Guidelines for Free System Distributions - GNU Pr... http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-system-distribu...

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Guidelines for Free System Distributions

Introduction
T h e pu r pose of t h ese g u idelin es is t o ex pla in w h a t it m ea n s for a sy st em dist r ibu t ion (su ch a s a GNU/Lin u x
dist r ibu t ion ) t o qu a lify a s fr ee, a n d h elp dist r ibu t ion dev eloper s m a k e t h eir dist r ibu t ion s qu a lify .

T h ese g u idelin es a r e n ot com plet e. W e h a v e m en t ion ed t h e issu es w e a r e a w a r e of n ow , bu t w e'r e su r e t h er e a r e m or e.

W e w ill a dd t h em w h en w e com e a cr oss t h em .

W e w ou ld lik e t o t h a n k t h e Fedor a Pr oject for t h eir h elp in focu sin g t h ese policies, a n d a llow in g u s t o u se t h eir ow n
dist r ibu t ion licen se g u idelin es a s a ba sis for t h is docu m en t .

License Rules
“ In for m a t ion for pr a ct ica l u se” in clu des soft w a r e, docu m en t a t ion , fon t s, a n d ot h er da t a t h a t h a s dir ect fu n ct ion a l
a pplica t ion s. It does n ot in clu de a r t ist ic w or k s t h a t h a v e a n a est h et ic (r a t h er t h a n fu n ct ion a l) pu r pose, or st a t em en t s
of opin ion or ju dg m en t .

A ll in for m a t ion for pr a ct ica l u se in a fr ee dist r ibu t ion m u st be a v a ila ble in sou r ce for m . (“ Sou r ce” m ea n s t h e for m of
t h e in for m a t ion t h a t is pr efer r ed for m a k in g ch a n g es t o it .)

T h e in for m a t ion , a n d t h e sou r ce, m u st be pr ov ided u n der a n a ppr opr ia t e fr ee licen se. W e list t h e on es w e h a v e
ev a lu a t ed on ou r licen se list , w it h sepa r a t e sect ion s for licen ses t h a t a r e su it a ble for soft w a r e, docu m en t a t ion , fon t s,
a n d ot h er u sefu l w or k s. If su ch a w or k is r elea sed u n der m u lt iple licen ses, a t lea st on e of w h ich is fr ee, it ca n be
in clu ded in t h e sy st em ; t h e sy st em dev eloper s ju st n eed t o follow t h e t er m s of t h e a v a ila ble fr ee licen se(s) w h en t h ey
dist r ibu t e a n d/or m odify it .

A fr ee sy st em dist r ibu t ion m u st n ot st eer u ser s t ow a r ds obt a in in g a n y n on fr ee in for m a t ion for pr a ct ica l u se, or
en cou r a g e t h em t o do so. T h er e sh ou ld be n o r eposit or ies or por t s for n on fr ee soft w a r e. Pr og r a m s in t h e sy st em sh ou ld
n ot su g g est in st a llin g n on fr ee plu g in s, docu m en t a t ion , a n d so on .

A fr ee sy st em dist r ibu t ion sh ou ld be self-h ost in g . T h is m ea n s t h a t y ou m u st be a ble t o dev elop a n d bu ild t h e sy st em

w it h t ools t h a t t h e sy st em pr ov ides y ou . A s a r esu lt , a fr ee sy st em dist r ibu t ion ca n n ot in clu de fr ee soft w a r e t h a t ca n
on ly be bu ilt by u sin g n on fr ee soft w a r e.

T h er e's a lot of code in m ost fr ee sy st em dist r ibu t ion s t oda y ; t h e a m ou n t of effor t it w ou ld t a k e t o a u dit it a ll dir ect ly
is im pr a ct ica l for m ost t ea m s. In t h e pa st , som e n on fr ee code h a s a cciden t a lly been in clu ded in fr ee sy st em
dist r ibu t ion s. W e don 't de-list dist r ibu t ion s beca u se of t h is; in st ea d, w e on ly a sk t h a t a dist r ibu t ion pu t for t h a g ood
fa it h effor t t o a v oid in clu din g n on fr ee soft w a r e, a n d com m it it self t o r em ov in g su ch pr og r a m s if t h ey a r e discov er ed
la t er .

Cer t a in k in ds of licen se sit u a t ion s m er it specia l a t t en t ion for people cr ea t in g or con sider in g fr ee soft w a r e
dist r ibu t ion s; t h ose a r e discu ssed in t h e sect ion s below .

Nonfree Firmware
Som e a pplica t ion s a n d dr iv er s r equ ir e fir m w a r e t o fu n ct ion , a n d som et im es t h a t fir m w a r e is dist r ibu t ed on ly in
object code for m , u n der a n on fr ee licen se. W e ca ll t h ese fir m w a r e pr og r a m s “ blobs.” On m ost GNU/Lin u x sy st em s,
y ou 'll t y pica lly fin d t h ese a ccom pa n y in g som e dr iv er s in t h e k er n el Lin u x . Su ch fir m w a r e sh ou ld be r em ov ed fr om a
fr ee sy st em dist r ibu t ion .

