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diff --git a/includes/etch/common/doc/debian-manifesto b/includes/etch/common/doc/debian-manifesto deleted file mode 100644 index 9322c93..0000000 --- a/includes/etch/common/doc/debian-manifesto +++ /dev/null @@ -1,135 +0,0 @@ -Please note that this document is provided in order to document -Debian's history. While the general ideas still apply some details -changed. - - -******************** -Appendix -The Debian Manifesto -******************** - - - The Debian Linux Manifesto - - Written by Ian A. Murdock - Revised 01/06/94 - - -What is Debian Linux? -===================== - -Debian Linux is a brand-new kind of Linux distribution. Rather than -being developed by one isolated individual or group, as other -distributions of Linux have been developed in the past, Debian is being -developed openly in the spirit of Linux and GNU. The primary purpose -of the Debian project is to finally create a distribution that lives up -to the Linux name. Debian is being carefully and conscientiously put -together and will be maintained and supported with similar care. - -It is also an attempt to create a non-commercial distribution that will -be able to effectively compete in the commercial market. It will -eventually be distributed by The Free Software Foundation on CD-ROM, -and The Debian Linux Association will offer the distribution on floppy -disk and tape along with printed manuals, technical support and other -end-user essentials. All of the above will be available at little more -than cost, and the excess will be put toward further development of -free software for all users. Such distribution is essential to the -success of the Linux operating system in the commercial market, and it -must be done by organizations in a position to successfully advance and -advocate free software without the pressure of profits or returns. - - -Why is Debian being constructed? -================================ - -Distributions are essential to the future of Linux. Essentially, they -eliminate the need for the user to locate, download, compile, install -and integrate a fairly large number of essential tools to assemble a -working Linux system. Instead, the burden of system construction is -placed on the distribution creator, whose work can be shared with -thousands of other users. Almost all users of Linux will get their -first taste of it through a distribution, and most users will continue -to use a distribution for the sake of convenience even after they are -familiar with the operating system. Thus, distributions play a very -important role indeed. - -Despite their obvious importance, distributions have attracted little -attention from developers. There is a simple reason for this: they are -neither easy nor glamorous to construct and require a great deal of -ongoing effort from the creator to keep the distribution bug-free and -up-to-date. It is one thing to put together a system from scratch; it -is quite another to ensure that the system is easy for others to -install, is installable and usable under a wide variety of hardware -configurations, contains software that others will find useful, and is -updated when the components themselves are improved. - -Many distributions have started out as fairly good systems, but as time -passes attention to maintaining the distribution becomes a secondary -concern. A case-in-point is the Softlanding Linux System (better known -as SLS). It is quite possibly the most bug-ridden and badly maintained -Linux distribution available; unfortunately, it is also quite possibly -the most popular. It is, without question, the distribution that -attracts the most attention from the many commercial "distributors" of -Linux that have surfaced to capitalize on the growing popularity of the -operating system. - -This is a bad combination indeed, as most people who obtain Linux from -these "distributors" receive a bug-ridden and badly maintained Linux -distribution. As if this wasn't bad enough, these "distributors" have -a disturbing tendency to misleadingly advertise non-functional or -extremely unstable "features" of their product. Combine this with the -fact that the buyers will, of course, expect the product to live up to -its advertisement and the fact that many may believe it to be a -commercial operating system (there is also a tendency not to mention -that Linux is free nor that it is distributed under the GNU General -Public License). To top it all off, these "distributors" are actually -making enough money from their effort to justify buying larger -advertisements in more magazines; it is the classic example of -unacceptable behavior being rewarded by those who simply do not know -any better. Clearly something needs to be done to remedy the -situation. - - -How will Debian attempt to put an end to these problems? -======================================================== - -The Debian design process is open to ensure that the system is of the -highest quality and that it reflects the needs of the user community. -By involving others with a wide range of abilities and backgrounds, -Debian is able to be developed in a modular fashion. Its components -are of high quality because those with expertise in a certain area are -given the opportunity to construct or maintain the individual -components of Debian involving that area. Involving others also -ensures that valuable suggestions for improvement can be incorporated -into the distribution during its development; thus, a distribution is -created based on the needs and wants of the users rather than the needs -and wants of the constructor. It is very difficult for one individual -or small group to anticipate these needs and wants in advance without -direct input from others. - -Debian Linux will also be distributed on physical media by the Free -Software Foundation and the Debian Linux Association. This provides -Debian to users without access to the Internet or FTP and additionally -makes products and services such as printed manuals and technical -support available to all users of the system. In this way, Debian may -be used by many more individuals and organizations than is otherwise -possible, the focus will be on providing a first-class product and not -on profits or returns, and the margin from the products and services -provided may be used to improve the software itself for all users -whether they paid to obtain it or not. - -The Free Software Foundation plays an extremely important role in the -future of Debian. By the simple fact that they will be distributing -it, a message is sent to the world that Linux is not a commercial -product and that it never should be, but that this does not mean that -Linux will never be able to compete commercially. For those of you who -disagree, I challenge you to rationalize the success of GNU Emacs and -GCC, which are not commercial software but which have had quite an -impact on the commercial market regardless of that fact. - -The time has come to concentrate on the future of Linux rather than on -the destructive goal of enriching oneself at the expense of the entire -Linux community and its future. The development and distribution of -Debian may not be the answer to the problems that I have outlined in -the Manifesto, but I hope that it will at least attract enough -attention to these problems to allow them to be solved. |