Re: Content Rating System in Debian
Bagas Sanjaya wrote on 25/06/2019:
> Hello Debian Developers,
>
> Debian provides more than 51000 packages. From those packages, some are appropriate for every ages, and some others are
> only for specific age groups for some reasons.
>
> In order to inform to users, especially parents, about potentially objectionable content in Debian packages, Content
> Rating System (CRS) can be deployed to Debian. With CRS, users can choose to install packages that is rated for their
> age. In some cases, CRS also filter or block certain contents in certain jurisdictions when legally required.
>
> As in Google Play, Debian CRS is based on official ratings from International Age Rating Coalition (IARC).
The rating system in Google Play makes some sense (at least on paper)
because you can leave a phone to a kid, configured with their Google
account, and Google will allow to install only apps deemed appropriate
for the account holder's age.
There is no such a thing in Debian. There isn't a Debian account which
is able to give you partial access to the repositories. If you are root
you can install everything; if you aren't you can't install anything.
And when installing a package for a kid then checking its description is
probably better than any rating system.
We can't achieve the same result as Google, which in my opinion wouldn't
be useful anyway; see below.
> Pros:
> - Users, especially parents, can install packages suitable for their age. In case of parents, this apply to their
> sons/daughters.
I don't think there is a meaningful "Pro" here. The first and in most
cases only packages that would make sense to control are web browsers.
Nowadays not installing a web browser makes a computer almost useless
for almost any purpose a kid or teenager may want it for. At this point
it's just better to install a browser and leave the machine offline. At
least they'll have access to offline documentation! Or to a local
Wikipedia mirror.
> - For users in some jurisdiction, they can only install packages that is legal in their jurisdiction. For example, Debian
> users in USA can only install US version of GnuPG, but in outside USA, users can install international version of GnuPG
> instead.
Didn't this stop to be a thing in the late nineties?
The issue wouldn't be age-related anyway.
> Based on above, what are your opinions/thoughts/positions about Content Rating System in Debian?
My question is: are we trying to solve an actual problem here?
Are there packages that you would consider not suitable for young users,
and whose impact wouldn't be greatly inferior to the one of web browsers
(which, in my reasoning, are going to be installed anyway)? I hope the
answer is not fortunes-off here :-)
While this email is mostly a "thumbs down", I agree with Russ Allbery:
if a group feels strongly enough about CRS to do the work, I think it
will fit well in the debtags labeling system.
Paride
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