On Thursday 20 April 2006 14:45, Paul Davis was like: > On Thu, 2006-04-20 at 03:28 +0100, tim hall wrote: > > this case the LS developers are making it clear that they do not want to > > be distributed by Debian. DFSG is very clear on this point. I think it is > > a shame, but it is their software and they are entitled to license it > > exactly how they choose. It does mean that LinuxSampler will never become > > the flagship application that its name implies. Yeah, MO, sure. > > i heard an interesting comment from mike shaver of the firefox/mozilla > project last year. he wondered openly why on earth they (mozilla.org) > would actually want their software distributed by third parties. third > parties who compile and package in ways beyond their control. > > this assumption that inclusion in a distro is the only way to get > software to linux users needs careful examination. That is an interesting and salient point. The way I see it, the point of a distro is to provide a stable base. It does not need to contain all the software under the sun. The fact that Debian or any other distro cannot distribute something really is not the end of the world. I am very happy to use non-commercial software myself, however currently that means seeking it out and usually compiling it. No big deal. Many users are lazy, stupid and want everything handed to them on a plate[0], they will use what they are given and moan when it does not do as they expect. Firefox has probably done enough promotion to maintain their market share, let´s face it, it is not distributed with MSWindows is it? I think LinuxSampler actually could use distro support at the moment and MO is that it will not achieve the flagship status that it may deserve otherwise. My experience of 3rd party distribution is that you have to allow people to take commercial advantage of your product to make distribution worthwhile. This brings up another whole load of issues that I do not want to go into right now. I do not see the need for all the apparent emotionality around the subject. Debian operates under a strict set of rules, which is what makes it different from other distros. I challenge the idea that Debian is somehow being mean by doing this. -- cheers, tim hall http://glastonburymusic.org.uk/tim [0] I am fully aware that this is an appalling generalisation. ;)
