Re: Gentoo GNU/Linux and non-free packages

[Tassilo Horn <tassilo@member.fsf.org>]

Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org> writes:

>     | Gentoo makes it easy to install a number of nonfree programs
>     | through their primary package system.
>     `----
>
>     Well, that hardly qualifies as an still standing argument.  As
>     soon as the new package manager version is stable, it's only a
>     matter of what defaults the Gentoo devs choose as acceptable
>     licenses.  I guess, they will choose only FSF and OSI approved
>     licenses.
>
> Are you saying that the Gentoo developers might soon delete all the
> ports for non-free programs from Gentoo?

No, what I've meant is that the Gentoo developers might choose a default
setting of the license filter, which only accepts packages that are
completely free, e.g. packages with licenses approved by the FSF or OSI.

> That could make it a 100% free distro, [...]

I think, that such a default setting of the license filter would qualify
as 100% free.  The difference with gNewSense then is only that with
Gentoo, you can add an exception if you rely on some non-free driver and
let the package manager install it.  With gNewSense, you would install
that manually with the risk, that you might not be able to erase it
completely later on.

> [...] and we might be able to endorse it.

Well, I think you could endorse it with a short explanation in any case,
as soon as the version of the package manager supporting this feature
becomes stable.  If a Gentoo user then puts

  ACCEPT_LICENSE="-* @FSF-APPROVED @OSI-APPROVED"

into his /etc/make.conf, he can be sure that the package manager only
installs packages that are 100% free.

Bye,
Tassilo