Re: Please remove RFCs from the documentation in Debian packages

[Isaac To <kkto@csis.hku.hk>]

>>>>> "Brian" == Brian May <bam@debian.org> writes:

    Brian> Couldn't you write a new document along the lines of "This is
    Brian> based on RFC1341 with the following exceptions ...."?

    Brian> That way you can see exactly what differences there are to the
    Brian> known standard, at a glance, without having to resort to using
    Brian> tools like diff.

Don't mix up the philosophical problem with the technical concerns.  Yes,
there are times when what you say makes sense and is preferable.  But at
other times there are other concerns that makes it impractical or difficult
(e.g., there are just too many changes, new concepts are introduced, etc).

The question is not whether there are situations when it is no good for
users to change the documents.  It is instead whether the author of the RFCs
(or the IETF RFC process) should restrict me from using the standard that
way if I found it to best suit my needs---and if they do restrict me,
whether Debian should still say it is part of the free stuffs that it
delivers.

Regards,
Isaac.