Hi, >>"Dale" == Dale Scheetz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Dale> On 20 Apr 1998, Manoj Srivastava wrote: >> Hi, >> >> Well, to take a different tack, what is the point of a policy >> document at all when anyone can say "well, my package is an >> exception and need not comply to policy."? If one may take that >> stance, I see no point in having a policy document in the first >> place. Dale> To take the same tack, what is the point of a policy document Dale> that is so rigid that noone can say "My package needs an Dale> exception to this policy."? If one may take this stance, I see Dale> no point in trying to build a distribution in the first place. OOOooooh, Some thing I can agree with ;-) The policy can never be rigid; it is up to the policy to conform to correct behaviour. There should be well defined processes to initiate a change in policy (I thought such procedures already exist). The difference here is that one has to convince a number of other people (generally, the people interested in policy hang out in debian-policy); so it means that one may not arbitarily decide that they shall ship a package that is non-free into main since their package is an exception to the DFSG. I think discussion on something as important as the policy document is not undesirable. It also means that a lone developer can't shanghai policy ;-). If the policy manager gets too rigid, the developers can impeach him/her 9if we ratify the constituition). Policy can never become a rigid unchanging document; and any flaws or exceptions should be included in the policy as soon as possible. I do not think that the solution to a flaw in the policy should be to ignore policy. I think the solution should be to fix policy. Oh, when I say policy, I mean the loose heirarchy of documents that constitute the rules by which we construct packages (including the DFSG, the www standard, the emacsen policy, etc) manoj -- If a person (a) is poorly, (b) receives treatment intended to make him better, and (c) gets better, then no power of reasoning known to medical science can convince him that it may not have been the treatment that restored his health. Sir Peter Medawar, The Art of the Soluble Manoj Srivastava <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <http://www.datasync.com/%7Esrivasta/> Key C7261095 fingerprint = CB D9 F4 12 68 07 E4 05 CC 2D 27 12 1D F5 E8 6E -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]