The Debian Social Contract (DSC) is a document that frames the moral agenda of the
Debian project. The values outlined in the Social Contract provide the basic principles for the
Debian Free Software Guidelines that serve as the basis of the
Open Source Definition
''The Open Source Definition'' is a document published by the Open Source Initiative, to determine whether a software license can be labeled with the open-source certification mark.
The definition was taken from the exact text of the Debian Free ...
.
Debian believes the makers of a
free software operating system should provide guarantees when a user entrusts them with control of a computer. These guarantees include:
*Ensuring that the operating system remains open and free.
*Giving improvements back to the community that made the operating system possible.
*Not hiding problems with the software or organization.
*Staying focused on the users and the software that started the phenomenon.
*Making it possible for the software to be used with non-free software.
History
The idea of the DSC was first proposed by Ean Schuessler after a conversation with
Bob Young, co-founder of
Red Hat. Schuessler said Red Hat should issue a set of guidelines that would guarantee to the community as the company expanded it would always be committed to the ideals of
Free Software. Young said this would be a "kiss of death" for Red Hat, implying it would constrain the company's ability to generate profit. Concerned about Young's response, Schuessler and other Debian developers decided to broach the idea of a "social contract" that would supplement Debian's initial manifesto written by
Ian Murdock
Ian Ashley Murdock (April28, 1973 – December 28, 2015) was an American software engineer, known for being the founder of the Debian project and Progeny Linux Systems, a commercial Linux company.
Life and career
Although Murdock's parents ...
.
Bruce Perens
Bruce Perens (born around 1958) is an American computer programmer and advocate in the free software movement. He created The Open Source Definition and published the first formal announcement and manifesto of open source. He co-founded the Ope ...
later led the effort from June 1997 to coordinate the creation of the DSC using the
Free Software Definition
The Free Software Definition written by Richard Stallman and published by the Free Software Foundation (FSF), defines free software as being software that ensures that the end users have freedom in using, studying, sharing and modifying that softwa ...
as its basis.
The Debian project ratified its social contract 1.0 on July 5, 1997.
References
External links
Debian Social Contract
{{Debian
Social Contract