Debian Social Contract

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The Debian Social Contract (DSC) is a document that frames the moral agenda of the Debian project. The values outlined in the Social Contract provide the basic principles for the Debian Free Software Guidelines that serve as the basis of the Open Source Definition.

Debian believes the makers of a free software operating system should provide guarantees when a user entrusts them with control of a computer. These guarantees include:

• Ensuring that the operating system remains open and free.
• Giving improvements back to the community that made the operating system possible.
• Not hiding problems with the software or organization.
• Staying focused on the users and the software that started the phenomenon.
• Making it possible for the software to be used with non-free software.