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All packages should have local descriptions of what the bindist |
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USE-flag specifically does. This should be a policy when writing |
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ebuilds that include it. |
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|
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The bindist USE-flag is for avoiding components in a package that |
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would result in non-re-distributable binary packages. The generic |
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global description is "Flag to enable or disable options for prebuilt |
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(GRP) packages (eg. due to licensing issues)". This is very vague. It |
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does not in any way explain the specifics of what enabling the flag |
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will do. |
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|
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This means that each package should describe what it specifically |
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does. www-client/firefox-10.0.11 is one example that does this |
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properly with "Disable official Firefox branding (icons, name) which |
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are not binary-redistributable according to upstream." This is |
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perfectly descriptive. net-misc/openssh is one example that does not |
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have a local/specific description. |
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|
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To me, this is unacceptable. Someone who cares enough about licensing |
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and distribution etc. to set the bindist USE-flag, will likely care |
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about the specifics of the it as well. Furthermore, different people |
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find different things unacceptable. As an example, patent-encumbered |
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codec support in ffmpeg is something that might be considered |
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unacceptable to some. However, the very same people might not be worried |
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about trademark/branding-related issues, such as is the case with |
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Firefox. This is comparable to how some find the GPL acceptable, but |
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not the Artistic License 1.0, and ebuilds do indeed require the |
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licence -- not LICENSE="free-ish". |
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|
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I have filed bug reports for the affected packages. However, to avoid |
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this becoming an issue in the future I think it would be fruitful to |
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have a policy or something to make sure all ebuilds that make use of the |
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bindist USE-flag at the very least describe *what* toggling it does in |
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the context of that specific package, and preferably also *why* the |
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flag exists in the first place. This will summarise the problem and |
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the solution that USE=+bindist offers for the end-user. I don't find |
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it acceptable to make the details "left as an exercise" to the user. |
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|
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The affected packages per now* are all versions of: |
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|
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dev-db/libdbi-drivers |
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dev-db/opendbx |
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dev-libs/gf2x |
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gnome-extra/libgda |
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kde-base/oxygen-icons |
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media-libs/freetype |
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media-libs/libaacplus |
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media-libs/mediastreamer |
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media-libs/mesa |
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media-plugins/mediastreamer-silk |
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media-video/ffmpeg |
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media-video/libav |
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media-video/mplayer |
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media-video/mplayer2 |
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net-dialup/freeradius |
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net-libs/gnutls |
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net-libs/liboauth |
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net-misc/openssh |
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net-misc/vpnc |
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sci-visualization/qtiplot |
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|
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Newer versions of gnutls don't have the USE-flag, so I'll let that one |
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slide. ffmpeg is problematic... see: |
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<https://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=369249>. |
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|
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*27/12/12 21:38 |
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|
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- - -- |
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Alexander |
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alexander@××××××.net |
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http://plaimi.net/~alexander |
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