[tex-implementors] Re: [tex-live] LM as the default outline font?

[Sebastian Rahtz]

Philip TAYLOR wrote:

> /Who's/ convention ?

software developers....

> that what we are seeing here is exactly the same type of
> coercive pressure as is used to "persuade" package authors to
> include some quasi-legal "Free software" licence in any package
> for which they are responsible.

The scare quotes, and the phrase quasi-legal are really unnecessarily
aggressive. Software licences are software licences, and are
legal documents, irrespective of whether you have paid for the software.

> I for one resent that pressure

The pressure that has been applied has been to ask authors
to put their software on a proper legal basis. By default,
without a licence, people cannot use or distribute any code you write.
Really. However much you may dislike this, its the legal framework
we operate it.

> and I similarly resent these attempts to enforce a particular
> versioning scheme on the authors of what is potentially a very
> significant package.

Frank merely remarked that the versioning scheme was unusual,
and wondered if it could be changed. Staszek can call the package
whatever he likes, and Debian folks like Frank can work around it.
However, the more work involved in packaging up something for
distribution in Debian carries the increasing likelihood that no-one
wil bother. Similarly, I tend to leave aside packages that might
get into the TeX Live texmf* trees if they have complex installations or
strange names. I don't _reject_ them, I simply put them on one side 
until I have leisure,
which I seldom have. I imagine Frank and other Debian-like folks
would make similar judgements.


-- 
Sebastian Rahtz      
Information Manager, Oxford University Computing Services
13 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 6NN. Phone +44 1865 283431

OSS Watch: JISC Open Source Advisory Service
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