Why don't you add/remove/replace XYZ?

The concept behind Debris could be described as "as simple, straightforward and efficient as possible". This means we don't put in everything - we only integrate what really needs to be there, and while you may not always be able to witness it, we discuss options and choices extensively. And ultimately, since we have to maintain the distribution, we reserve the decisions on what to use and how to proceed for ourselves.

So please understand that while we may occasionally put up a poll to find out what others are thinking, we don't hold with requests to change the feature set - we welcome suggestions, of course, but you've got to accept that we simply can't (and don't want to) serve everybody's individual needs. Debris does what it does - which is what we want it to do - and already does it pretty well. We don't want to be a full-featured distribution - we're a streamlined one with a strong focus on basic desktop use. Neither do we want to pack in everything but the kitchen sink and reduce size by only using super-slim applications (there are other distributions which do exactly that - take Puppy Linux or Damn Small Linux).

What we do want is to offer a pleasant, if a bit limited desktop experience with everything in place to do the most important things a person would want to do with a computer. Since not everyone has a machine that performs well when confronted with modern multimedia applications or content, we've chosen to integrate only the most necessary features. Again, we did so after a lot of debate.

If you want a full featured distribution, get one - Debris is based on Ubuntu, so if you like it, but don't get all you want or need, have a look at it. If you've got a hard drive installation, you can use the Ubuntu repositories. Or use one of its other derivates, like Mint, if you need even better multimedia support. We consider those distributions as very well done and fully legitimate - but for the purpose we define, they're bloated, and we will not head in that direction.

Also, we want to keep the distribution as independent as possible - which means (among other things) that we try to avoid non-free software (i.e. software that's licensed in a way that limits the rights of the user - or our rights to distribute it); we may offer ways to install additional non-free software, but if there's a free alternative, we'll choose that for the live CD (our way of distributing Debris). Don't argue about that - we're not backed by a corporate entity that would pay for any lawsuits. We want to have fun with Debris, not troubles because of it. We've already stepped away from this principle by integrating audacious and all of its plugins, but frankly, the moment MP3 patents would be enforced, we'd drop even that. The same is true for WLAN support - we ship a lot of kernel drivers, but not everything. We even *do* integrate non-free firmware in order to keep hassles to a minimum! So please, don't try to force us into changing our policies - we won't! Don't blame us for that - blame the software vendors! Blame software patents!

To sum it up: If something you want isn't there, don't ask us to put it in - ask us why it isn't there, if you must, or install Debris to a hard drive and add what you like. The live CD will stay as streamlined as it is. We'll continue to use our own tools as well as stick to our own choices as long as there's no evidence that there are - from our point of view - better alternatives.