mass bug filing for unmet dependencies (Was: firmware status for eagle-usb-*)

[Michael Poole <mdpoole@troilus.org>]

Raul Miller writes:

> > My opinion is that if someone wants Debian to distribute the firmware,
> > treat it as software, and apply the DFSG to it; otherwise, treat it as
> > outside the Debian system in the respect that the driver should not be
> > considered to depend on the firmware.  I think this is consistent with
> > our practice for other things on the far side of a low-level interface.
> 
> Note that we do treat dependencies on software we do not distribute as
> real dependencies.

In the goal of seeking consistency, I think this requires mass bug
filing against packages with unmet dependencies, including:

- grub, lilo, and anything other bootloader that runs on platforms
  where Debian does not ship a free BIOS
- kernels for those platforms, since they depend on a bootloader, and
  Debian does not ship a bootloader
- everything that requires the APIs provided by those kernels

.. oops.  I assume you didn't mean that, although it is not clear to
me why a bootloader is so different from a driver.  Being less strict:

- rdesktop since it requires the non-free Windows Terminal Server
- libpisock8, ic35link, librapi2, libsynce0, kpilot since they require
  non-Debian software on the PDA end
- libgnokii2, gsm-utils, scmxx, startalk since Debian does not run on
  cell phones or implement the other end of those protocols
- xtel since Debian does not include a Minitel server
- evolution-exchange since Debian does not include an Exchange server
- gaim, gnomeicu, libicq2000, alicq, ayttm, bitlbee, centericq,
  irssi-plugin-icq, licq, sim since Debian does not include an ICQ
  server
- googlizer since it requires something that implements a Google web
  interface
- fetchyahoo since it Debian does not provide anything that implements
  the Yahoo! webmail interface
- libct1 since Debian does not include servers that implement that SQL
  protocol
- bpalogin since Debian does not include a Telstra login server
- hx since Debian does not include a Hotline server
- lopster, nap since Debian does not include a Napster server
- naim, pork, tik since Debian does not include an AIM server
- vpnc since Debian does not include an EasyVPN server
- amule, xmule since Debian does not include an eMule server

I think those depend on non-free or non-Debian software at least as
much as a device driver depends on firmware for its device.  Without
the other end of these protocols, the software in Debian is not
useful.  (gaim is the partial exception, since it talks some protocols
that have server implementations in Debian.)

Michael Poole