Re: Debian Free Documentation Guidelines
Jacobo Tarrio:
For Debian, software is everything that is stored or transmitted in
digital form.
I just checked my dictionaries and checked "define:software" on Google, and
most sources define software along the lines of "computing programs designed
to perform various applications, e.g. word processing"[1]. That is, only the
pieces of information that is used to make the computer run is included in
the definitions.
Only a few definitions define software as "everything non-hardware", which
would include the data and documentation.
Why is it so clear that in Debian, we chose to subscribe to the second
definition? Apparently from these discussions that pop up every now and then
there are several people that agree more with the first one (that would
include me).
Debian aims to distribute only free software, as in "only stuff which is
stored or transmitted in digital form, and which is considered free by
us".
We only talk about software in our social contract. There's no official
statement that I know of that defines software to be that.
--
\\//
Peter - http://www.softwolves.pp.se/
[1] Quote from The Cassell Concise Dictionary, 1997
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