Defining Free Software Business (please read this before believing anything about debian on this list this month)

[Matthew Blissett]

On Thu, 29 Jun 2006 08:59:56 +0100, Kaloian Doganov <kaloian at doganov.org>  
wrote:

> 	Kaloian Doganov <kaloian at doganov.org> asked:
> 	> Why we have to make a distinction based on the medium of distribution?
>
> 	1. A: You don't, but the CDs contain only the operating system,
> 	not the various other things also held on the ftp server which
> 	some seem unable to ignore or compare like-for-like.
>
> You didn't answered my question.  Let me rephrase it like this: Why
> Debian Project distributes only the operating system without proprietary
> softwre on the CDs, but distributes the operating system plus
> proprietary software on the Internet?  How Debian Project distinguish
> its users (whether to ship them proprietary software or not) based on
> the medium of distribution?
>
> If those users on the Internet "deserve" (sic!) proprietary software,
> then why the users of the CDs does not "deserve" it?

Because the license restrictions on the non-free software might not allow  
redistribution on CD:

http://www.uk.debian.org/CD/faq/#nonfree
"The official CDs may freely be used, copied and sold by anyone anywhere  
in the world. Packages of the "non-free" category have restrictions that  
conflict with this, so these packages are not placed on the official CDs."

-- 
Matt