[Mageia-dev] Mageia repository sections, licenses, restrictions, firmware etc

[Wolfgang Bornath]

2010/10/15 Anssi Hannula <anssi.hannula at iki.fi>:
>
> Seems sensible to ask the mirror owners. It is possible some of them have not
> been aware of the problem at all, so I think we should make sure they
> understand that Ubuntu, Debian, Arch, etc. also contain patented technologies
> (to avoid the situation where they are willing to mirror Ubuntu/Debian/Arch
> but not allow patented software in Mageia, just because the other
> distributions didn't notify them of the issue; if they don't want to mirror
> Mageia if it contained patent-encumbered software, they really shouldn't be
> mirroring those other distributions either).

As mirror maintainer/owner of Mandriva Linux and future Mageia
(ftp.mandrivauser.de) I discussed this problem with my friends and we
decided not to mirror PLF although a German university does
(ftp.gwdg.de). The point is that our mirror is hosted on a private
server where just one person is liable (me, unfortunately). But we
also decided to mirror the non-free branch of Mandriva Linux. There is
non-free and there is patented and/or legally unclear software - we
will definitely stay away from the latter when mirroring Mageia.
Making a difference between such software on the parent mirror will
make it easy for mirrors such as ours. Distributing such software in
the same branches as "normal" software will make it impossible to
mirror Mageia.

-- 
wobo