PackagingDrafts/LicenseInclusionUpstreamRequest

This is a suggestion for some text that can be used when requesting upstream to include license files in their distribution tarballs.

[Program name] is being/has been packaged as an RPM for the Fedora Project. The following page has more details: http://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=XXXX

However, the distribution archive does not seem to include a copy of the full text(s) of the license(s) under which it is distributed.

In general we like to include a copy of the license for programs we package, for the following reasons:


 * it is useful to other users who might download a tarball of your package to be able to have a copy of the license at hand.
 * it ensures that the license is available offline
 * it ensures that there is no ambiguity about the license

Although we could retrieve the source text from an alternate location and include that, this makes it more difficult to track changes you may make to the licensing in future and creates the possibility that we may inadvertently include an incorrect license. We very much want to avoid this.

Therefore we would be grateful if you would consider including the full license text of all licenses that are applicable to the software with future versions.