Is Crunchbang -- itself -- open source?

hjl · 2012-10-21 22:59:04

I'm a Linux user back from the days of Slackware on floppies, but I have been on Windows and OS X for the last seven years. Now I'm messing around with Linux again, and I'm checking out a bunch of different distributions. Crunchbang seems to provide exactly what I'm looking for, the default package selection is almost perfect for me.

I'm just wondering about how Crunchbang is developed? I understand that Crunchbang is built on Debian, with some custom packages, scripts, and configuration on top, but is there a repo somewhere with the source to those customizations? Is there a script that 'builds' the custom ISOs? Is there are 'bus factor' of one here?

I'm not complaining. I really like this distro, and as a new user I'm sure that I don't really understand how things work here, I'm just trying to figure out if this is the right fit for me.

Thanks in advance.

pvsage · 2012-10-21 23:06:29

.deb and source files right there in ther repo.

The only non-free parts in CrunchBang are the ones from Debian's non-free repo.

dura · 2012-10-21 23:07:54

What is open source anyway? smile

rizzo · 2012-10-21 23:09:01

hjl wrote:

is there a repo somewhere with the source to those customizations?

http://packages.crunchbang.org/

hjl wrote:

Is there a script that 'builds' the custom ISOs?

corenominal uses live-build scripts but they are not shared publicly.

hjl wrote:

Is there are 'bus factor' of one here?

Yes, just one developer

hjl · 2012-10-22 14:50:33

Thanks for the answers, very helpful. After some more digging I also found this:

https://github.com/corenominal

Still, I can't help but wondering what would happen if corenominal decided to stop developing Crunchbang, or was abducted my aliens, or arrested for illegally smuggling squirrels into Norway. I should probably stop worrying about it, and just get on with my life and enjoy Crunchbang as it exists today, which is almost perfect for me.

Needless Yak shaving aside, could a determined and skilled person recreate Crunchbang?

beadmaze · 2012-10-22 15:26:55

well, there's another link on github [and here, elsewhere] to:
http://corenominal.org/

have a read there to understand who papanominal is and what he's doing.
maybe there are chances he'll be abducted by aliens now or then, but else than that...?
hmmm

porkpiehat · 2012-10-22 17:21:49

hjl wrote:

Needless Yak shaving aside, could a determined and skilled person recreate Crunchbang?

I do not mean to diminsh corenominal's work or achievements in any way, but a "determined and skilled person" created #!, so there is no real reason why another determined and skilled person could not recreate it. As you correctly observed:

Crunchbang is built on Debian, with some custom packages, scripts, and configuration on top

I'm not sure what you're really worried about -- if corenominal decided to stop working on #! tomorrow, your install would not stop working, nor would it break at the first update. Eventually you might be forced to remove the #! repos (if no one else started maintaining them) and revert to straight Debian. Debian is an excellent distro, even without the #! customizations.

Last edited by porkpiehat (2012-10-22 17:23:34)

joek · 2012-10-22 17:37:40

porkpiehat wrote:

hjl wrote:
Needless Yak shaving aside, could a determined and skilled person recreate Crunchbang?
I do not mean to diminsh corenominal's work or achievements in any way, but a "determined and skilled person" created #!, so there is no real reason why another determined and skilled person could not recreate it. As you correctly observed:
Crunchbang is built on Debian, with some custom packages, scripts, and configuration on top
I'm not sure what you're really worried about -- if corenominal decided to stop working on #! tomorrow, your install would not stop working, nor would it break at the first update. Eventually you might be forced to remove the #! repos (if no one else started maintaining them) and revert to straight Debian. Debian is an excellent distro, even without the #! customizations.

And, of course, many #! customisations could be recovered from /etc/skel, from papanomial's github, or reverse-engineered by #! users...

schwim · 2012-10-22 20:14:04

hjl wrote:

Still, I can't help but wondering what would happen if corenominal decided to stop developing Crunchbang, or was abducted my aliens, or arrested for illegally smuggling squirrels into Norway.

Unless this is a trick question, I would like to offer up the following:

continue using it until someone else posted a forked and updated version. If I didn't like the direction of the update, I would pick another distro.

hjl wrote:

Needless Yak shaving aside, could a determined and skilled person recreate Crunchbang?

I can't help but feel we're being punked wink What special sauce do you expect to be buried in the distro that might be undecipherable? There's like 4 billion also-ran distros out there built by everyone and their grandmother. Although I'm partial to #!, it's not any different than those in regards to the building of them.

bobobex · 2012-10-22 20:47:06

hjl wrote:

Still, I can't help but wondering what would happen if corenominal decided to stop developing Crunchbang, or was abducted my aliens, or arrested for illegally smuggling squirrels into Norway. I should probably stop worrying about it, and just get on with my life and enjoy Crunchbang as it exists today, which is almost perfect for me.
Needless Yak shaving aside, could a determined and skilled person recreate Crunchbang?

I think I can safely say that he will never stop developing CrunchBang - he's invested waaaay too much of his own time, and our family time in it to just walk away on a whim! As for him being abducted by aliens - there is no race alive (human or alien) that would want to probe my husband, and the only likelihood of him being arrested would be for crimes against fashion, not for smuggling squirrels! lol

His demise is more likely to come at the hand of his long-suffering wife, and when it does, I will gladly let someone else take over the reins! smile

rizzo · 2012-10-22 21:15:21

^ lol

VastOne · 2012-10-22 21:41:34

Wow... bobobex has laid down the law! lol

I'd give just about anything for a picture of these crimes against fashion...

Thanks for sharing those insights bobobex!

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#1 2012-10-21 22:59:04

Is Crunchbang -- itself -- open source?

#2 2012-10-21 23:06:29

Re: Is Crunchbang -- itself -- open source?

#3 2012-10-21 23:07:54

Re: Is Crunchbang -- itself -- open source?

#4 2012-10-21 23:09:01

Re: Is Crunchbang -- itself -- open source?

#5 2012-10-22 14:50:33

Re: Is Crunchbang -- itself -- open source?

#6 2012-10-22 15:26:55

Re: Is Crunchbang -- itself -- open source?

#7 2012-10-22 17:21:49

Re: Is Crunchbang -- itself -- open source?

#8 2012-10-22 17:37:40

Re: Is Crunchbang -- itself -- open source?

#9 2012-10-22 20:14:04

Re: Is Crunchbang -- itself -- open source?

#10 2012-10-22 20:47:06

Re: Is Crunchbang -- itself -- open source?

#11 2012-10-22 21:15:21

Re: Is Crunchbang -- itself -- open source?

#12 2012-10-22 21:41:34

Re: Is Crunchbang -- itself -- open source?

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