On Tue, Apr 22, 2003 at 02:53:38PM +1000, Martin Pool wrote: > On Mon, 21 Apr 2003 23:22:36 -0400, Glenn Maynard wrote:
> > On Tue, Apr 22, 2003 at 12:25:39PM +1000, Martin Pool wrote: > >> "We don't care what the author wants, we have the legal right to > >> change what we like" is not a good message to send. Even if you don't > > Thankfully, Debian isn't sending this message. > For me (as an author whose software is in Debian) this is exactly how > it comes across. > Some people here apparently delight in pissing off upstream authors > who object to the way their software is modified. There are plenty of > posts saying that Debian can do what it likes, and precious few > acknowledging that Hans ought to have any say in what is done to the > software he wrote. > Authors have a moral right (and a legal one in some places) not to > have their work mutilated. You can assert a moral right to control how your work is used, or you can write Free Software. You don't get to do both at once. If Hans wants to assert his moral rights, we will certainly respect that; as I've said, many Debian developers are also software authors themselves, so it certainly shouldn't be said that we don't recognize the value of our upstreams' efforts. But asserting those rights means relinquishing any corresponding right to claim that your work is Free; it means abdicating any possibility that your work will be included in Debian. While I will certainly respect Hans's rights, his assertion that we have an obligation to include this advertising blurb, coupled with an appeal to a solidarity with Free Software authors that he has himself abandoned, is utterly contemptible. Whatever the slight, perceived or real, his slanderous accusations against us are out of line; his stance of moral superiority, a farce. Debian policy *requires* acknowledgement of the contributions of each and every author, in the form of a copyright file in each package, but this apparently isn't what Hans wants. That he believes he's entitled to something more than what any other Free Software author on the planet asks for just shows how full of himself he really is. > I personally would not have put such a large and informal notice in my > software, I think this is much more fundamental than you suggest it to be. You understand the community spirit of Free Software, and Hans, clearly, does not. I hope no stomping on authors' wishes was ever intended; speaking at least for myself, I try to keep on good terms with my upstreams, and would happily entertain practically any request from them (though I might in the end refuse, depending on the circumstances). Such a spirit of cooperation is a two-way street, however, and Hans doesn't come across as a very cooperative lad. If he were really the upstanding member of the Free Software community that he makes himself out to be, I would think he'd have learned that in addition to sharing, *communication* (in contrast with, say, bitching) is a necessary skill in any community. Regards, -- Steve Langasek postmodern programmer
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