[Nix-dev] Packaging free software that costs money

[Jookia]

On Wed, Jul 06, 2016 at 06:46:11PM +0200, Profpatsch wrote:
> On 16-07-07 01:18am, Jookia wrote:
> > On Wed, Jul 06, 2016 at 04:35:51PM +0200, Moritz Ulrich wrote:
> > Is it really Nix's job to enforcing the business models of software, rather than
> > just packaging it? Surely the application could just have a nag screen (if it
> > doesn't already.)
>
> How about we check whether the NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNPAID variables (good name?) is set
> and supress the abortion in that case? Same as with NIXPKGS_ALLLOW_UNFREE.
>
> env NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNPAID=1 nix-shell -p ardour --run ardour

Should Nix really be involved in questions of morality like this? For where
binaries aren't publically available we already have packages that handle
'commercial' software, like andyetitmoves. For software that wants the user to
pay or donate, GNU Parallel for one requires you to agree to citing the software
in scientific papers to avoid a nag screen, I don't see why Ardour shouldn't do
the same. This isn't a technical feature, it's a morality feature.

I also think it's wrong to present software as required to be paid in order to
use when it's not, and making users say they paid for it when they didn't, just
to install free software that they're entitled to install and use.

Is this going to be the Nix software store?

Jookia.