On May 10, 2007, Rex Dieter <rdieter@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Alexandre Oliva wrote: >> >> >> And today I realized that's not quite enough to ensure that the *user* >> receives the source code from us. All that states is that *we* get >> the source code. >> >> So we could in theory accept Free Software, including source code, >> under a liberal license, build it AFAICT in perfect accordance with >> our guidelines, and distribute only its binaries to our users. > huh? , it's right in the *definition* of opensource (see item 2): > http://opensource.org/docs/osd Yeah, and it's in the definition of Free Software. And if *we* can enjoy the freedoms, it's Free Software for us. And if software complies with all the criteria set forth in the OSD, then it's OSS for us. But where do we state that it's going to remain so for our users? Where do we state that we're not going to deny them the freedoms, or offer them software that was OSS for us but that isn't for them, or that we're not going to collute with third parties to make it seem like we're respecting our users' freedoms, while we procure the restraining of freedoms to these third parties? I.e., where do we state that, when we distribute software, it's FS (and OSS) for both ourselves *and* those who receive it from us. My point, all the way from the beginning of this thread, is that its being FS (and OSS) for ourselves is not enough. > Now, If it would make you feel better that we spell it out > *explicitly*, then draft a proposal for review: Here's an early draft of what I have in mind. I understand it's not compatible with current practice, but I'm having hard enough a time just phrasing the kind of commitment I think we ought to pursue. Any comments? Fedora's (proposed) Public Promise The Fedora Project is publicly committed to respecting its users' four freedoms. Fedora promises to only distribute software under Free Software royalty-free licenses, always offering source code for the software itself and any other software needed to build it and run it. While Fedora unfortunately cannot guarantee that all the software it distributes is free from patent royalties or other legal weapons incompatible with the four freedoms, avoiding them is a goal that Fedora strives for. Fedora promises to never distribute software under patent licenses or other agreements that would not permit downstream recipients to enjoy the four freedoms. -- Alexandre Oliva http://www.lsd.ic.unicamp.br/~oliva/ FSF Latin America Board Member http://www.fsfla.org/ Red Hat Compiler Engineer aoliva@{redhat.com, gcc.gnu.org} Free Software Evangelist oliva@{lsd.ic.unicamp.br, gnu.org} _______________________________________________ fedora-advisory-board mailing list fedora-advisory-board@xxxxxxxxxx http://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-advisory-board