[Mageia-dev] Mirror layout

Fri Dec 10 14:36:07 CET 2010

On Friday, 10 December 2010 11:22:09 andre999 wrote:
+> Using PLF for mirroring constrained packages sounds like a very good
+> idea. Their site says that they are open to hosting such packages for
+> all distros, as long as there are volonteers to support the packages.
+
+Have you looked at the names of people involved with PLF? Have you seen the 
+same names posting on this list?
+
+> And since Mageia is (at least initially) compatible with Mandriva, their
+> page "easyurpmi" could be easily modified to set up mirror sources for
+> Mageia users.  (Call our version "easymageia" ?)
+
+easyurpmi should not be necessary. Users should not be expected to paste 
+random commands from random sites into a root shell.
+
+> Using PLF for contrained packages offers a plus for mirror sites willing
+> to host such packages.
+> They need only mirror one PLF tree for all distros - be it Mandriva,
+> Unity, or Mageia.
+
+Alternatively, the whole dichotomy that necessitated contributors to create a 
+separate project should be addressed differently, but keeping the packages 
+integrated into the distribution, but avoiding legal issues by making it easy 
+for entities hosting the files to avoid infringement.
+
+> Interestingly, in a search for all packages containing "codec" or "mp"
+> (for mpeg) in the name, I found only 2 packages in PLF that weren't
+> already in Mandriva : one being quotations from the Simpsons, which the
+> package said was there for copyright reasons.
+> All the other PLF packages I found in the above searches were in
+> Mandriva main.
+
+Duh. They are the same package, just built with different options.
+
+> Many if not all of which were in PLF for patent reasons, according to
+> the package description.
+> Which brings up a difference of PLF packages : the PLF description
+> usually ends with a line specifying why they are there.  (At least
+> packages destined for Mandriva users.)
+
+Search for plf in e.g. http://svn.mandriva.com/cgi-
+bin/viewvc.cgi/packages/cooker/ffmpeg/current/SPECS/ffmpeg.spec?revision=612098&view=markup
+
+> So if a user wants to avoid patent constrained packages, they are
+> identified as such in PLF - but not in Mandriva.
+
+Intentionally. I don't think Mandriva would have liked a note saying "If you 
+want the patent-encumbered features in this package, visit 
+http://plf.zarb.org", which could have been sufficiently complicit for DMCA 
+issues.
+
+> > This is only a suggestion (and we may have already moved past this
+> > point), but perhaps this will let us be more flexible to the end users
+> > (both DeskTop and Server).
+> 
+> For that point, end users could also use the install routines on the
+> distribution media, or the (rpm) package categories, to selectively
+> install Desktop and/or server packages.  Both of which could use
+> improvement.
+> 
+> But the suggestion regarding PLF is interesting ...
+
+No, we were looking for a more optimal solution than PLF ...
+