Edubuntu package inclusion/licensing for sandbox game maker

[Jonathan Carter (highvoltage)]

Hi Scott

On 09/09/2010 14:49, Scott Howard wrote:
> I'm the debian & ubuntu maintainer of Sandbox Game Maker [1,2]. The
> package will be making it's debut in 10.10. Sandbox is a kid friendly
> video game design software intended for primary school (and secondary
> school) children. They can design RGPs, FPSs, scrolling games, movies,
> etc. in a kid friendly (i.e. non-violent, clean) environment. There
> are multiple testimonial videos on their site which demonstrate some
> of the classes and teachers that use the program [3].
> 
> Currently the package is in multiverse, but upstream has been making
> good effort to make all the content DFSG. They asked me if their game
> maker could be included in Edubuntu. From a user point of view,
> multiple schools are already using this program in the classroom - so
> I think it could be an interesting addition to edubuntu. It has also
> been recognized as a high quality tool, listed as the #5 Indie Game of
> 2009 at Moddb.com [4]. However, their license is currently very
> restrictive towards redistribution - something that they are
> considering reworking if it is possible to be included in Edubuntu.
> 
> My question on behalf of upstream is: if Sandbox and all the content
> can end up in debian main (~300 MB), is this something that Edubuntu
> would include in their seeds and DVD? What is the process for Edubuntu
> inclusion? There used to be a wiki site explaining it, but I can't
> find it anymore.

We'll gladly include any software that will be useful to our users and
that has good licensing. 300MB is quite big though, it's more than 10%
of our current DVD! We'll be reviewing applications we ship with
Edubuntu at the Ubuntu Developer Summit taking place in October. We can
add it to the agenda of that session, it sounds like the packages should
be in main in Debian by then, so we'll probably be able to review it by
then.

In short: it sounds great and we'd love to include it, but the size
might get in the way of that.

Please stay in touch and keep us up to date!

-Jonathan