Slashdot Mirror
Free & Non-Free Documentation
Guylhem writes "After the problems the LDP had with Debian rules, it seems clear we need an organization which would for example sort documentation between free (as "libre" or "freedom") and non free. After some discussions with people from the GNU project and the FSF, we came to the conclusion no such project already existed. I am please to announce that I am now starting the GNU Writing Movement with help from the GNU project. We will provide links to existing free documents, with a possibility to rate the documentation quality.
The project is not competing with existing documentation project such as the LDP or GDP. It will complement them, both by serving somewhat as a meta-project for free software documentation, to provide help to authors willing to replace their FAQ or HOWTO will a full Guide on a specific topic, and to develop brand-new book-length material on many topics.
"
If you can't find a home for your documentation at an existing documentation project, and you agree with the philosophy of the GNU project, we can help you. Volunteers are welcome for the first phase of the project - cataloging existing free software documentation, rating it, and determining TODO lists for what needs to be documented.
As an author, I'm offended by your suggestion that the LDP, and by inference the authors of various documents, had "problems" with the Debian license.
It's the other way around. Debian manufactured a crisis and is trying to put the blame on the volunteer authors instead of accepting that their quest for ideological purity is going too far. If Debian has a problem with one of my documents, they're free to rewrite it from scratch. Paraphrasing is *not* sufficient.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. -- H L Mencken
Learn the difference between a License agreement and a Copyright Assignment.
The rule is that anything that is Copyright the FSF, must be wholly copyright the FSF, or they weaken their position to defend it in court. Some GNU projects don't assign their copyright, but in that case, if someone violates copyright the FSF can't get involved to prosecute.
Your view on what makes "Open Source" software (Which GNU software isn't...) so nice completely disregards copyright law. Certainly in the US and Canada, any document, piece of software, etc. that does NOT have a copyright statement and/or license agreement is automatically copyright the author and is restricted from being copied.
Welcome to the real world.