Re: Discussion - non-free software removal
* Branden Robinson <branden@debian.org> [021115 23:33]:
> On Thu, Nov 14, 2002 at 04:05:29PM -0800, Craig Dickson wrote:
> > An even simpler, more in-your-face approach would simply be to (ab)use
> > debconf to put up one of those "informational" dialog boxes saying,
> > "This is a non-free program. You might want to consider the following
> > free alternatives: ...". This has the advantage that the user is more
> > likely to see it (s/he may not look at the package's dependencies), but
> > the disadvantage that s/he won't see it at all unless and until a
> > non-free package is installed.
>
> Proposals like this will require the cooperation of non-free package
> maintainers. If they feel it is condescending, insulting, misguided, or
> whatever to communicate the availability of free alternatives, they will
> simply refuse to do this.
This is my eyes a reason against the GR.
With having Debian's non-free (and it will stay debian's, whatever is
done with it) on independent machines, the influence on this vanishes.
In my eyes it will only hurt Debian.
I think non-free will survive and confusion will not be less, if there is
a www.non-debian.org, that newbies will be told to put in there
sources.list, as it still has debian-package format, depends on
debian-packages for libs and will be maintained almost only by Debian
Developers. (Can you image any newbe, that will not think of it as
"Debian"?)
And it will decrease resources for free-software
(decreasing labour, as some DD will have to set up paralell structures,
decreasing machines, as machines sponsored for this would be sponsored
for debian otherwise, and so on).
And leat but not least I fear this would eventually end up in non-free
packages ending up in main. (As some really important package, that
is only over the non-free border by very subtile details, could cause
some very strong pressure. (Anyone has new information, what the new
LaTeX-licence will look like?))
So I still wait to get told a single advantage of this GR in order
to get rid of non-free software. (As this is the goal we should look,
at in my eyes, and not some personal emotions)
Hochachtungsvoll,
Bernhard R. Link
--
<gEistiO> sagen wir mal...ich hab alle sourcen in /lost+found/waimea
<me> gEistiO: [...] Warum lost+found?
<gEistiO> wo haette ich es denn sonst hingeben solln?
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