On Tue, Jul 16, 2002 at 09:43:33PM -0400, Boris Veytsman wrote: > I'm afraid you mix two different ponits here. You mix the freedom to > change the document look and the freedom to change the typesetting > engine.
From your perspective, that may be a meaningful distinction; from
Debian's, it is not.
Clause 3 of the Debian Free Software Guidelines states:
Derived Works
The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must
allow them to be distributed under the same terms as the license
of the original software.
> I have a freedom to change the look of any LaTeX document if its
> license allows me to do this (the document license has nothing to do
> with the LaTeX license). I do not want my system admin to have a
> freedom to change the look of all my documents without my explicit
> wish.
In that case, you should specify in your documents' licenses which
version of LaTeX you require your documents to be viewed with. Of
course, your documents would not licensed in a DFSG-free way if you did
so, but if you're seeking their distribution by Debian that isn't very
important.
> Then he can put the changes into his own format (say, newlatex.fmt),
> and instead of doing
> $ latex myfile.tex
> do
> $ newlatex myfile.tex
>
> This is really easy to do (and does not require superuser privileges,
> btw).
The ease of alternatives to modifying source code is not important. The
right of the user to create modifications and derived works is.
Interestingly, Frank Mittelbach is asserting that it is not the intent
of the LPPL to forbid mere modification of LaTeX source code:
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
"it is not the intention to disallow modification without
redistribution. the license has a paragraph labeled recommendation that
talks about that but that is already by its title a suggestion only"
Perhaps the LaTeX community should appoint a spokesman to the Debian
Project so that we do not get contradictory statements about what is
acceptable?
> Most people are unable to write because they are unable to think, and
> they are unable to think because they congenitally lack the equipment
> to do so, just as they congenitally lack the equipment to fly over the moon.
> -- H.L. Mencken
--
G. Branden Robinson | Good judgement comes from
Debian GNU/Linux | experience; experience comes from
[EMAIL PROTECTED] | bad judgement.
http://people.debian.org/~branden/ | -- Fred Brooks
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