Re: netscape security hole
Dear
On Thu, Aug 10, 2000 at 04:28:22PM -0400, Mike Werner wrote:
> > > And I'll ask again, why does Debian make it available off of their server,
> > > already prepackaged? Why not go with an installation package as used for
> > > RealPlayer? That should satisfy both the zealots and the realists. It
> > > seems to have worked with RealPlayer.
I think that many people do use non-free software, and that work done in that
area is great. At least are those packages on Debian servers checked to be
configured to work with Debian - I trust them more than packages which are
available on other servers. And there are many.
> I even went back and re-read it. Twice. I still don't see why the
> difference between an installation package and actual packaging. I even
> just now went back and read it through again. Nowhere in that Social
> Contract is there anything saying why the differentiation between packaging
> a supposedly non-free package and using an installation package.
Debian OS consist only of Free Software. Anything else isn't Debian OS.
That is also answered in Debian Policy Manual:
<quote>
The effort of the Debian project is to build a free operating system, but not every package we want to make accessible is free in our
sense (see Debian Free Software Guidelines, below), or may be imported/exported without restrictions. Thus, the archive is split into
the sections main, non-us, non-free, and contrib.
The main section forms the Debian GNU/Linux distribution.
Packages in the other sections are not considered as part of the Debian distribution, though we support their use, and we provide
infrastructure for them (such as our bug-tracking system and mailing lists). This Debian Policy Manual applies to these packages as
well.
</quote>
Because this "policy manual applies to these packages as well" I prefer to use non-free packages from Debian rather than non-free packages from third party.
Debian is OS which consist of "Free Software". This OS gives you freedom to use "non-free software" as well. If you like it.
Because many users do want to use non-free software, therefore, people work on those packages and make them available directly from Debian site, which in fact helps users to easily configure it and install it.
However that doesn't help free software movement as first 4 points of the social contract. But it is a good solution for the greatest number of people.
Sincerely,
Marko Cehaja
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