Re: [Fsuk-manchester] Manchester Anarchist Bookfair, 7th June 2008

[Lucy]

On 05/06/2008, MJ Ray <address@hidden> wrote:
> Doesn't Ubuntu's policy only cover swapping out the applications in
>  favour of free software?  It seems to be a happy extra that most of
>  their kernel and so on is free software, not required by that policy.
>
> http://www.ubuntu.com/community/ubuntustory/licensing

I don't think that the article is particularly clear, but it seems to
talk about all software from main (which afaik would include
kernel+some modules). The line where it talks about application
software is slightly misleading as I think they still mean all
software. If you are concerned why not talk to someone from Ubuntu
directly?

>
> In other words, Ubuntu seems in roughly the same category as the
>  OpenCD... maybe even less free because the CD can contain
>  non-free-software when it's not an application program, whereas the
>  non-free bits needed to use the OpenCD aren't on the OpenCD, so the
>  group isn't distributing it.

So it's okay to encourage the continued use of non-free software just
so long as we don't distribute it?

>  Now that this has been explained here, if the group's still fine with
>  distributing non-free software, then it's fine and I'll stop, but
>  promoting one of the distributions that aims to be fully free software
>  would be a good extra option.

Ubuntu would like to be fully free software afaik, but I think
stopping here would be a good point. Things are starting to feel a bit
repetitive.