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Re: Give Out Just Binary CDS [was: Paying CD vendors for freebies]



On Thu, 27 May 1999, Will Lowe wrote:

> > post. To rephrase: "Should we consider offering only the main binary CDs
> > as the freebies at expos, instead of the main, contrib, and source CDs?
> 
> It'd probably be seen as pretty hypocritical for us,  the ones who are
> always yelling about free software and being able to get the sources and
> stuff to give out _just_ binary CDs. 

No doubt it might be seen that way; however, from a cost standpoint,
giving out just main means we can get double the installations handed out
at a given expo for the same cost (for slink, at least). Whether the
cost is borne by Debian or by a CD vendor is irrelevant, I think. In
either case, for a given pile of resources, we could evangelize N
potential installations, or 2*N potential installations.

And from a GPL morality standpoint, there's nothing in the GPL that says
one *has* to give away the source right then, right there, and at zero
cost. Even the FSF sells some fairly expensive CDs of the stuff that's
available via ftp.

--
Mike Renfro  / Instructor, Basic Engineering Program
931 372-3601 / renfro@tntech.edu


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