GPL violations [was Re: Suggestion: Skip Slink!]

[ijr@po.cwru.edu]

On 06-Jan-99 Avery Pennarun wrote:
> 
> Violating the GPL?  If packages are different between i386 and sparc (which
> they regularly are, since non-i386 arches have fewer developers yet), then
> the FTP site already violates the GPL by not including two different source
> archives (or diffs).  We know about that, it'll probably get fixed sometime. 
> Meanwhile, releasing a CD with the same files on it is no better or worse. 
> Once the problem is fixed, CD's won't violate the GPL if the FTP site
> doesn't.
> 

This annoys me.  You (meaning Debian as a whole) decide to remove KDE because
it violates the GPL.  This infraction only recieves a "it'll probably get fixed
sometime". Some double standard..  Debian is allowed to ignore the GPL while
software developers must follow it to the letter? This is just as serious an
infraction, if not moreso, than the KDE problem. IMO, every package without
source available should be removed pronto. "But but it'll break ...."  Big fat
deal, maybe someone will be more inclined to actually fix it, instead of just
babbling about possible ways to do so.

Isaac