[Pkg-fonts-devel] license violations with embedded binary copies of GNU FreeFont?

[Fabian Greffrath]

I once had a conversation with RMS about a similar topic, i.e. about 
the distributability of the binary Type 1 fonts in the psfonts 
package, for which no .sfd or other source file exists. Quoting him 
(the indented part is him quoting me):

>     They are binary files, so you cannot create diffs between two
>     versions. That is, the advantage of the openness of the source is void.
>
> I see your point.  That is an aid for maintenance.
>
> At the same time, the Type 1 font contains all the information
> and can be converted automatically to the textual format.
> So it is a valid source format.
>
> Thus, I think these packages are valid and free as they are.
> However, distributing the ASCII source would be an improvement.
> So why not add that to your packages?

So after all, I don't think it's such a big deal if you distribute 
binary font files as long as they remain editable and convertable.

  - Fabian