[Nix-dev] Proprietary fonts not installed by default

[Tony White]

2009/7/8 Eelco Dolstra <e.dolstra at tudelft.nl>:
> Hi,
>
> Ludovic Courtčs wrote:
>
>> In r16253, in `modular-nixos', I turned `fonts.enableCoreFonts' to
>> `false' by default, instead of `true'.  My attention had been drawn to
>> this package by the vision of `.exe', `.dll', and similar file names
>> while doing `nixos-rebuild'.
>>
>> My opinion is that NixOS should not install non-free data, nor even
>> non-free software by default.  If we can reach a consensus on that, of
>> if the maintainer is OK to enforce it, then it's great.  Otherwise, I
>> think we should make sure it's a least easy to choose whether to use
>> proprietary data/software when installing NixOS.
>
> My main concern is whether we have some decent-looking fonts in a default
> installation.  Without the Core fonts we only have Bitstream Vera and the GNU
> FreeFont (which may be enough - not sure).  I personally don't have major
> problems with the Core fonts license, given that it's a "leaf" dependency
> (nothing else depends on it, so it's easy to get rid of for users who want a
> fully free OS).
>
> It might be nice to have an option to disable the use of all non-free packages
> (such as the NVIDIA drivers).
>
> --
> Eelco Dolstra | http://www.st.ewi.tudelft.nl/~dolstra/
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>

Hi,
This is a very important issue and it's something that I am concerned
about also.
FTW, we don't really need mscorefonts by default, there are plenty of
great free and open source alternatives available but that doesn't
mean I think it should be got rid of.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/11/08/40-excellent-freefonts-for-professional-design/

Some programs such as Opera actually are quite poor without the
mscorefonts but that's only because they specifically look for them by
default.

As far as the mscorefont licensing goes, I don't think that the
"Commercial product" Wording applies but this is important :

Copies of the SOFTWARE PRODUCT may not be distributed for profit
either on a standalone basis or included as part of your own product.

AND :

Restrictions on Alteration.  You may not rename, edit or create any
derivative works from the SOFTWARE PRODUCT, other than subsetting when
embedding them in documents.

FROM :

http://web.archive.org/web/20020227054122/www.microsoft.com/typography/fontpack/eula.htm

http://corefonts.sourceforge.net/faq8.htm
(end user license agreement.)

So that kind of wording says to me; it's for end users and not
distributors to add to their products. So I think it's best to not
include them by default.
It also puts a ? over whether you could provide installations of NixOs
as a service to a business as a business, regardless of whether you
are charging for the actual Os, media (CD or DVD) Or not because the
word profit is used.

This mscorefonts example exposes a very big issue that extends much
further than just mscorefonts. There is stuff like ffmpeg, gstreamer,
x264, freetype2 that shouldn't be made available by default but they
all have dependents which effect lots of software because of build
time dependencies. All because of software patents that require
licensing in order to redistribute binaries.

Maybe an allowProprietary option set to false by default is a viable
solution? Providing those that only want very few proprietary options
to easily set each one to true if that's what they want and then the
hungry "I want everything working" People like me, could just set
allowProprietary = "true" and anything which may require (Or is
unclear about) A proprietary license is built on a switch. It's mainly
the redistribution of binaries and not the source code which is
potential for problems, commercial or not. Compiling the source for
personal use is fine in pretty much all cases. Is that solution a
"Catch all" Though?

Sorry to be frank about it but this issue has the potential to go way
deeper than mscorefonts, so maybe policy needs to be set for the
problem as a whole?

Thanks,

Tony