Bug#31311: Comments on Debian packages and installation
Package: dpkg
Version: 1.4.0.31
Severity: wishlist
"Richard" == Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org> writes:
> Many different practical reasons "encourage" or pressure people to
> use non-free software. Proprietary software developers make great
> efforts to create such reasons.
[...]
> On the 20th anniversary of starting the GNU project, five years from
> now, I hope that it won't be necessary for me to launch a new
> project to develop a complete *free* operating system. I hope that
> GNU/Linux will still be one. But will it be? Only if people stand
> firm.
Richard, I think that your ultimate point, which is that point of the
GPL as I read it, is to encourage free software and the community of
sharing. And I think that we have shown that Debian cares a great
deal about this issue as well, and has shown dedication in propogating
it.
However, your issue is with how non-free relationships are presented
in dselect. I'm sure you're not against us packaging any non-free
packages, as that would mean basically the utter removal of non-free
and contrib sections in our distribution, and I haven't seen you ask
that. So barring that, I think we can change the dselect interface to
accomodate your worry.
As you may know, no package in the main Debian distribution may
'depend' or 'recommend' a non-free package. The 'suggests'
relationship, which is only intepreted by dselect, needs to have it's
GUI mechanics tuned so that relationships with non-free packages are
*presented* without actually causing users to worry that they need
that package. I think that can be done pretty simply with some
verbage in dselect.
This message is a bug against dpkg to formulate this verbage and
implement it in dselect. I hope IWJ has a chance to consider and
implement this; he's always very careful and complete about these
things.
--
.....Adam Di Carlo....adam@onShore.com.....<URL:http://www.onShore.com/>
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