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+Please note that this document is provided in order to document
+Debian's history.  While the general ideas still apply some details
+changed.
+
+
+********************
+Appendix
+The Debian Manifesto
+********************
+
+
+			The Debian Linux Manifesto
+
+			Written by  Ian A. Murdock
+			     Revised 01/06/94
+
+
+What is Debian Linux?
+=====================
+
+Debian Linux is a brand-new kind of Linux distribution.  Rather than
+being developed by one isolated individual or group, as other
+distributions of Linux have been developed in the past, Debian is being
+developed openly in the spirit of Linux and GNU.  The primary purpose
+of the Debian project is to finally create a distribution that lives up
+to the Linux name.  Debian is being carefully and conscientiously put
+together and will be maintained and supported with similar care.
+
+It is also an attempt to create a non-commercial distribution that will
+be able to effectively compete in the commercial market.  It will
+eventually be distributed by The Free Software Foundation on CD-ROM,
+and The Debian Linux Association will offer the distribution on floppy
+disk and tape along with printed manuals, technical support and other
+end-user essentials.  All of the above will be available at little more
+than cost, and the excess will be put toward further development of
+free software for all users.  Such distribution is essential to the
+success of the Linux operating system in the commercial market, and it
+must be done by organizations in a position to successfully advance and
+advocate free software without the pressure of profits or returns.
+
+
+Why is Debian being constructed?
+================================
+
+Distributions are essential to the future of Linux.  Essentially, they
+eliminate the need for the user to locate, download, compile, install
+and integrate a fairly large number of essential tools to assemble a
+working Linux system.  Instead, the burden of system construction is
+placed on the distribution creator, whose work can be shared with
+thousands of other users.  Almost all users of Linux will get their
+first taste of it through a distribution, and most users will continue
+to use a distribution for the sake of convenience even after they are
+familiar with the operating system.  Thus, distributions play a very
+important role indeed.
+
+Despite their obvious importance, distributions have attracted little
+attention from developers.  There is a simple reason for this: they are
+neither easy nor glamorous to construct and require a great deal of
+ongoing effort from the creator to keep the distribution bug-free and
+up-to-date.  It is one thing to put together a system from scratch; it
+is quite another to ensure that the system is easy for others to
+install, is installable and usable under a wide variety of hardware
+configurations, contains software that others will find useful, and is
+updated when the components themselves are improved.
+
+Many distributions have started out as fairly good systems, but as time
+passes attention to maintaining the distribution becomes a secondary
+concern.  A case-in-point is the Softlanding Linux System (better known
+as SLS).  It is quite possibly the most bug-ridden and badly maintained
+Linux distribution available; unfortunately, it is also quite possibly
+the most popular.  It is, without question, the distribution that
+attracts the most attention from the many commercial "distributors" of
+Linux that have surfaced to capitalize on the growing popularity of the
+operating system.
+
+This is a bad combination indeed, as most people who obtain Linux from
+these "distributors" receive a bug-ridden and badly maintained Linux
+distribution.  As if this wasn't bad enough, these "distributors" have
+a disturbing tendency to misleadingly advertise non-functional or
+extremely unstable "features" of their product.  Combine this with the
+fact that the buyers will, of course, expect the product to live up to
+its advertisement and the fact that many may believe it to be a
+commercial operating system (there is also a tendency not to mention
+that Linux is free nor that it is distributed under the GNU General
+Public License).  To top it all off, these "distributors" are actually
+making enough money from their effort to justify buying larger
+advertisements in more magazines; it is the classic example of
+unacceptable behavior being rewarded by those who simply do not know
+any better.  Clearly something needs to be done to remedy the
+situation.
+
+
+How will Debian attempt to put an end to these problems?
+========================================================
+
+The Debian design process is open to ensure that the system is of the
+highest quality and that it reflects the needs of the user community.
+By involving others with a wide range of abilities and backgrounds,
+Debian is able to be developed in a modular fashion.  Its components
+are of high quality because those with expertise in a certain area are
+given the opportunity to construct or maintain the individual
+components of Debian involving that area.  Involving others also
+ensures that valuable suggestions for improvement can be incorporated
+into the distribution during its development; thus, a distribution is
+created based on the needs and wants of the users rather than the needs
+and wants of the constructor.  It is very difficult for one individual
+or small group to anticipate these needs and wants in advance without
+direct input from others.
+
+Debian Linux will also be distributed on physical media by the Free
+Software Foundation and the Debian Linux Association.  This provides
+Debian to users without access to the Internet or FTP and additionally
+makes products and services such as printed manuals and technical
+support available to all users of the system.  In this way, Debian may
+be used by many more individuals and organizations than is otherwise
+possible, the focus will be on providing a first-class product and not
+on profits or returns, and the margin from the products and services
+provided may be used to improve the software itself for all users
+whether they paid to obtain it or not.
+
+The Free Software Foundation plays an extremely important role in the
+future of Debian.  By the simple fact that they will be distributing
+it, a message is sent to the world that Linux is not a commercial
+product and that it never should be, but that this does not mean that
+Linux will never be able to compete commercially.  For those of you who
+disagree, I challenge you to rationalize the success of GNU Emacs and
+GCC, which are not commercial software but which have had quite an
+impact on the commercial market regardless of that fact.
+
+The time has come to concentrate on the future of Linux rather than on
+the destructive goal of enriching oneself at the expense of the entire
+Linux community and its future.  The development and distribution of
+Debian may not be the answer to the problems that I have outlined in
+the Manifesto, but I hope that it will at least attract enough
+attention to these problems to allow them to be solved.