From: Marek Aaron Sapota <maarons@gnu.org>
To: emacs-devel@gnu.org
Subject: Re: Gentoo GNU/Linux and non-free packages
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 2010 06:20:03 -0500 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20100108112003.GD1426@fencepost.localnet> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <873a2h7xlk.fsf@thinkpad.tsdh.de>
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On Fri, Jan 08, 2010 at 10:30:15AM +0100, Tassilo Horn wrote:
> Marek Aaron Sapota <maarons@gnu.org> writes:
>
> Hi Marek,
>
> > It is possible to use only Free Software with Gentoo but it isn't
> > that
> > easy:
> > - packages have non-free dependences, sometimes programs compile
> > fine
> > without them, but they are pulled in anyway
>
> What do you mean with "pulled in". I tried to install a package that
> has a non-free dependency, and portage 2.2 told me it cannot install
> it,
> because this dependency is masked by my license restriction.
I mean that I can not install a package only because it has a non-free
dependency even if it works fine without it - for example X.Org and Wine
pull in non-free fonts. Inconvenience that makes your system less
powerful if you want to only use Free Software.
>
> > - some free "alternatives" are only in additional repositories
>
> Usually, this occurs if a package simply doesn't work for most users,
> or
> no maintainer has been found yet.
Icedtea is in an overlay even if it works perfectly.
>
> > - predefined license groups (for example FSF approved) are not
> > complete
>
> Indeed, currently GPL-1 and LGPL-2 are missing. But that will surely
> be
> fixed as soon as the overall mechanics are stable.
>
> > - some packages have wrong licenses (usually license is named after
> > the
>
> This applies to many modular X11 packages, but work is in progress to
> fix that. And of course, this will never make a non-free package
> installable if you've set your ACCEPT_LICENSE to match only free
> licenses. It will prevent installing those programs although they
> might
> be free. The other way round would be a showstopper, but this way
> it's
> only a little inconvenience.
Indeed - it makes it inconvenient to use only Free Software with Gentoo.
To be a Free Distribution Gentoo would have to show commitment to Free
Software and they clearly don't. They treat the system as complete
including non-free software and that is why using it without non-free
components is inconvenient. Before the system works equally good without
non-free packages I don't see any option of Gentoo being listed. This is
a difference of "user can be free" and "distribution cares that users
are free".
Happy hacking
Marek Aaron Sapota
PS. To clear up I use Gentoo and I use ACCEPT_LICENSE almost since it
got implemented.
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next prev parent reply other threads:[~2010-01-08 11:20 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 39+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2009-12-28 17:04 'bzr init-repo .' crashes for lack of module bz2. Help, please! Alan Mackenzie
2009-12-28 21:14 ` Karl Fogel
2009-12-28 23:05 ` David De La Harpe Golden
2009-12-29 20:08 ` Alan Mackenzie
2009-12-29 20:19 ` Andreas Schwab
2009-12-29 20:57 ` Alan Mackenzie
2009-12-29 23:49 ` David De La Harpe Golden
2009-12-31 12:06 ` Alan Mackenzie
2009-12-31 17:04 ` David De La Harpe Golden
2010-01-03 17:33 ` Alan Mackenzie
2010-01-03 18:16 ` Tassilo Horn
2010-01-03 21:56 ` Alan Mackenzie
2010-01-04 0:06 ` Miles Bader
2010-01-04 0:13 ` Jason Rumney
2010-01-06 13:30 ` Alan Mackenzie
2010-01-04 8:16 ` Tassilo Horn
2010-01-04 16:23 ` Richard Stallman
2010-01-04 20:42 ` Gentoo GNU/Linux and non-free packages (was: 'bzr init-repo .' crashes for lack of module bz2. Help, please!) Tassilo Horn
2010-01-05 9:03 ` Gentoo GNU/Linux and non-free packages Ulrich Mueller
2010-01-05 20:45 ` Richard Stallman
2010-01-05 20:45 ` Gentoo GNU/Linux and non-free packages (was: 'bzr init-repo .' crashes for lack of module bz2. Help, please!) Richard Stallman
2010-01-06 0:10 ` Jonas Bernoulli
2010-01-06 20:45 ` Richard Stallman
2010-01-07 8:35 ` Gentoo GNU/Linux and non-free packages Tassilo Horn
2010-01-07 22:49 ` Richard Stallman
2010-01-08 0:06 ` Marek Aaron Sapota
2010-01-08 9:30 ` Tassilo Horn
2010-01-08 11:20 ` Marek Aaron Sapota [this message]
[not found] ` <20100108111454.GC1426@fencepost.localnet>
2010-01-08 11:56 ` Tassilo Horn
2010-01-08 12:44 ` Marek Aaron Sapota
2010-01-08 14:44 ` Tassilo Horn
2010-01-08 15:47 ` Marek Aaron Sapota
2010-01-08 15:23 ` Yavor Doganov
2010-01-08 15:57 ` Marek Aaron Sapota
2010-01-08 16:23 ` Tassilo Horn
2010-01-08 16:46 ` David Kastrup
2010-01-08 8:56 ` Tassilo Horn
2010-01-08 23:01 ` Richard Stallman
2010-01-06 7:35 ` Tassilo Horn
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