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Re: How free does a non-free package have to be?



On Sun, Mar 02, 2003 at 11:34:20AM +0100, Geert Stappers wrote:
> > [packing a virus detection program]
> > 
> > amavis is already in Debian. It needs a third party virus scanner to
> > work. Also clamav is already in Debian. (I never heard of it
> > before.). So now I can choose either to abandon my one and only Debian
> > package or to continue supporting non-free software, although a free
> > alternative is in development.
> 
> To me it reads like that you are worried about
>  _your_  _only_ Debian package

That's because taking over the maintainership of a package was a
door-opener for me - the step from being just a user who occasionally
files bug reports to becoming an - albeit marginal - part of this
fantastic project. Abandoning the package would mean being "just a user"
again.

At the same time, I feel that dropping the package right now would not
be fair towards to the original maintainer who handed the package over
to me.

> If you care about the Debian project that put effort in other parts of
> the project.

Any suggestions?

[...] 

> > Well, I'm quite surprised that such an initiative as
> > openantivirus.org exists. I thought we would need production-quality
> > viruses for GNU/Linux first. But both under openvirus.org and
> > freevirus.org I get a "host not found". Hey folks, we're lagging
> > behind! How can GNU/Linux ever become ready for the desktop like
> > that? ;-)
> > 
> 
> Time spent on viri, is time stolen from building software that sense.

[...]

Well, I was trying to make a joke. Sorry if it wasn't clear enough.

Thanks,

Johannes

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