Re: Debian Free Software (FSF) or Open Source? (was Re; non-cd...)
On Sat, 27 Jun 1998, Kevin Atkinson wrote:
>
> Yes I am very aware that the Open Source Definition is identical to the
> Debian Free Software Guidelines.
>
I don't get your point then.
> > I think the contrast you're describing between free software and open
> > source does not exist. Open source is just a marketing name for free
> > software. Thus Debian is both, not one or the other.
>
> I think the contrast does defiantly exists. If it does not then why
> would Web Review say
>
...
>
> Source (http://webreview.com/wr/pub/freeware/whatsnew.html)
>
Yes, the article is comparing the two terms "free" and "open source."
Richard Stallman likes the name free because it emphasizes the moral side
of things; "open source" is supposed to sell the software to business, and
that's why it was created (in part, a new name was needed so it could be
trademarked).
However, both terms refer to the same thing. Qt, MySQL, and whatever else
you want in the main Debian distribution can't even use the term Open
Source to describe themselves due to the trademark. Qt uses the term
"free" all the time, but they are not according to most people's
definition of "free software."
Are you aware that the contrib and non-free directories are maintained in
exactly the same way main is? There's nothing lower quality about them.
They're just different directories, and they're not on the official CD (as
much because Debian could be sued as for ideological reasons).
> Yes, but the exact goals are diffrent and I think Debain's goal--even
> though the Open Source Movement used Debians defination for the Open
> Source Definition--is more toward the FSP.
>
Not really. There were and are Debian representatives involved in the
whole Open Source thing.
Your view seems to be spreading, I'm not sure who's spreading it, but it's
certainly not Eric Raymond and other big proponents of the term "open
source." RMS should start using the term open source just to be sure this
doesn't happen.
Anyway. Please, if you want a non-free distribution, go use SUSE, Caldera,
Slackware, or any other you like. But don't email hundreds of people that
work on free software daily and try to tell them they don't know what free
software is.
Havoc Pennington ==== http://pobox.com/~hp
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