Steve Langasek writes: > [CC:ed to debian-policy, which seems a more likely forum for discussing > changes to core documents.]
I was told that debian-legal was the place to hold this discussion. > I suspect that I speak for a fair number of developers in saying that > self-determination is important to us with respect to such a fundamental > document. We feel the same way, of course. If there is to be a meeting of the minds, there must be a sacrifice in some freedom on both sides. > Also, are you asking Debian to automatically accept as suitable any > licenses that the OSI approves? Yes and no. I think that would be a good thing, but I also don't expect it. > Debian has at times disagreed with the OSI about the freeness of > some licenses, and I believe it's a good thing that Debian is able > to interpret a license's freeness for itself. Our decisions about the freeness of a license come from the terms of the OSD. We can NOT be arbitrary. A California public benefit corporation is prohibited from doing such things. So if you have a problem with anything we've done, then we should be looking at revising the OSD to give us the tools to decide the same way you think we should. > If Debian (in the form of the debian-legal mailing list and the > ftpmasters) continues to render its own interpretation of the OSD, > do you still see benefits to convergence in the text of the > guidelines? Yes, if only because it's a start. I don't mind if we don't get to the end in one step. > I'm inclined to believe that your second example is also a minor > issue, because if the software is DFSG-compliant in all other > respects, it should be possible to legally remove the click-wrap > requirement from the code -- just as you can charge someone a fee > for giving them GPL software, but you cannot prevent them from > giving it away for free once they have it. Why do you think you can unilaterally change the terms of a license? > Can you provide a reference to the changes to the OSD text for our > consideration? http://opensource.org/docs/definition.html -- -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.
