[scribus] the docs and the distros

[Gregory Pittman]

On 04/10/2012 08:26 AM, a.l.e wrote:
> On 4/10/12 12:27 PM, Craig Bradney wrote:

>> The docs are free to use , copy and are in all distros. They are OPL
>> licensed so someone doesn't take them, print them and make money from
>> them without contributing back to Scribus.
>>
>
> only half true: last time i've checked, on debian and ubuntu they're in
> the non-free repository which is not enabled by default.
>
> and, afaik, the detail making them non free is not the use of the OPL
> license, but the exception attached to it, forbidding the commercial
> printing without the explicit consent of the original authors.
>
> so, the problem is not that one has to contribute back to scribus (which
> could be done with a standard OPL license or a cc-by-sa license), but
> that there are restrictions on your freedom to use the manual, that are
> not compatible with the idea of free software as defined by the FSFE.
>
> independently from the fact that one likes or not that license, the FSFE
> or the provision added by the scribus team, the problem is that on many
> computers the documentation does not get automatically installed when
> scribus is installed.

This seems odd. Usually Fedora seems to have one of the more particular 
points of view in regard to what they include, and the docs are the 
regular depository, not in rpmfusion. So they're free enough for Fedora...

This has the earmarks of being an arbitrary decision by each distro. As 
I see it, there are no restrictions on anyone's _use_ of the manual. You 
can even print it out if you like. But why should we allow someone to 
take it and sell it?

Greg