Blobs ca n t a k e m a n y for m s. Som et im es, t h ey w ill be pr ov ided in sepa r a t e files. Ot h er t im es, t h ey m a y be

in cor por a t ed in t o t h e sou r ce of t h e dr iv er it self—for ex a m ple, it cou ld be en coded a s a la r g e a r r a y of n u m ber s. Bu t n o
m a t t er h ow it 's en coded, a n y n on fr ee fir m w a r e n eeds t o be r em ov ed fr om a fr ee sy st em .

(T o be clea r , n ot ev er y a r r a y of n u m ber s in a dr iv er is fir m w a r e. It 's im por t a n t t o u n der st a n d t h e pu r pose of t h e da t a

befor e decidin g w h et h er or n ot it 's a ppr opr ia t e for a fr ee sy st em .)

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Br ia n Br a zil, Jeff Moe, a n d A lex a n dr e Oliv a h a v e dev eloped a ser ies of scr ipt s t o r em ov e n on fr ee fir m w a r e fr om a
st ock v er sion of Lin u x . Y ou m a y fin d t h em h elpfu l if y ou w ou ld lik e t o dev elop y ou r ow n fr ee GNU/Lin u x dist r ibu t ion .
T h e com plet e sou r ce for a blob-fr ee v er sion of Lin u x is a lso a v a ila ble; y ou ca n lea r n m or e a bou t t h is fr om t h e Fr ee
Soft w a r e Dir ect or y .

Non-functional Data
Da t a t h a t h a s a n a est h et ic pu r pose, r a t h er t h a n a fu n ct ion a l on e, m a y be in clu ded in a fr ee sy st em dist r ibu t ion a s
lon g a s it s licen se g iv es y ou per m ission t o copy a n d r edist r ibu t e, bot h for com m er cia l a n d n on -com m er cia l pu r poses.
For ex a m ple, t h er e a r e som e g a m e en g in es t h a t h a v e been r elea sed u n der t h e GNU GPL, a n d h a v e a ccom pa n y in g
g a m e in for m a t ion —a w or ld m a p, g a m e g r a ph ics, a n d so on —r elea sed u n der su ch a v er ba t im dist r ibu t ion licen se. T h is
k in d of da t a ca n be pa r t of a fr ee sy st em dist r ibu t ion .

Trademarks
T r a dem a r k s a r e a ssocia t ed w it h som e soft w a r e. For ex a m ple, t h e n a m e of a pr og r a m m a y be t r a dem a r k ed, or it s
in t er fa ce m a y displa y a t r a dem a r k ed log o. Oft en , t h e u se of t h ese m a r k s w ill be con t r olled in som e w a y ; in
pa r t icu la r , dev eloper s a r e com m on ly a sk ed t o r em ov e r efer en ces t o t h e t r a dem a r k fr om t h e soft w a r e w h en t h ey
m odify it .

In ex t r em e ca ses, t h ese r est r ict ion s m a y effect iv ely r en der t h e pr og r a m n on fr ee. It is u n fa ir for som eon e t o a sk y ou t o
r em ov e a t r a dem a r k fr om m odified code if t h a t t r a dem a r k is sca t t er ed a ll t h r ou g h ou t t h e or ig in a l sou r ce. A s lon g a s
t h e pr a ct ica l r equ ir em en t s a r e r ea son a ble, h ow ev er , fr ee sy st em dist r ibu t ion s m a y in clu de t h ese pr og r a m s, eit h er
w it h or w it h ou t t h e t r a dem a r k s.

Sim ila r ly , t h e dist r ibu t ion it self m a y h old pa r t icu la r t r a dem a r k s. It is n ot a pr oblem if m odifica t ion r equ ir es
r em ov a l of t h ese t r a dem a r k s, a s lon g a s t h ey ca n r ea dily be r em ov ed w it h ou t losin g fu n ct ion a lit y .

How ev er , it is u n a ccept a ble t o u se t r a dem a r k s t o r est r ict v er ba t im copy in g a n d r edist r ibu t ion of t h e w h ole
dist r ibu t ion , or a n y pa r t .

Documentation
A ll t h e docu m en t a t ion in a fr ee sy st em dist r ibu t ion m u st be r elea sed u n der a n a ppr opr ia t e fr ee licen se. A ddit ion a lly ,
it m u st t a k e ca r e n ot t o r ecom m en d n on fr ee soft w a r e.

In g en er a l, som et h in g t h a t h elps people w h o a lr ea dy u se n on fr ee soft w a r e t o u se t h e fr ee soft w a r e bet t er w it h it is

a ccept a ble, bu t som et h in g t h a t en cou r a g es u ser s of t h e fr ee soft w a r e t o in st a ll n on fr ee soft w a r e is h a r m fu l.

