[arch-dev-public] Definition of non-free for repo-reorg

[Jürgen Hötzel]

On Thu, Jul 12, 2007 at 12:43:48PM -0400, Paul Mattal wrote:
> Jürgen Hötzel wrote:
> > Featuritis. Another pacman feature, that should not be part of a simple lightweight
> > package manager.  
> 
> License issues do need to be handled somewhere. I think we've 
> already chosen to handle them in pacman, by putting all that 
> information into packages.
> 

Having license meta-information in packages is fine. And it would also be
fine to not only search for package description/name but also package
license. This would allow users to search for all pdf packages distributed
under GPL using "pacman -Ss"

But who needs a child proof for free software devotees, like in this
scenario:

"I have to install a viewer for this proprietary PDF files. Lets try
Adobes Acrobat Reader"

# pacman -S acroread do
:: you agree to accept Adobes Non Free Software License [Y/N]

User: "WTF! Adobe did not release Adobes Acrobat Reader as GPL? Thank god
pacman saved me from installing non-free software". 

Jürgen