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Please note that this document is provided in order to document
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Debian's history. While the general ideas still apply some details
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The Debian Linux Manifesto
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Written by Ian A. Murdock
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Debian Linux is a brand-new kind of Linux distribution. Rather than
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being developed by one isolated individual or group, as other
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distributions of Linux have been developed in the past, Debian is being
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developed openly in the spirit of Linux and GNU. The primary purpose
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of the Debian project is to finally create a distribution that lives up
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to the Linux name. Debian is being carefully and conscientiously put
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together and will be maintained and supported with similar care.
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It is also an attempt to create a non-commercial distribution that will
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be able to effectively compete in the commercial market. It will
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eventually be distributed by The Free Software Foundation on CD-ROM,
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and The Debian Linux Association will offer the distribution on floppy
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disk and tape along with printed manuals, technical support and other
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end-user essentials. All of the above will be available at little more
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than cost, and the excess will be put toward further development of
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free software for all users. Such distribution is essential to the
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success of the Linux operating system in the commercial market, and it
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must be done by organizations in a position to successfully advance and
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advocate free software without the pressure of profits or returns.
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Why is Debian being constructed?
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================================
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Distributions are essential to the future of Linux. Essentially, they
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eliminate the need for the user to locate, download, compile, install
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and integrate a fairly large number of essential tools to assemble a
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working Linux system. Instead, the burden of system construction is
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placed on the distribution creator, whose work can be shared with
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thousands of other users. Almost all users of Linux will get their
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first taste of it through a distribution, and most users will continue
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to use a distribution for the sake of convenience even after they are
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familiar with the operating system. Thus, distributions play a very
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important role indeed.
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Despite their obvious importance, distributions have attracted little
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attention from developers. There is a simple reason for this: they are
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neither easy nor glamorous to construct and require a great deal of
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ongoing effort from the creator to keep the distribution bug-free and
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up-to-date. It is one thing to put together a system from scratch; it
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is quite another to ensure that the system is easy for others to
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install, is installable and usable under a wide variety of hardware
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configurations, contains software that others will find useful, and is
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updated when the components themselves are improved.
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Many distributions have started out as fairly good systems, but as time
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passes attention to maintaining the distribution becomes a secondary
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concern. A case-in-point is the Softlanding Linux System (better known
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as SLS). It is quite possibly the most bug-ridden and badly maintained
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Linux distribution available; unfortunately, it is also quite possibly
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the most popular. It is, without question, the distribution that
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attracts the most attention from the many commercial "distributors" of
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Linux that have surfaced to capitalize on the growing popularity of the
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This is a bad combination indeed, as most people who obtain Linux from
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these "distributors" receive a bug-ridden and badly maintained Linux
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distribution. As if this wasn't bad enough, these "distributors" have
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a disturbing tendency to misleadingly advertise non-functional or
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extremely unstable "features" of their product. Combine this with the
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fact that the buyers will, of course, expect the product to live up to
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its advertisement and the fact that many may believe it to be a
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commercial operating system (there is also a tendency not to mention
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that Linux is free nor that it is distributed under the GNU General
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Public License). To top it all off, these "distributors" are actually
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making enough money from their effort to justify buying larger
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advertisements in more magazines; it is the classic example of
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unacceptable behavior being rewarded by those who simply do not know
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any better. Clearly something needs to be done to remedy the
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How will Debian attempt to put an end to these problems?
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========================================================
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The Debian design process is open to ensure that the system is of the
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highest quality and that it reflects the needs of the user community.
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By involving others with a wide range of abilities and backgrounds,
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Debian is able to be developed in a modular fashion. Its components
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are of high quality because those with expertise in a certain area are
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given the opportunity to construct or maintain the individual
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components of Debian involving that area. Involving others also
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ensures that valuable suggestions for improvement can be incorporated
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into the distribution during its development; thus, a distribution is
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created based on the needs and wants of the users rather than the needs
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and wants of the constructor. It is very difficult for one individual
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or small group to anticipate these needs and wants in advance without
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direct input from others.
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Debian Linux will also be distributed on physical media by the Free
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Software Foundation and the Debian Linux Association. This provides
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Debian to users without access to the Internet or FTP and additionally
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makes products and services such as printed manuals and technical
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support available to all users of the system. In this way, Debian may
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be used by many more individuals and organizations than is otherwise
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possible, the focus will be on providing a first-class product and not
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on profits or returns, and the margin from the products and services
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provided may be used to improve the software itself for all users
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whether they paid to obtain it or not.
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The Free Software Foundation plays an extremely important role in the
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future of Debian. By the simple fact that they will be distributing
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it, a message is sent to the world that Linux is not a commercial
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product and that it never should be, but that this does not mean that
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Linux will never be able to compete commercially. For those of you who
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disagree, I challenge you to rationalize the success of GNU Emacs and
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GCC, which are not commercial software but which have had quite an
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impact on the commercial market regardless of that fact.
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The time has come to concentrate on the future of Linux rather than on
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the destructive goal of enriching oneself at the expense of the entire
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Linux community and its future. The development and distribution of
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Debian may not be the answer to the problems that I have outlined in
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the Manifesto, but I hope that it will at least attract enough
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attention to these problems to allow them to be solved.
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