Bug 129721 - New doc: Fedora Multimedia Installation HOWTO
Summary: New doc: Fedora Multimedia Installation HOWTO
Keywords:
Status: CLOSED NOTABUG
Alias: None
Product: Fedora Documentation
Classification: Fedora
Component: docs-requests
Version: devel
Hardware: All
OS: Linux
medium
medium
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Tammy Fox
QA Contact: Tammy Fox
URL: http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Fedora-Multimed...
Whiteboard:
Depends On:
Blocks:
TreeView+ depends on / blocked
 
Reported: 2004-08-12 04:48 UTC by Colin Charles
Modified: 2007-04-18 17:10 UTC (History)
0 users

Fixed In Version:
Doc Type: Bug Fix
Doc Text:
Clone Of:
Environment:
Last Closed: 2004-08-13 00:41:58 UTC
Embargoed:


Attachments (Terms of Use)

Description Colin Charles 2004-08-12 04:48:10 UTC
If Eric Raymond is willing to say "yes" to this being included in the
upcoming fedora-docs project, we should get the XML and get it included. 

Action: e-mailed esr to get him to look at the bug

Comment 1 Colin Charles 2004-08-12 05:26:46 UTC
Can someone in the know, about the DMCA, also comment on this -
apparently having a link/pointer to such a thing is possibly a DMCA
violation (and fedora.redhat.com is in the US)

Comment 2 Paul W. Frields 2004-08-12 13:24:03 UTC
I'm not in favor of adding this to the official documentation -- not
because it's not well-written, but because it flies in the face of the
goals of the Fedora Project. Those goals include (and I qoute from the
Web site at <http://fedora.redhat.com/>:

   "The goal of The Fedora Project is to work with the Linux
   community to build a complete, general purpose operating
   system exclusively from free software."

The word "exclusively" says it all. ESR's HOWTO document, while a
great boon to the user who can resolve their qualms with mixing
proprietary software and FOSS (or who has none), is incompatible with
the goals of the Fedora Project.

There are also numerous legal impediments to posting this document at
fedora.redhat.com, some of which have nothing to do with the DMCA.
(Many would argue that they have everything to do, however, with
regulations that are just as insidious and/or specious.) For just one
instance, let's look at the HOWTO instructions on installing MP3
plugin software. MP3 software is patent-encumbered, and in this case
the patent holders (Fraunhofer) demand licensing fees from companies
that include MP3 software in their products. Hosting a document that
effectively induces others to install software that does not meet
these demands might represent a legal risk to both the Fedora Project
and Red Hat, Inc.

Similarly with mplayer and Xine, methinks. However, it might be
possible to rewrite this HOWTO including only non-encumbered
multimedia software. Since that essentially means the document is
*not* ready for publishing, I am removing the fedora-docs tracker bug
block.

Comment 3 Tammy Fox 2004-08-13 00:41:58 UTC
I agree with Paul. We can not include information on how to add
illegal extensions or software to Fedora as part of the Fedora Docs
Project.


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