sourceless PDF files, license and DFSG-freeness (was: Is tabular data in binary format acceptable for Debian ?)
- To: Debian TeX maintainers <debian-tex-maint@lists.debian.org>
- Subject: sourceless PDF files, license and DFSG-freeness (was: Is tabular data in binary format acceptable for Debian ?)
- From: Frank Küster <frank@debian.org>
- Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:27:35 +0100
- Message-id: <[🔎] 878wbe2ce0.fsf_-_@alhambra.kuesterei.ch>
- In-reply-to: <20100123050037.GB5197@dario.dodds.net> (Steve Langasek's message of "Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:00:37 -0800")
- References: <20100122021415.GB12078@dario.dodds.net> <20100123023842.GE12588@kunpuu.plessy.org> <20100123050037.GB5197@dario.dodds.net>
In debian-devel, Steve Langasek <vorlon@debian.org> wrote:
> On Sat, Jan 23, 2010 at 11:38:42AM +0900, Charles Plessy wrote:
>
>> (http://lists.alioth.debian.org/pipermail/debian-med-packaging/2009-December/005336.html)
>> and despite all our answers are not giving their conclusion. It is my opinion
>> that if their conclusion is that the file is non-free, they move the line for
>> archive acceptance.
>
> Indeed, the DFSG does not require inclusion of source code for anything that
> isn't a program. If the ftp masters are imposing such a requirement,
> that's a bug which should be addressed by a GR; but there's insufficient
> evidence to conclude that this is what's happening here. The simpler
> explanation, given what I've read, is that they're guarding against license
> violations.
Hm, I am sure that in the past we excluded PDF documentation because
there was no source for them. Why did we do that?
- Because the PDF was under GPL or GFDL, licenses which explicitly
requires source distribution? Then it fits into what Steve thinks.
- Because the PDF was under LPPL? I'm not sure whether the LPPL requires
source - it doesn't do so explicitly, but it always assumes a
difference between compiled and not-compiled work, and assumes the
existenc of the not-compiled work.
In this case, it might be that we were just fooled by some license
zealots and could just have kept the files. The same is true if the
PDF has some other license that doesn't require source.
I'm writing this because I don't have time today to research the
archives - maybe someone else wants to do that, or I'll try to do it
later.
Regards, Frank
--
Dr. Frank Küster
Debian Developer (TeXLive)
VCD Aschaffenburg-Miltenberg, ADFC Miltenberg
B90/Grüne KV Miltenberg
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