[Kstars-devel] NGC/IC catalog

[Jasem Mutlaq]

Hello Jason,

> + I think that it is Ok to include Steinicke's catalog in the program, with
> a header that indicates that it must not be incorporated into a commercial
> application without first contacting the author for permission.
>

Wouldn't that still be 'non-free' under Debian? Did you receive any objections 
from other dists/persons ?

> + I am willing to finish my "Free" NGC/IC catalog, and make that available
> to distributions or users who are concerned with the restrictive usage
> terms on the main catalog.  Each version of the catalog would contain a
> reference to the other version in its header (with a URL for download). 
> For example, I would add this catalog to the kstars_debian branch.

You only know how much time this catalog can take to finish. How is your free 
version compares to the one we have now feature-wise?

I also guess having two catalogs is somewhat problematic. Would the decision 
of what type of catalog to be used be made by packagers or end users?

> + Let's say after I finish my "Free" catalog, I notice that I have been
> able to obtain magnitudes for only half of the objects.  Would it be "fair
> use" of Steinicke's catalog to insert the magnitudes of the remaining half
> from his catalog?  I suppose this is a grey area, so I am inclined not to
> push it, but I wanted to bring it up for discussion.

Maybe you should ask him? it's grey to me also.

Cheers,
Jasem