Skip to content
New issue

Have a question about this project? Sign up for a free GitHub account to open an issue and contact its maintainers and the community.

Sign up for GitHub

By clicking “Sign up for GitHub”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy statement. We’ll occasionally send you account related emails.

Already on GitHub? Sign in to your account

Jump to bottom

Update description; add FLOSS entry; update license #1263

Merged
merged 6 commits into from Oct 18, 2022
Merged

Update description; add FLOSS entry; update license #1263

Show file tree
Hide file tree
Changes from all commits
Commits
Show all changes
6 commits
Select commit Hold shift + click to select a range
c641695
Update description; add FLOSS entry; update license
andrewdavidwong Aug 18, 2022
5b9116c
Fix link text
andrewdavidwong Aug 18, 2022
5c2cac6
Update "attitude toward changing guest distro" language to reflect in…
andrewdavidwong Aug 18, 2022
f38e9b6
Add clarifications and links
andrewdavidwong Aug 18, 2022
fe965f0
Clarify the two senses of "free"
andrewdavidwong Sep 5, 2022
bf5ebfc
Add links
andrewdavidwong Sep 6, 2022
File filter

Filter by extension

Filter by extension
Conversations
Failed to load comments.
Jump to
Jump to file
Failed to load files.
Diff view
Diff view
3 changes: 2 additions & 1 deletion developer/code/license.md
View file
Open in desktop
Expand Up @@ -12,7 +12,8 @@ title: Software license

Qubes OS is a compilation of software packages, each under its own license. The
compilation is made available under the GNU General Public License version 2
(GPLv2).
(GPLv2). However, the license for this compilation does not supersede the
license of any package included in the compilation.
Comment on lines +15 to +16
Copy link
Member Author

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

The reason will be displayed to describe this comment to others. Learn more.

I am not an expert on free software licensing, so I have no idea whether this helps or makes sense. However, @HW42 pointed out to me that the Fedora license says this:

Fedora Linux is a compilation of software packages, each under its own licensing terms. The compilation itself is released under the MIT license. However, this compilation license does not supersede the licenses of code and content contained in Fedora Linux, which conform to the guidelines described at License Approval.

With respect to the notice inclusion provision of the MIT license, solely with respect to the Fedora Linux compilation license grant, Fedora does not regard non-Fedora-branded downstream derivative distributions as being "copies or substantial portions of the Software."

The first two sentences are already similar to what we have, but we don't have anything similar to the third sentence, even though we seem to be in a similar situation. (I have no idea about the second paragraph. It sounds like it may not apply to us.)

So, I've attempted to add something to cover what appears to be missing. Again, as a layman, I have no idea whether this is right or makes sense. This is just my humble attempt to help and make things better. If this addition doesn't do that, then please reject, remove, and discard it.

(This was also discussed on the forum: https://forum.qubes-os.org/t/qubes-debian-templates-have-non-free-contrib-apt-by-default/13035/)


The source code of Qubes OS is contained in repositories under the
[@QubesOS](https://github.com/QubesOS) account on GitHub. This source code is
Expand Down
27 changes: 19 additions & 8 deletions introduction/faq.md
View file
Open in desktop
Expand Up @@ -19,12 +19,23 @@ title: Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

### What is Qubes OS?

Qubes OS is a security-oriented operating system (OS).
The OS is the software that runs all the other programs on a computer.
Some examples of popular OSes are Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.
Qubes is free and open-source software (FOSS).
This means that everyone is free to use, copy, and change the software in any way.
It also means that the source code is openly available so others can contribute to and audit it.
Qubes OS is a security-focused operating system that allows you to organize your digital life into compartments called "qubes." If one qube is compromised, the others remain safe, so a single cyberattack can no longer take down your entire digital life in one fell swoop. You can think of using Qubes OS as having many different computers on your desk for different activities but with the convenience of a single physical machine, a single unified desktop environment, and a set of tools for using qubes together securely as parts of a unified system.

### Is Qubes OS free and open-source software?

There are two distinct senses of the word "free" when it comes to free software. The difference in commonly expressed by the phrases "free as in beer" and "free as in speech."

The first senses is straightforward. Qubes OS is "free as in beer," meaning that it is provided at no cost (_gratis_), though [donations](/donate/) are greatly appreciated.

The second sense is more complicated. Qubes OS is *mostly* "free as in speech," but not entirely. All the software created by the Qubes OS Project *itself* is [free (or "libre")](https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw) and [open-source](https://opensource.org/docs/definition.html) software ([FOSS or FLOSS](https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/floss-and-foss.en.html)).
This means that everyone is allowed to use, copy, study, and change the software in accordance with its [license](/doc/license/).
It also means that the [source code](/doc/source-code/) is [publicly available](https://github.com/QubesOS/) so everyone can audit and contribute to it.

However, since Qubes OS is a security-focused operating system, it includes some non-free firmware that was not created by the Qubes OS Project (such as CPU microcode), which is necessary in order to protect against known security vulnerabilities.
Moreover, the [architecture](/doc/architecture/) of Qubes OS as a meta-operating system means that it incorporates other software (including entire operating systems) from various upstream projects, some of which may include non-free software of their own.
In order to make the installation process easier for a wide range of users across many different devices, standard Qubes [templates](/doc/templates/) also include some non-free firmware and drivers.

Also see: [Will Qubes seek to get certified under the GNU Free System Distribution Guidelines (GNU FSDG)?](#will-qubes-seek-to-get-certified-under-the-gnu-free-system-distribution-guidelines-gnu-fsdg)

### Why is OS security important?

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -279,7 +290,7 @@ Instead, Qubes aims to be as free as possible *without sacrificing security*. Al

The [four essential freedoms](https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html) are part of the core of our philosophy, but so is security. Together, they inform our decisions and motivate our actions. Qubes aims to maximize both security and software freedom to the extent that they are compatible in the world today.

Also see the Qubes OS [software license](/doc/license/).
Also see [Is Qubes OS free and open-source software?](#is-qubes-os-free-and-open-source-software) and the Qubes OS [software license](/doc/license/).

### Should I trust this website?

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -667,7 +678,7 @@ See the [Qubes Source Code Repositories](/doc/source-code/) article.

### What is Qubes' attitude toward changing guest distros?

We try to respect each distro's culture, where possible.
In general, we try to respect each distro's culture, but we reserve the right to make modifications that we deem appropriate.
See the discussion on issue [#1014](https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/1014) for an example.

The policy is there mostly to ease maintenance, on several levels:
Expand Down