On Wed, 12 Aug 1998, Philip Hands wrote: > Manoj Srivastava <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I think that mutable strandards are an anathema: supporting a > > plethora of modified almost standards dilutes the benefits of a > > standard, the strength of a standard lies in the fact that *everyone* > > follows the same document. > > I agree absolutely. > > I wasn't saying that standards should all be DFSG free. > > I just don't want anything that isn't DFSG free in main. > > If you dislike the fact that this means that certain standards documents are > not available on our CDs, then why don't we just create a new section, for > free but unchangeable stuff (``immutable'' say), with a status similar to > contrib (i.e. we put it on CDs) > > Alternatively, why not just widen the brief of contrib, to allow for > immutable > documentation to be included. > > Including anything that is non-DFSG in main, means that people have to start > checking licences, before playing with the source --- a Bad Thing IMHO.
I agree with Phil here. (Actually, I *still* believe that there is a strong case for suggesting that standards should allow derived works, with an appropriate name-change). Maybe it helps to draw a parallel with software patents? Many proponents of free software, myself included, feel that their shouldn't be any kind of IP over 'ideas' or 'algorithms'. I find that, for me, *most* documentation, technical or not, falls into this category. I vote for maintaining the 'sanctity' of main. The only exceptions that I personally would grant are: 1) legal licenses (e.g. the GPL itself) and 2) short, relevant personal communications (such as when we stick an email from the upstream maintainer in /usr/doc because it explains some point of contention). Jules ..pondering the fact that Gordon Matzigkeit (sp?) puts all his personal emails under a GPL-ish license... are you a FIG? /----------------+-------------------------------+---------------------\ | Jelibean aka | [EMAIL PROTECTED] | 6 Evelyn Rd | | Jules aka | | Richmond, Surrey | | Julian Bean | [EMAIL PROTECTED] | TW9 2TF *UK* | +----------------+-------------------------------+---------------------+ | War doesn't demonstrate who's right... just who's left. | | When privacy is outlawed... only the outlaws have privacy. | \----------------------------------------------------------------------/
