Launchpad itself

f.luxgui PPA contains closed-source software

Asked by Luke Faraone

http://justgetflux.com/linux.html directs users to install packages from https://launchpad.net/~kilian/+archive/f.lux/+packages

However, looking inside https://launchpad.net/~kilian/+archive/f.lux/+files/fluxgui_1.1.8.dsc shows that the "xflux" application, which performs the primary utility of the package, is closed source; the code is not included in the package nor is it discoverable from upstream.

debian/copyright appears to erroneously state that the entire package is MIT licensed.

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Johannes Dewender (jonnyjd) said : 		#1

xflux is not the primary utility of the package. According to the README this package is only about the gui (fluxgui) and like said in the justgetflux link you provided, this gui was made by a different party than xflux.

However, xflux still shouldn't be included in binary form I guess.

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Johannes Dewender (jonnyjd) said : 		#2

This FAQ states that Launchpad is not free for non-open-source software.
FAQ #208: “Can closed-source or proprietary projects use Launchpad?”.

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Johannes Dewender (jonnyjd) said : 		#3

https://answers.launchpad.net/launchpad/+question/52348
states that minor libraries can be included, but this is probably not the case here.

I also cross-linked this upstream: https://github.com/Kilian/f.lux-indicator-applet/issues/28

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Luke Faraone (lfaraone) said : 		#4

The package is a mechanism to control the operation of xflux, a critical dependency that is bundled in.

While they are technically separate programs, considering them one work would not be unreasonable. In any case, I agree that it would be a stretch to consider xflux a "minor library".

There is a free f.lux-like application that is currently in Ubuntu Universe with an accompanying GUI, but it is not as full-featured.

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Launchpad Janitor (janitor) said : 		#6

This question was expired because it remained in the 'Open' state without activity for the last 15 days.

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Luke Faraone (lfaraone) said : 		#7

I'm reopening this since I still haven't heard back from the Launchpad team about the issue.

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Launchpad Janitor (janitor) said : 		#8

This question was expired because it remained in the 'Open' state without activity for the last 15 days.

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Luke Faraone (lfaraone) said : 		#9

-

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Launchpad Janitor (janitor) said : 		#10

This question was expired because it remained in the 'Open' state without activity for the last 15 days.

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Luke Faraone (lfaraone) said : 		#11

Is any action going to be taken on this, or is there a better place to discuss this?

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William Grant (wgrant) said : 		#12

The PPA Terms of Use (https://help.launchpad.net/PPATermsofUse) permit non-free software as long as it's redistributable, though we strongly discourage the use of our free service for hosting such binaries.

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