Iustin Pop wrote: > On 2017-03-05 12:41:18, Ben Finney wrote: > > Sebastiaan Couwenberg <sebas...@xs4all.nl> writes: > > > I'd like to see a compromise in the DFSG like #4 for standards to > > > allow their inclusion in Debian when their license at least allows > > > modification when changing the name or namespace for schemas and the > > > like. > > > > Since that does not describe the license granted in these documents, I > > don't see why you raise it. > > > > On the contrary, I would like to see the license granted in these > > documents changed to conform to the DFSG, and then they can be > > included without violating or changing our social contract. > > I have to say I lean more on practicality side here, and I don't really > see a need or reason to have standards documents under the "free to > modify" clause.
Then they can stay in non-free along with all the other things under a non-free license. We had a project-wide decision more than a decade ago that the DFSG applies to *everything* in main, not just source code. > Could you try to explain to me why one would need the same liberties for > source code and standard documents? Among many other reasons: - Copying bits of the standard into your code, your comments, or your documentation. - Using a grammar out of the standard to write a parser and/or lexer. - Parsing interesting bits of the standard to do automatic code generation. - Rendering the standard in a better format. - Using the standard as the basis for a presentation explaining how it works. - Using the standard as the basis to write another, better standard. - Using the standard to write a completely different standard that incorporates it, in whole or in part. To pre-answer one of the most common objections to the ability to modify: The ability to create a modified version of, say, the deflate RFC does not in any way change the actual standard for deflate, any more than the ability to modify zlib creates a new "official" zlib. You can create your own version, and label it appropriately; the official version remains the official version. Changing a standards document doesn't change the standard. This really comes down to a question of endorsement: we determine whether a standards document represents the "official" version by looking at whether it has the endorsement of a particular standards body. - Josh Triplett
