Re: [gentoo-dev] Distribution Name

[<drobbins@gentoo.org>]

On Fri, Feb 02, 2001 at 12:08:28PM -0700, Bill Anderson wrote:

> And without Linux, one could easily argue that GNU would not be in it's 
> present form either. GNU has grown and thrived due to the use of the Linux 
> kernel. Should not, then, by identical argument, GNU be called Linux/GNU?
> You can't make the claim that Linux would not be around if it were not for 
> GNU, without realizing that GNU is in the same basic predicament.

Bill, I think you've hit the nail on the head.  This is my general theory and I
can't help but believe that RMS's "GNU/Linux" stance is motivated by jealousy.
I guess I can relate; it is typical geek behavior for someone such as RMS to
give 1001 logical-sounding and somewhat technical reasons as to why he needs a
hug.  If RMS and the GNU developers need a hug, I'm happy to give them one, but
I wish they'd just acknowledge the fact that it's an emotional need, rather
than something that they've earned due to divine moral laws that only they seem
to understand.  The thing that bugs me about their approach is that when they
try to explain how they should be given credit, it makes it appear as if there
is a hidden clause to the GNU license -- that we must worship RMS as God.  It
turns the efforts of the GNU project from an admirable selfless act into one
motivated by pride.  Ironically, their approach seems to generate just the
opposite sentiment than the one they were trying to artificially illicit in the
first place.  

But Steven had a totally valid question that I sidestepped -- how is Gentoo
Linux going to address this whole licensing issue?  I've talked with Achim
privately, and we will begin recording the license(s) of all packages in the
ebuild, probably in a similar format to the DEPEND variables.  This
functionality will be integrated into the next version of Portage, and will
allow people who aren't comfortable with certain licenses to instruct ebuild
not to build those particular packages.  Those who are interested can then
enhance our Portage tree to provide GNU or non-GNU (or "X" or "non-X") versions
of various packages, as they desire.

The philosophy underlying this decision is that Gentoo Linux shouldn't be
"Daniel's personal distro".  Instead, Gentoo Linux should be an operating
system that can be customized to the needs and concerns of its users.  Since we
can easily cater to this particular concern, it makes sense to do so rather
than impose my will upon all those who disagree with me.

Also, on a related note, there are some packages that we can't legally 
distribute as binaries.  These packages won't be available as packages,
but will be available as ebuilds so that everyone can build them on their
local machine.

> Ogg is way cool :)

I used ogg in the olden days, but I'm using shorten 3.2 for lossless audio
compression now.  It would be nice to add ogg to Portage, and this would be
a nice way to get familiar with the Portage system.  Any takers?

Best Regards,

-- 
Daniel Robbins					<drobbins@gentoo.org>
President/CEO					http://www.gentoo.org 
Gentoo Technologies, Inc.