NAME
vrms - report of installed non-free software
SYNOPSIS
vrms [OPTION] ...
DESCRIPTION
This program began as an attempt to create a "virtual Richard M.
Stallman" for Debian GNU/Linux. Thus the choice of name.
This program analyzes the currently-installed package list on a Debian
GNU/Linux system, and reports the non-free and contrib packages that
are currently installed to stdout. In some cases, such as regarding
documentation licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License with
invariant sections, the opinions of Richard M. Stallman and the Debian
project have diverged since this program was originally written. In
such cases, this program follows the definition of freedom embodied in
the Debian Free Software Guidelines.
The packages in the non-free tree have restrictions on their use and/or
distribution which cause them to fail to meet the terms of the Debian
Free Software Guidelines included as part of the Debian Social
Contract. However, some are sufficiently useful that their presence is
often tolerated by Debian users despite their licensing.
The packages in the contrib tree are themselves free software but have
some dependency on non-free software for their use that make them
worthy of reporting so that their use can also be consciously
considered.
Richard is the most vocal among us on the issue of software morality,
and we agree with Richard that Debian users should have an easy way to
know when they are running non-free software on their systems. This
program is our attempt to fill that need.
OPTIONS
All options can be prefixed with -- (eg: --noexplain) to turn them off.
-q, --quiet
Do nothing if there are no non-free packages installed.
-e, --explain
Give a brief explanation of why each package is non-free, if
available. This is the default.
-s, --sparse
Just output a list of non-free packages.
--reason-dir=DIR
Use DIR as the reason directory, instead of
/usr/share/vrms/reasons/.
-h, --help
Display help.
-d, --debug
Generate debugging information.
FILES
/usr/share/vrms/reasons
Default source of explanations for why packages are non-free.
HISTORY
This program was written by Bdale Garbee and Bill Geddes for the Debian
GNU/Linux system, in response to an open discussion with Richard
Stallman about the issues surrounding the availability/desirability of
the ’non-free’ package tree in Debian.
A Cute Little Hack