On Sun, Dec 02, 2001 at 12:21:16PM -0800, Thomas Bushnell, BSG wrote: > > "Software" can be a very slippery term.
> *Yawn*. You mean you can't tell the difference in practical contexts? > Puhleez! The arbitrary definition of "software" that you seek undermines your objections to my arbitrary threshold on the quantity of invariant text. Feel free to write up a proposal for defining "software" for Debian that is more-or-less you dictating what the world must be; I, however, am likely to remain convinced that the Debian GNU/Linux Distribution consists entirely of Free Software. > So the BTS, the mailing lists, the apparatus of the Debian > Constitution, the logo, and all that is now to be excluded? Come on, > get real! The DFSG talks about *software* and leaves unspoken all the > rest of the stuff associated with Debian. I guess it doesn't do me a lot of good to quote the Social Contract when you refuse to read it. Nevertheless, I will try again: "We promise to keep the Debian GNU/Linux Distribution entirely free software. As there are many definitions of free software, we include the guidelines we use to determine if software is "free" below." The Social Contract, and thus the DFSG, talk about the Debian GNU/Linux Distribution. What is not part of the Debian GNU/Linux Distribution is not addressed by the Social Contract (with the exception of clause 5, which discusses non-free software in an ad hoc manner). > Yeah, like the mailing lists, the BTS, the logo, the Constitution, the > server resources, the bank account, and all that other stuff. "We promise to keep the Debian GNU/Linux Distribution entirely free software. As there are many definitions of free software, we include the guidelines we use to determine if software is "free" below." The Social Contract, and thus the DFSG, talk about the Debian GNU/Linux Distribution. What is not part of the Debian GNU/Linux Distribution is not addressed by the Social Contract (with the exception of clause 5, which discusses non-free software in an ad hoc manner). > It's not irrational! If only one person has any particular reason to > think anything needs to be done, then there's really no need for > everyone else to spend gobs of time on it. I submit that I'm not the only one. Sunnavind Fenderson and Scott Dier don't appear to think the issue is better left swept under the rug. Bernd Warken and Thomas Uwe Guettmueller don't seem to either, though it is unclear to me that they agree with either one of us as to the particulars. > The problem is that you seem to think that *your* interpretation of > the DFSG, and all associated with it, somehow makes you the person to > declare that 32K is the limit, unlike say a proportional limit, or a > 200K limit, or no limit at all. I see; so rather than exercising my rights as a Developer to help develop and make proposals under sections 3 and 4 of the Debian Constitution, I should leave these issues to be handled by others. Presumably by people -- who may be Debian Developers or not -- that you'd select. Upon what grounds -- recongized as legitimate under the Debian Constitution (and please do make an effort to read the whole thing) -- do you propose to silence me? In any event, Anthony Towns proposed a limit of 32,000 instead of 32,768, and I quickly replied that that was fine with me. I have yet to hear back from anyone as to whether the GNU Emacs Manual comes in under this limit or not. If it does, would that impact your thinking on this matter at all? Or are you opposed to a quantitative limit even if it's so high as to have no practical effect on the present contents of the Debian GNU/Linux Distribution? Let's get at the root of your animosity. In any event, by accusing me of monomania, you've managed to overlook the word "PROPOSAL" in the subject line and content of my message. In the future, I'll consider shopping my proposals around through back channels and getting a dozen sponsors before slapping them down in the sight of the rest of the project. I guess I should be ashamed of myself for using a public discussion list to conduct open discussions. -- G. Branden Robinson | You live and learn. Debian GNU/Linux | Or you don't live long. [EMAIL PROTECTED] | -- Robert Heinlein http://people.debian.org/~branden/ |
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