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Re: [Pkg-fonts-devel] license violations with embedded binary copies of GNU FreeFont?



I once had a conversation with RMS about a similar topic, i.e. about the distributability of the binary Type 1 fonts in the psfonts package, for which no .sfd or other source file exists. Quoting him (the indented part is him quoting me):

    They are binary files, so you cannot create diffs between two
    versions. That is, the advantage of the openness of the source is void.

I see your point.  That is an aid for maintenance.

At the same time, the Type 1 font contains all the information
and can be converted automatically to the textual format.
So it is a valid source format.

Thus, I think these packages are valid and free as they are.
However, distributing the ASCII source would be an improvement.
So why not add that to your packages?

So after all, I don't think it's such a big deal if you distribute binary font files as long as they remain editable and convertable.

 - Fabian



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