Fedora struggles with harm reduction via Codec Buddy
In public health, harm reduction is a practice that, rather than trying to eradicate potentially dangerous choices like prostitution, tries to minimize their effects. Often, the practice involves a limited condoning of the practice, such as safe injection sites for addicts. Harm reduction is the path that Fedora 8 has chosen on the issue of MP3 and other non-free codecs in the form of Codec Buddy, a Codeina-based program that tries to educate users about free software while giving them easy legal access to codecs by linking to the commercial Fluendo site. It's a decision about which the Fedora Board and community leaders feel considerable ambivalence.
In a more commercial distribution, the issue would barely exist -- the company would cut a deal to include non-free codecs, and the problem would be solved. Conversely, in a distribution more used to public debate, such as Debian, where the eradication of the non-free repository has become an issue several times in the last few years, the issue of Codec Buddy could easily cause a community firestorm. However, if the Fedora's user list is any indication, many in the community are more interested in the pragmatics of running their system than in upholding software freedoms in public.
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