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Re: a Free Platform License?



On Thursday, November 24, "David Prévot" <taffit@debian.org> wrote:
> On 24/11/2011 14:08, Clark C. Evans wrote:
> > I'm looking for a software license, which Debian would
> > support, that actively encourages use of free platforms;
> > and consequently restricts proprietary platforms. 
> 
> If you're looking for a license that “discriminate against [a] group of
> persons” [DGSG5], such as proprietary platforms users, that's not going
> happen in Debian.
> 
> 	DFSG5: http://www.debian.org/social_contract#guidelines

This guideline is subject to interpretation. For example, the 
GPL license discriminates against those who wish to distribute 
proprietary derived works; the AGPL discriminates against those 
who wish to publicly deploy software linked to proprietary code.

Is it good policy for Debian to reject all licenses which might
effectively discriminate against non-free platforms?  

> Would Debian consider a "Free Platform License" (FPL) derived 
> from the AGPLv3, but with the "System Library" exception 
> removed (as well as the GNU specific prologue)?

Would a license such as this violate DFSG's policy against 
non-discrimination?  Presumably, this license might discriminate 
against those who wish to distribute a binary linked against 
Microsoft's msvcrt.dll 

Best,

Clark


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