From: Bruce Perens < bruce@debian.org>
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce
Subject: Linux Distributions and the Free Software Community
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 1997 12:20:31 GMT
Organization: none
Approved: linux-announce@news.ornl.gov (Lars Wirzenius)
Message-ID: < pycola.879942031.24188@liw.clinet.fi>
Reply-To: Bruce Perens < bruce@debian.org>
iQBVAwUBNHLZkTiesvPHtqnBAQHrqAH/Z/ioXyMxZ1cswUNh5AEgsdRzvDbGFqdO
3Ro65EaS9Ugk6CX44q6QyWMak1BYRFmXa3tN+fMAP+lkO5vt+17hFQ==
=u2rU
Lines: 57
Xref: sunsite.doc.ic.ac.uk comp.os.linux.announce:8631
Linux Distributions and the Free Software Community
We of the Debian project produce a high-quality 100% free-software Linux
system. But, as volunteers, we have another job, too - Debian helps keep
the commercial Linux distributors "honest" by providing a non-commercial
alternative for them to be compared against.
The engineers of some Linux distributions understand the free software
ethic while their management does not. We want to reverse this trend
while it's still young. There is a "Social Contract" in the free
software community. Good members take value from it in the form of free
software that others have contributed, and _return_ value for what they
have taken in the form of free software that they have developed. Bad
members just take. We don't mean users, but people who make money
selling free software and don't give anything back.
Is your Linux Distribution honoring the social contract? You can find
Debian's policy at http://www.debian.org/social_contract.html . This
provides a statement of what we will give back to the free software
community, and our guidelines for what is free software and what's not
quite free. We published this about half a year ago, in the hope that
Linux distributions would also state in writing how they were going to
treat the free software community, so that you could compare them on
that basis. So far, no other Linux distribution has made a similar
statement. We hope they will.
Thanks
Bruce Perens
Debian Project Leader
- --
Can you get your operating system fixed when you need it?
Linux - the supportable operating system. http://www.debian.org/support.html
Bruce Perens K6BP bruce@debian.org NEW PHONE NUMBER: 510-620-3502
- --
This article has been digitally signed by the moderator, using PGP.
http://www.iki.fi/liw/lars-public-key.asc has PGP key for validating signature.
Send submissions for comp.os.linux.announce to: linux-announce@news.ornl.gov
PLEASE remember a short description of the software and the LOCATION.
This group is archived at http://www.iki.fi/liw/linux/cola.html