Re: Gentoo GNU/Linux and non-free packages

[Yavor Doganov]

Tassilo Horn wrote:
> Hm, I don't know how extensively you have tested, but using
> 
>   ACCEPT_LICENSE="-* @FSF-APPROVED @OSI-APPROVED"

This is far from sufficient for an entirely free GNU distro (which all
distros should be, in an ideal world), because there are packages are
basically under a free license, but include component or two that are
clearly non-free, or have dependencies that are non-free.

Unless Gentoo strips the tarballs to exclude such components, tweaks
the .ebuilds and dependencies accordingly, etc., this new feature of
the package manager is not a solution.

Then comes the problem with incompatible licenses, which Gentoo
doesn't seem to pursue at all -- it'll happily compile whatever
combination of USE flags if it's technically possible.  (I might be
wrong here.)  While less severe than distributing and even silently
installing non-free software behind users' back, this is an issue that
should not be ignored.


BTW, this sub-thread seems to be off-topic on emacs-devel.