Re: CoC policy for package contents

More importantly than morality issues Debian needs to consider legal 
issues. I have no idea whether a CoC or GR is needed but if such an GR 
is put to the vote legal constraints cannot be ignored.

Am 21.07.25 um 20:05 schrieb Lucas Nussbaum:
> On 21/07/25 at 19:22 +0200, Wouter Verhelst wrote:
>> I can think of a few more examples that caused controversies in in the
>> past:
>> - A system load monitor, about 20 years ago, that used a cartoon of a
>>    lady who was progressively undressed as the computer got warmer.
> 
> It was named 'hot-babe'.
> 
> Those themes for hot-babe could serve as test data points for a policy
> on the content of packages:  http://caca.zoy.org/wiki/hot-babe
> 
>> - A toolkit called "weboob" (for "WEB Outside Of Browser") that had
>>    devolved into a bunch of juvenile boob jokes
> 
> #906119, #907199

I vaguely remember a mailing list discussion about distributing a game 
with child-porn elements - that was considered fine by some but is 
strongly illegal in lots of jurisdictions. Luckily it never made it into 
Debian.

>> I *also* think that it's not a problem if software in Debian does such
>> things optionally, if explicitly enabled. But perhaps not everyone
>> agrees with that, and that's fine.
>
> The line is difficult to draw: fortunes-*-off, hot-babe or weboob
> are/were optional in Debian (as in no user is forced to install them,
> and they probably don't/didn't have reverse-depends). So it would be OK
> to keep them in Debian?

Debian has a responsibility regarding their mirrors to not make them 
inadvertendly distribute punishable material, even if optional. In some 
jurisdictions this also involves historical quotes if not put into a 
scientific historical context. Keeping them optional will not help the 
mirror in case it gets under scrutiny.

I know that what different jurisdictions see as punishable offense 
differs wildly around the world. But there is at least some agreement in 
a majority of jurisdiction about what never goes and about what only 
goes from a certain age. Remember that distributing inappropriate 
material to minors is also punishable in some (most?) jurisdictions. And 
Debian does not do age verification. This means that at least the user 
interaction of every package needs to stay on the "appropriate for 
children"-side. No matter whether optional or not.

I haven't looked at fortune-off but if it contains porn, violence or 
quotes of certain historical figures without appropriate context (I'm 
not talking about DDs here), it needs to leave Debian.

Enforced age verification might cause problems for some games which does 
not sit well with me and might need further discussion if legislation 
goes as planned by the EU. But even games in Debian should have their 
limits (as in the example mentioned above).

In any case user interaction can be required to respect the laws and 
whenever anybody feels the need to present material to the user that is 
known to be illegal in many jurisdictions it should not be distributed 
by Debian. At the very least in order to protect our mirrors.