Steve Langasek writes: > What would the benefits to the greater community be if the DFSG were more > like the OSD?
Let me rephrase what you said. I want to be clear that I expect Debian to change the DFSG, and OSI to change the OSD. Both documents can be improved, but they should be improved to be the same thing. > What would the benefits to the greater community be if the DFSG and > the OSD were more alike? 1) Surely you've seen the Monty Python movie "Life of Brian", where the People's Front of Judea and the Judean People's Front are constantly at loggerheads? While the real power are the Romans, of course. I needn't elaborate. 2) Besides that, there are at least four definitions of "free software": the OSD, the DFSG, the DFSG as interpreted by debian-legal, and RMS's definition. Suppose someone wants to join this community of software developers. Which community does he join? By joining one, does he join all? Confusion isn't good for us. 3) NOBODY is served well by a split (which I don't think has actually occurred, but the potential alarms people) wherein the corporate entities choose the OSD, and software developers choose from the list of alternatives above. -- -russ nelson http://russnelson.com | You get prosperity when Crynwr sells support for free software | PGPok | the government does less, 521 Pleasant Valley Rd. | +1 315 268 1925 voice | not when the government Potsdam, NY 13676-3213 | +1 315 268 9201 FAX | does something right.
