non-us
While we're discussing the whole issue of archive reorganization, i think
it may be prudent to reconsider how we've placed non-us in relation to the
others.
It would seem that we should have a non-us section in each of main,
contrib, and non-free, since many people would like to use non-US
software, while still maintaining an entirely free system. And no, saying
"look at /usr/doc/package/copyright" is not a clear enough answer.
Also, do we need to make a distinction between export-controlled items
(pgp5-us, for example) and items which cannot be used in the US whatsoever
(pgp5i, for example)? It may not seem sensible to require the US users to
inspect the copyright file for each non-us package theyinstall. Likewise,
it's not entirely feasbile to ask them to forfeit use of non-us software
entirely.
Perhaps we need some way of tagging items as regards their geographic
status; yet, this seems to complex to implement in a real-world
distribution. Can anyone think of a woorkable solution?
Considering the options, it may be more reasonable to 1) overturn US
export restrictions and 2) eliminate US patent law ;)
Looking for feedback,
ed.
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