You've done nothing here but provide some text, which proposes to ruin some people's current experience.
I think this discussion is over. David Uhden Collado <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello everyone, > > I would like to start a discussion about how OpenBSD's copyright > policy applies to GPL-licensed software already present in the base > system. In this email, I will focus on FVWM. > > Context summary: > > The project's policy is to avoid adding new software licensed under > the GPL to the base system. Components that were already present have > been kept for historical reasons, and they will be replaced with more > permissively licensed alternatives when possible. The default window > manager for Xenocara, FVWM, remains in an old version due to licensing > changes that began with the 2.4.x series. Modern versions are > available in ports. A similar precedent was set with the old > toolchain, GCC, which remained in the base system until the switch to > Clang/LLVM, at least on the main platforms. > > Practical issues: > > 1. Sticking with very old versions means missing out on improvements > and fixes from upstream sources, as well as providing an outdated > experience to new users. > 2. Maintenance costs increase with age, requiring ad hoc patching to > build and run with changes in X, new architectures, etc. > 3. Shipping an outdated graphical environment when there are current > alternatives in packages causes most users to immediately replace the > window manager after installing OpenBSD. > > Concrete proposals to discuss: > > A. Remove FVWM from the base system and retain only the window > managers fully aligned with policy, such as cwm and twm, in > Xenocara. Anyone who needs a modern version of FVWM can install it > from the ports collection (fvwm2 or fvwm3). > B. Replace FVWM in the base system with a window manager that is > licensed under a permissive license and is maintained (e.g. JWM). This > would offer a more user-friendly alternative to cwm without > introducing new code licensed under the GPL. > > Questions for the list: > > 1. Do we agree that the base system should avoid "frozen" software? > 2. If we remove FVWM from the base system, would you prefer option A, > which leaves only cwm and twm, or option B, which includes a more > user-friendly, permissively licensed window manager? > > Best regards, > David. > > Notes: > [1]: https://www.openbsd.org/policy.html
