Re: *URGENT* ftpparse licensing issue

On Tuesday 24 May 2005 17:07, you wrote:
> Debian does not exclude software which is not GPL-compatible.  The
> previous poster was mistaken.  Quite a bit of GPL-incompatible software is
> in Debian (OpenAFS, for instance).  Debian only excludes software that
> does not comply with the Debian Free Software Guidelines, which ftpparse
> uncontroversially is (djb does not grant any permission, at least that
> I've seen, to distribute modified versions).

I owe an apology to Debian then for my previous mail, for I was mistaken about 
this myself.  However, I don't believe that something should be excluded from 
distribution just because you can't alter it.  Looking at the abuse Red Hat 
and other distributions have done to things before redistributing them makes 
DJBs choice seem wise indeed.  The blame for the problems that inevitably 
come from tampering without fully understanding always end up coming to the 
original author first, and the public image of a product is that of the one 
presented to them rather than the original unmodified product for what it is.

Refusing to redistribute something because you can't change it around as you 
see fit, rather than what the author thinks, is silly.

Cheers,
-- 
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
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