[Mageia-dev] Repository question: where do we put non-free+tainted RPMs?

Fri Jul 8 01:18:02 CEST 2011

Wolfgang Bornath a écrit :
+> 2011/7/7 nicolas vigier<boklm at mars-attacks.org>:
+>> On Thu, 07 Jul 2011, Wolfgang Bornath wrote:
+>>
+>>> I must admit I do not understand the cause of this discussion, maybe I
+>>> am thinking in too simple ways. Free goes in core, non-free goes in
+>>> non-free. If a non-free software has a restrictive license it goes in
+>>> tainted. A free software can not have a restrictive license, if it has
+>>> it is not free and goes in tainted.
+>>
+>> Tainted is not about restrictive license but patents. A free software
+>> can have a free license, but do something which is maybe patented.
+>
+> Yes, right. I made a mistake there - just replace "restrictive
+> license" with "patents" in my sentence.
+
+"free" means that it can be redistributed with source code, with a free/open 
+source license.
+"non-free" (in terms of the repos) means that it can be redistributed, but 
+either not with source code, according to the license + or we simply don't 
+have/can't get the source code.
+"tainted" was mostly for packages affected to some extent by tainted patents.
+Such packages could be free or non-free, that has nothing to do with being in 
+"tainted".
+Some discussions in the past considered that the likelihood of a patent 
+impacting a particular software (in the few countries that do accept software 
+packages to some extent, like the USA), should affect whether it goes into 
+tainted or not.  I don't know what consensus there was on this point, if any.
+
+There were some suggestions that non-free packages should go into "non-free", 
+even if considered subject to tainted patents.  And some proposed excluding 
+such packages.
+
+So the question is, should a non-free package potentially affected by patents 
+go into "non-free" or "tainted".
+Those more interested in using "free" as much as possible, might tend to say 
+"non-free", especially if they use "tainted".  So as to avoid using any 
+non-free packages.
+Those who consider patents legitimate, among others, might tend to say 
+"tainted", especially if they use "non-free.  So as to avoid using any software 
+which might be subject to patents.  If they live in an area where software 
+patents risk to be found legitimate, such as the USA.
+Of course, those who don't use "non-free" (except for software coming from it's 
+manufacturer) or "tainted", wouldn't be concerned by this question.
+
+-- 
+André
+