On Tue, 14 Mar 2006 22:14:57 -0500, Michael Olson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said:
> Jérôme Marant <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: >> I think you will as well have to explain users why on the one hand >> one must be free to modify source code and on the other hand why one >> does not necessary have to be free to modify documentation. >> >> While not satisfactory, I think the outcomes of the GR express some >> kind of consistency with Debian, I think. > What really needs explaining here is why Debian as a whole values > being stringent about a classification of documentation as software, > to the point of causing great inconvenience to their users. It would > seem that Debian is becoming more of a distribution for other software > developers than an OS for people. Actually, in Debian's Social Contract, they have adopted the phrasing, "We promise that the Debian system and all its components will be free according to these guidelines," so that they avoid the ambiguity of the word "software". The old wording, it has been argued, would not have allowed documentation in Debian if documentation was not considered software. The line between documentation and programs is not always clear (for example, is a PostScript file, or a TeX file, documentation or a program?), and I know that I appreciate not having to worry about exactly where that line is. I'm not sure why everyone is reacting to the Emacs Manual removal as if it's something new. The release team has, since before sarge was released, said that GFDLed documentation would be removed in sarge+1=etch. See for example [1] and [2] for recent postings. In fact, the results of the vote have *softened* Debian's stance on the GFDL. Where before the release team's opinion was that all GFDLed documentation would be allowed in main, the result of the vote is that only GFDLed documentation that contains Invariant Sections, Cover Texts, Acknowledgements, or Dedications are considered non-free. And documentation that does contain those sections are considered free if permission is granted to remove them. [1] http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2005/09/msg00007.html [2] http://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2005/10/msg00004.html So if anything, this latest vote allows more documentation into Debian than what was allowed before the vote. > Invariant sections are acceptable because modifying a personal > position statement that someone wrote is usually not considered > acceptable. Sometimes the position, the reason behind the software, > is more significant than the work itself. Nobody (in Debian) is interested in trying to modify a document to make it seem like somebody's personal opinion is something other than what it is. AFAIK, that is already covered by laws other than copyright. And again, I will note that the latest vote says that the documentation would be considered free if permission was granted to remove the invariant section completely. -- Hubert Chan - email & Jabber: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - http://www.uhoreg.ca/ PGP/GnuPG key: 1024D/124B61FA (Key available at wwwkeys.pgp.net) Fingerprint: 96C5 012F 5F74 A5F7 1FF7 5291 AF29 C719 124B 61FA
