Re: Bug#902981: DFSG status of fonts-font-awesome (was: Re: Bug#902981: new upstream (5.1.0))

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From: Soren Stoutner <[email protected]>
To: [email protected], [email protected]
Date: Tue, 19 May 2026 09:54:04 -0700
Message-ID: <2351833.iZASKD2KPV@soren-desktop>
Organization: Debian
In-Reply-To: <[email protected]>
MIME-Version: 1.0

On Monday, May 18, 2026 10:44:34=E2=80=AFPM Mountain Standard Time Julian G=
ilbey=20
wrote:
> I don't know where that puts us now.  Can we say that FontAwesome of
> any version is DFSG-free, given that the original sources are not
> available for any version of the font?  How do we move forward?
> debian-legal - your input here would be most welcome.

I cannot speak for the entire debian-legal community, but as one of the mor=
e=20
prolific posters on the list, these are my thoughts.

1.  SVG is not always the preferred form of modification for fonts, but it=
=20
*can be* the preferred form of modification for fonts.  This is similar to=
=20
HTML, which sometimes is the original file and other times was generated fr=
om=20
something else that was the original file.

2.  It is clear that SVG was not the preferred form of modification for the=
=20
original FontAwesome project.

3.  It isn=E2=80=99t clear to me without doing further research if SVG was =
the=20
preferred form of modification for the ForkAwesome project.

4.  Seeing as how both FontAwesome and ForkAwesome are now archived project=
s,=20
they are not receiving further modifications upstream.

5.  Because it is possible for us to build the ForkAwesome fonts from SVG i=
n=20
Debian, because SVG can be considered an valid source format for fonts, and=
=20
because the upstream ForkAwesome files are no longer being modified, I don=
=E2=80=99t=20
think there is a significant DFSG concern to using them as the source files=
=20
for the purpose of packaging.

6.  If someone is concerned about #5, it would be possible for someone to f=
ork=20
=46orkAwesome, give it a new name, and, for the purposes of the fork, decla=
re=20
that the SVG files are now the preferred form of modification and that any=
=20
future modifications will be made by directly editing those files.  Then, t=
hat=20
fork could be packaged in Debian.

It is possible that I have missed something or misunderstood the situation =
in=20
some way, so I would appreciate any critiques of the above.

> And Rob - if
> you are able to give any advice here, that would also be welcome.  We
> *do* want to keep FontAwesome around - it is so amazing (awesome?!)
> and so ubiquitous!



=2D-=20
Soren Stoutner
[email protected]
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