Debian's "Modify & Redistribute" Policy (was: the ncurses "brushfire")

[Brian White <bcwhite@verisim.com>]

> > However now that I *have* done what I should have done two years ago
> > and familiarized myself with the license, I think that there is a
> > significant problem with the ncurses license as it stands---in that it
> > does not guarantee anyone the right to distribute modified versions.
> >
> > Without this guarantee, written into the license, Debian cannot use
> > ncurses.  And even if you were to grant us special dispensation, our
> > informal charter would forbid us using ncurses as the base of our
> > product---it would be, at best, a compatability library.
> >
> > How do we resolve this issue?
> 
> I don't yet know.  I believe Debian's position on this is (a)
> unreasonable,

I agree with you on this.  I personally believe that Debian should relax
this requirement about non-modifiable & redistributable code not being
suitable for the primary distribution.  I've never seen how it helps any
cause other than sticking a finger in the eye of those who might like
to keep some medium of control over their work.

                                          Brian
                                 ( bcwhite@verisim.com )

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    In theory, theory and practice are the same.  In practice, they're not.


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