From: Richard Stallman < r...@gnu.ai.mit.edu>
Subject: The FSF is no longer sponsoring Debian
Date: 1996/04/28
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The FSF is no longer sponsoring Debian
Two years ago, the FSF decided we wanted to distribute a version of
the GNU system using the Linux kernel. The planned GNU kernel (the
Hurd) was not ready, and Linux was; people were starting to combine
Linux with the GNU system to make runnable complete systems, and these
were clearly useful. We wanted to get involved with supporting and
distributing such a system.
We wanted an integrated system that was easy to install, not a
collection of sources that each user had to compile. We also wanted a
system that was not associated with any particular commercial company.
Ian Murdock had started to put together a such system, called Debian,
and he sought the FSF's sponsorship. He hoped that integrating Debian
would serve as preparation for integrating the GNU system, and he
hoped to be involved in that job. We agreed that the FSF would
sponsor Debian development, and for part of that time, one year, Ian
was on the FSF full-time paid staff. The FSF looked forward to
distributing Debian on a CD-ROM.
We decided jointly to call the system "Debian GNU/Linux". Many people
think that name referred to the FSF's sponsorship--that it said that
Debian was the one "Linux system" chosen by the GNU project. Debian
*was* the one we had chosen, but that is not what the name meant.
"GNU/Linux" is short for "Linux-based GNU system"; it means a
combination of Linux, which is a kernel, with (a variant of) the GNU
system. Most people call these combinations "Linux systems", in
effect identifying the whole system with the kernel. We would rather
make that distinction clear. We want people to be aware that these
complete systems are pretty much the same GNU system we've been
assembling for a decade.
The GNU project set out in 1984 to develop a complete free Unix-like
system. We found some free components available (including X and
TeX), pushed for others to be made free (some BSD software), and wrote
the parts that were missing (these, strictly speaking, are the GNU
software), all so we could put them together to make a complete
system--the GNU system.
Debian is not the only combination of Linux and GNU. Slackware is
also one. So are many commercial system distributions such as Red Hat
and Yggdrasil--they are all combinations of the Linux kernel and a
variant GNU system. We call all of them Linux-based GNU systems, and
we wish their distributors would, too.
We originally hoped that Debian would be ready for a CD-ROM in early
1995. Like many software projects, Debian took much longer than
expected; it still isn't ready. A delay is not a disaster, but in the
mean time, a more serious problem has arisen.
This March, Ian Murdock stepped down as leader of Debian development,
saying that he was too busy with school to do the job properly. The
people now working on Debian do not want the FSF as a sponsor.
They've said that the FSF can use Debian on an as-is basis, and can
make suggestions to them, but they have rejected any closer
relationship.
The present developers have also changed the name of the project; they
now call Debian a "Linux system". It is still a combination of the
Linux kernel with a variant GNU system, but unlike Ian Murdock and the
FSF, they don't wish to affirm this in the name.
These decisions imply that the FSF is no longer sponsoring Debian.
It's not clear whether the FSF should still plan to distribute a
Debian CD. When Debian is ready, we can distribute it if we want to.
However, now that we are no longer a sponsor of Debian, this would
serve only part of the purpose that we originally hoped for.
Meanwhile, the Hurd continues to advance; it now supports NFS, and its
developers use it regularly for its own development. They can even
debug Hurd servers with GDB while GDB uses those same servers to
access files. (For more info about the Hurd, see the unofficial Hurd
web page, http://www/cs/pdx.edu/~trent/gnu/hurd/index.html.)
So we may yet distribute a version of Debian, or we may make our first
complete system distribution a Hurd-based GNU system. We haven't
decided yet.
From: b...@pixar.com (Bruce Perens)
Subject: FSF and Debian
Date: 1996/05/01
Message-ID: < cola-liw-830950619-28603-0@liw.clinet.fi>#1/1
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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
This morning, FSF announced to the gnu.announce newsgroup that it was
no longer sponsoring Debian.
Ian Murdock, who was sponsored by FSF, stepped down from the project
leader position some time ago so that he could spend more time on
school, work, and his family. The 60 other Debian developers, who did
not have FSF sponsorship, continue in their roles.
The Debian group is in sympathy with FSF's political and philosophical
goals. Our problem was with their technical direction. We've decided to
come to an amicable end to FSF sponsorship so that we can allow all
developers to participate in Debian as _peers_. FSF is invited to
participate on the same basis - at the same level as individuals, schools,
organizations, and companies that have put a lot of work into Debian.
Debian remains a non-profit organization dedicated to free software.
Our Linux system is entirely free. Anyone can redistribute it or sell
it on a CD-ROM, and you don't need our permission to do so. Thus, it's
available for FSF to distribute and use as a fund-raiser, etc.
We acknowledge the role of the GNU project in our system and like to
think of Debian as "Son of GNU".
We've been beta-testing Debian 1.1 with our active user community for
several weeks. We're about to widen the beta test to the entire Internet.
For information on the beta test, you can subscribe to the mailing
lists by sending the word "subscribe" to the following addresses:
debian-announce-REQU...@lists.debian.org
Very low-traffic list for major announcements.
debian-changes-REQU...@lists.debian.org
Debian package change announcements. Can have several messages a day.
debian-user-REQU...@lists.debian.org
High-traffic list of user questions and answers.
I thank FSF and its leaders for dealing with this amicably.
Bruce Perens
Debian Project Leader
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