Re: sharefont package license sucks, even for non-free
On Fri, 3 Nov 2000, Peter S Galbraith wrote:
> - You `may naturally want to be cut in', but you are using
> Debian resources to do it. I think the Debian part of
> distributing shareware should be free, including the packaging
> of it by the Debian maintainer.
We all shoot for free software but at that time (1996!!!) there were
barely any fonts available under Linux. The license is an upstream license
since I am the creator of the sharefont package which is widely
distributed apart from Debian. The license is not only for Debian. I made
the package before I joined the Debian project.
> - If you don't like to package shareware, you don't have to.
> I'd even be happier you you hadn't encouraged the use of
> shareware in the first place by packaging it.
The difference between no scalable fonts and some fonts was really
motivating back then. In 2000 I would not do it. The individual font
licenses are all screwed up too.
> Some developers may find it funny. I simply don't like the image
> it gives Debian if new users read that copyright file.
You are talking about non-free..... And some teasers to activate brain
activity are very useful.
> Please consider removing your cut, or rephrasing such that your
> point is made more clearly (if that was your intention), or
> even removing the package altogether.
I cannot do that. The package was licensed under those terms and it is
circulating that way widely among the users of Linux. I do not intend to
make any changes to the sharefont package. I might update the Debian
packaging which is something entirely different. There is no special
licensing for Debian nor did I add a special licensing as a Debian
maintainer.
> (As a side note, I'm not for the removal of the non-free section,
> but I would be for the removal of all shareware packages from
> non-free. I don't see why Debian should be working for these
> people, doing their distribution work for them.)
Its not entirely a Debian issue. You are talking with the upstream author
too.
I really do not care about sharefont these days. It probably belongs into
a museum of artifacts of the early open source movement.
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