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Re: Poll results: User views on the FDL issue

Glenn Maynard wrote:

On Fri, Apr 22, 2005 at 06:02:25PM -0400, Marty wrote:

Glenn Maynard wrote:
>  http://www.debian.org/vote/2004/vote_003
>
>  "1. Debian will remain 100% free
>
>  We provide the guidelines that we use to determine if a work is "free"
>  in the document entitled "The Debian Free Software Guidelines". We
>  promise that the Debian system and all its components will be free
>  according to these guidelines. We will support people who create or
>  use both free and non-free works on Debian. We will never make the
>  system require the use of a non-free component."
I accept this vote regarding "Free Software," but I don't accept your implicit re-definition of the word "software" to include documentation. 

The definition of the word "software" is irrelevant.  The SC, above, does
not care about the definition of "software"; it very explicitly refers to
"works".   This change was explicit and intentional, for exactly this
purpose--so people such as yourself might stop trying to dictionary-lawyer
documentation around the DFSG.
Who's playing the legalistic word games here? The licenses are software licenses. You're the one trying to spin these words into something they don't say. I just wrote that if it were explicity spelled out that everything is equated to software, as a matter of policy, it would remove most of my objections. Why is that so unreasonable? 



(This really isn't up for debate; while there are a couple other people
claiming things like "we were tricked!",


Oh?  I can't imagine why.  LOL

 you're the only person I see

confused about the above text, so I'm not going to waste further time
trying to convince you.  It's very simple: everything in Debian is clearly
a Work; everything in Debian must be Free; and the DFSG is used to determine
whether a work is Free.)
I get it already, everything is "software" in Debian and that issue is simply not up for debate or vote. (Some people on your side are just more direct about it.)
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