Hi. I'm the vice-president of the Open Source Initiative, and I'm writing to you today in that stead.
We want to explore convergence between the Open Source Definition, and the Debian Free Software Guidelines. OSI is interested in mending differences in our community, so that we can stand together. Is there anything in the OSD which would prevent the Debian project from adopting it whole cloth? Is there anything the Debian project would like to see changed in the OSD before it could adopt the OSD? Regardless of the merits of this proposal, I see two problems with the current DFSG. One is that software must comply with the DFSG to be a part of Debian, and yet the DFSG does not admit the possibility of public-domain unlicensed software. Then again, neither does the OSD, because we're only applying it to licenses. Another problem is that the DFSG does not prohibit a license from requiring a specific form of affirmative assent known as click-wrap. Our recently-passed change to the OSD fixes that problem. -- -russ nelson http://russnelson.com | You get prosperity when Crynwr sells support for free software | PGPok | the government does less, 521 Pleasant Valley Rd. | +1 315 268 1925 voice | not when the government Potsdam, NY 13676-3213 | +1 315 268 9201 FAX | does something right.
