Re: Moving contrib and non-free of master.debian.org
Norbert Nemec wrote:
>
> Guess, that idea already has been discussed and ruled out, but still I think
> it may serve better:
>
> Why not put some kind of a sign on every non-free package, instead of moving
> those packages anywhere? There is a number of ways that could be done
> - something in the name of the package
> - a message when installing the package
> - something that shows up clearly in dselect/apt
My own opinion is that the best would be to keep the current splitting
of the packages (main, non-free and contrib), but add these:
- as suggested, a file that briefly explain why package is in non-free
- same stuff added to the description of the package
Contrib shouldn't go in main for a very simple reason: all those
packages will not install because of missing dependencies. There are
already a lot of packages that overwhelms the newcommer. I used to lose
a lot of time when I was installing for the first time a Debian, only
because of browsing our packages. And if we drop the dependencies, we
will look exactly like RH: we will have a bunch of packages that
installs and then don't work.
If we want to promote the free stuff, then apt/dselect should have by
default only the main in them. The docos should say how you can add
non-free and contrib if this is what user want. If somebody chooses to
add them, then it is their wish and discussion stops here.
I use some packages from non-free because I do not have something else
better of even close to what I use (the most important one is Netscape;
I like it and I don't find anything else comparable at this moment. It
is a matter of taste, but I done my choice when I was sober, I assure
you.). And because I comply with the terms of licencing. What's wrong
with that ? I'm not a monster for this and I do not want to see those
packages removed from debian. I do my packages which goes to main and I
have my own stuff which is GPL or LGPL. Isn't this enough to show that I
believe in free software and support it ?
Also, it looks like we are forgeting something: only the root can
install/remove packages. The root is expected to read something before
starting managing the system. If the root decides to include non-free it
would be a conscient act. It will be done knowing what this is implying.
If you browse the ftp or www for packages by hand (are newbyes doing
this ? I doubt ...) you'll see very clear that you are on a non-free or
contrib branch. If this is not enough, add a .README file to every
directory that signals that you are in non-free area. This should be
enough.
Ionutz
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