Re: Your petition to GPL Qt

[Joseph Carter <knghtbrd@debian.org>]

On Tue, Dec 22, 1998 at 07:13:54AM +0100, rolf@max.lui.uni-tuebingen.de wrote:
> okay! important idea!
> but what has this to do with KDE? or the QT license?

Debian is concerned about Qt's license and about the future of KDE.


> dont you understand that the most important thing is to keep
> KDE moving forwards?

Many in Debian believe the best way to help KDE move forward is to fix
the licensing issues.  With Troll's announcement that Qt would become
free software, KDE's support surged.


> debian is just another linux distribution no more no less,
> thats it.

It's only the largest Linux distribution and made of entirely free
software.  It's also the second most popular, currently Redhat is more
popular.  But now the license issues are being resolved.  Debian will be
more than happy to put KDE into main, alongside Qt and available directly
on our CDs everything a user needs to run KDE on their system.


> there is a difference between loosing debian and loosing the
> most advanced desktop project.

Along the same thread as above, KDE lost Debian already.  We never like
removing good software from the distribution but at the time we saw no
other alternative.  Debian is however working to bring KDE back.  And
because of Troll Tech's and Debian's work on making Qt's license the best
we can make it, the latest Redhat Rawhide includes the KDE 1.1 prerelease
already.  You're not losing Debian, you're gaining Debian and Redhat.


> the debian team has showed more than once that they dislike KDE.
> looking at the mailinglists they would even change their
> DFSG to get a good reason to abolish KDE 

This is a flat lie.  Debian as a whole has more or less told one person
who suggested changing the DFSG in a way that would have made the QPL
v.90 not DFSG free.  However the one who made this proposal was working
on it before Troll Tech's announcement and the general consensus of the
developers is that while we dislike licenses which require mods as
patches, most of us don't believe they should be non-free.

If you were not just spreading FUD you would know that the argument
against the DFSG2 draft has been almost overwhelming and would never pass
a vote---and it would have to pass a vote to be accepted.

As for how much Debian hates KDE and wants to destroy it, I think you had
better look at the archives of this list.  Pay particular attention to my
messages.  From the point of Troll Tech's announcement they intend to
release the next Qt as free software, Debian has been working with them
to make the license the best it can be for all of us.

Most of the changes between the original draft QPL and the current draft
were inspired by Debian's work and my personal investment of more than
two weeks between QPL v.90 and v.91.    To say that Debian is doing
everything it can including changing the DFSG to keep KDE out is a lie,
pure and simple.  Debian has done everything in its power to make KDE in
Debian possible.


> PS.: a GPL QT is a bad idea even with a promise of RMS.
> remember there are USERS out there who depend on
> KDE moving forward.
> there is NO room for experiments left.

GPL Qt does not meet Troll Tech's goals for compatibility with the widest
range of Free Software possible.

-- 
NO ONE expects the Spanish Inquisition!