer Mr. Praveen as to how
> can he best achieve this goal, and what assistance if any can the TC
> offer him in terms of achieving it?
Frankly, I don't think it's very realistic to see all of this properly
resolved (including having toolchains uploaded, etc) before stretch
freezes, so my answer to your question would be 無, or at best just get
those packages into contrib and start on it immediately. There's always
a next release.
--
Tollef Fog Heen
UNIX is user friendly, it's just picky about who its friends are
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