For ex a m ple, a fr ee sy st em dist r ibu t ion m a y h a v e docu m en t a t ion for u ser s set t in g u p du a l boot sy st em s. It cou ld
ex pla in h ow t o a ccess filesy st em s of t h e pr opr iet a r y oper a t in g sy st em , im por t set t in g s fr om it , a n d so on . T h a t w ou ld
be h elpin g people in st a ll a fr ee sy st em dist r ibu t ion on a m a ch in e w h ich a lr ea dy h a s pr opr iet a r y soft w a r e, w h ich is
g ood.

W h a t w ou ld be u n a ccept a ble is for t h e docu m en t a t ion t o g iv e people in st r u ct ion s for in st a llin g a n on fr ee pr og r a m on

t h e sy st em , or m en t ion con v en ien ces t h ey m ig h t g a in by doin g so.

For a bor der lin e ca se, a clea r a n d ser iou s ex h or t a t ion n ot t o u se t h e n on fr ee pr og r a m w ou ld clea r ly m a k e it
a ccept a ble.

Patents
It is effect iv ely im possible for fr ee soft w a r e dev eloper s a n d dist r ibu t or s t o k n ow w h et h er or n ot a g iv en piece of
soft w a r e in fr in g es a n y pa t en t s: t h er e a r e t oo m a n y of t h em , t h ey v a r y fr om cou n t r y t o cou n t r y , t h ey 'r e oft en
w or ded so a s t o m a k e it h a r d t o t ell w h a t t h ey do or don 't cov er , a n d it isn 't ea sy t o t ell w h ich on es a r e v a lid.
T h er efor e, w e don 't g en er a lly a sk fr ee sy st em dist r ibu t ion s t o ex clu de soft w a r e beca u se of possible t h r ea t s fr om
pa t en t s. On t h e ot h er h a n d, w e a lso don 't object if a dist r ibu t or ch ooses t o om it som e soft w a r e in or der t o a v oid pa t en t
r isk .

Commitment to Correct Mistakes

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Most dist r ibu t ion dev elopm en t t ea m s don 't h a v e t h e r esou r ces t o per fect ly ch eck a n d m a ke su r e t h a t t h eir
dist r ibu t ion m eet a ll t h ese cr it er ia . Neit h er do w e. So w e ex pect dev eloper s t o occa sion a lly m a k e m ist a k es t h a t let
som e n on -fr ee soft w a r e slip t h r ou g h , a n d w e don 't r eject a dist r ibu t ion ju st for t h a t . W h a t is cr u cia l is for t h e
dist r ibu t ion dev eloper s t o h a v e a fir m com m it m en t t o pr om pt ly cor r ect a n y m ist a k es t h a t a r e r epor t ed t o t h em .

Maintenance
T o be list ed, a dist r ibu t ion sh ou ld be a ct iv ely m a in t a in ed, a n d sh ou ld g iv e t h e GNU Pr oject a clea r a n d specific w a y t o
r epor t pr oblem s of n on -fr ee soft w a r e t h a t w e fin d ou t a bou t . It sh ou ld a lso in for m u s w h en t h e pr oblem s w e h a v e
r epor t ed a r e fix ed.

Final Notes
W e m a in t a in a list of t h e fr ee sy st em dist r ibu t ion s w e k n ow a bou t . If y ou k n ow a bou t a fr ee dist r ibu t ion t h a t isn 't
list ed t h er e, plea se h a v e t h e dev eloper s w r it e t o u s a t <g n u @g n u .or g >.

How ev er , w e w ill n ot list a dist r ibu t ion w h ose n a m e m a k es con fu sion w it h n on -fr ee dist r ibu t ion s lik ely . T h u s, if
Fooba r Lig h t is a fr ee dist r ibu t ion a n d Fooba r is a n on -fr ee dist r ibu t ion , w e w ill n ot list Fooba r Lig h t . T h is is beca u se
w e ex pect t h a t t h e dist in ct ion bet w een t h e t w o w ou ld be lost in t h e pr ocess of com m u n ica t in g t h is m essa g e.

If y ou h a v e qu est ion s or com m en t s a bou t t h ese g u idelin es t h em selv es, feel fr ee t o sen d t h ose t o <licen sin g @g n u .or g >.
W e h ope t h is h elps ev er y on e bet t er u n der st a n d t h e issu es t h a t a r e im por t a n t for fr ee sy st em dist r ibu t ion s, a n d w e
look for w a r d t o pr om ot in g m or e of t h em in t h e fu t u r e.

ba ck t o t op

Ch eck ou t ot h er Fr ee Soft wa r e Fou n da t i on ca m pa i gn s

Defect iv e by Desig n , a ca m pa ig n a g a in st Dig it a l Rest r ict ion s Ma n a g em en t (DRM)
W in dow s 7 Sin s, t h e ca se a g a in st Micr osoft a n d pr opr iet a r y soft w a r e
Pla y Og g — su ppor t fr ee m edia for m a t s

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