[NTLUG:Discuss] Debian and proposed change to social contract: clarification?

[Richard Cobbe]

Lo, on Tuesday, October 17, Jonathan Brugge did write:

> I found another source about the change of the social contract. Take a look 
> at http://www.lwn.net/2000/1012/dists.php3
> The second part is about Debian. A quote:
> " The proposed change would:
> -change the Social Contract to explicitly state that Debian supports the 
> rights of its users to use and develop non-free software.
> 
> -order the removal of all non-free software from the Debian archives, and 
> forbid the introduction of any such software in the future.
> 
> -Directs various Debian functionaries to implement these changes."
> 
> After this part they say there's another vote, with softer terms.

Yeah.  That was the source I saw that prompted my initial question.  I'm
more interested in a discussion of the ramifications of the proposal.
Basically, my concern boils down to this: if the proposal to remove
non-free passes, what are the chances that the current non-free packages
will continue to be available, as Debian packages, from other sources?
I haven't seen anything which answers this question, or even *asks* it,
really.

(Footnote: I do know that the probability in question is non-zero, as
nothing in the proposal(s) prevents this.  A probability of .00001 doesn't
reassure me, though.)

I took a look at the other link you posted (to the archives of the
debian-devel mailing list) but it wasn't particularly helpful.  Plenty of
discussion, sure, but it was primarily about the voting and constitutional
amendment processes.  While these are certainly valid topics for
discussion, they're not directly helpful: I'm not a Debian maintainer, so I
can't vote.

Thanks much for your help, though.

Richard