.. -*- mode: rst; fill-column: 78 -*-
.. ex: set sts=4 ts=4 sw=4 et tw=79:
- ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ###
- #
- # See COPYING file distributed along with the PyMVPA package for the
- # copyright and license terms.
- #
- ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ### ###
.. _faq:
Frequently Asked Questions
**************************
+Why NeuroDebian?
+----------------
+
+ In the course of our own research endeavors |we| have joined forces to
+ develop `PyMVPA -- a Python framework for multivariate pattern analysis of
+ neural data <http://www.pymvpa.org>`_. To conveniently deploy PyMVPA for
+ anyone using Debian-derived distributions this package repository was created
+ initially. Besides the PyMVPA_ project |we| collaborate with the `NiPy team
+ <http://neuroimaging.scipy.org>`_ on various projects, such as NiBabel_ and
+ NiPype_. Quickly NeuroDebian_ became the ultimate integrated environment for
+ all these projects -- and we are constantly working on enriching this
+ environment with as many additional relevant software as possible.
+
Why is NeuroDebian not a Pure Blend?
------------------------------------
- Because the is not need for it to become one. NeuroDebian's goal is to
- provide software for neuroscientists using the Debian operating system, and
- therefore the ultimate goal is to get all relevant software **into Debian**.
+ Because there is no need for it to become one, as the existing Debian Pure
+ Blends already offer the desired functionality *within* Debian. Similar to
+ Pure Blends, NeuroDebian's goal is to provide software for neuroscientists
+ using the Debian operating system, and therefore the ultimate goal is to get
+ all relevant software **into Debian**.
However, various reasons exist that prevent a particular software from
entering Debian. Some are temporary, i.e. a package is already useable, but
- some technical bits do not meet Debian's standard yet, or a licensing issue
+ some technical bits do not meet Debian's standards (yet) or a licensing issue
needs to be resolved first. For some software the licensing is so restrictive
that it cannot be distributed by Debian, and hence cannot even go into its
*non-free* branch. Unfortunately, sometimes these issues cannot be solved to
a degree that is acceptable for Debian. For some other packages Debian itself
is not ready yet, e.g. huge data packages with neuroscience data (:ref:`with
- sometimes over 1GB <pkg_fsl-first-data>`)
+ sometimes over 1GB <pkg_fsl-first-data>`).
NeuroDebian aims to be a platform that provides a staging area for
neuroscience software packages on their way into Debian. All packages are
- properly registered with the relevant `Debian Pure Blends`_, e.g.
- `Debian-Science Cognitive Neuroscience`_ or `Debian-Med Imaging`_. Inside
+ properly registered in the relevant `Debian Pure Blends`_, e.g.
+ `Debian Science Cognitive Neuroscience`_ or `Debian Med Imaging`_. Inside
Debian these efforts already provide a suitable framework for this purpose,
- and hence there is now need to establish yet another one.
+ and hence there is no need to establish yet another one.
.. _Debian Pure Blends: http://wiki.debian.org/DebianPureBlends
-.. _Debian-Science Cognitive Neuroscience: http://blends.alioth.debian.org/science/tasks/neuroscience-cognitive
-.. _Debian-Med Imaging: http://debian-med.alioth.debian.org/tasks/imaging
+.. _Debian Science Cognitive Neuroscience: http://blends.alioth.debian.org/science/tasks/neuroscience-cognitive
+.. _Debian Med Imaging: http://debian-med.alioth.debian.org/tasks/imaging
+
+
+I want to help. How do I get involved?
+--------------------------------------
+
+ We always need people to help maintaining existing packages. If you need
+ some additional software packaged and you want to try it on your own, we would
+ be happy to mentor you. We also have a :ref:`list of ongoing and planned
+ projects <projects>`, each listing a number of tasks that need to be done.
+
+ If you found something you are interested in, please email the
+ neurodebian-devel_ mailing list and let us know about it. Thanks!
When does a package migrate from NeuroDebian into Debian proper?
.. _pkg-exppsy group on Debian's Alioth server: http://alioth.debian.org/projects/pkg-exppsy/
+Debian, Debian, Debian -- What about Ubuntu?
+--------------------------------------------
+
+ NeuroDebian offers backported binary packages for recent Ubuntu releases
+ whenever possible. However, since Ubuntu (like many other derivatives) uses
+ Debian as its foundation, it is more efficient to spend time maintaining
+ packages in Debian, instead of having to directly contribute to countless
+ child-distributions. After the appearance of new packages in Debian, Ubuntu
+ typically synchronizes them quickly and they become available in the *Ubuntu
+ universe* -- a repository of Debian packages rebuilt for a particular Ubuntu
+ release. We are not constantly rebuilding of all available NeuroDebian
+ packages for new Ubuntu releases. Therefore, you might find some packages
+ temporarily being available for older Ubuntu releases only -- until the point
+ when a new package version is made and gets built for all currently supported
+ releases.
+
+
How to create a mirror of the repository?
-----------------------------------------
- If you are interested in sponsoring storage space and bandwidth for another
- mirror, please contact michael.hanke@gmail.com.
+ The NeuroDebian repository can be mirrored with rsync. If you are interested
+ in sponsoring storage space and bandwidth for another mirror, please
+ `contact us <team@neuro.debian.net>`_.
+
+
+How do I get a new neuroscience-related FOSS into (Neuro)Debian?
+----------------------------------------------------------------
+
+The goal of NeuroDebian is to package neuroscience software for Debian. Hence
+getting software into NeuroDebian means trying to get it into Debian. There are
+at least two possibilities to achieve that:
+
+* You can approach packaging it yourself. Start by filing an ITP_ (Intent to
+ package) bugreport) and `ask us <team@neuro.debian.net>`_ to mentor your
+ upload to Debian_, if you are not a Debian developer.
+
+* `Contact us <team@neuro.debian.net>`_ -- but then it might take a little
+ longer, depending on our current workload and interest in a particular
+ software.
+
+
+I have heard that some packages are non-free. Will you charge me for them?
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+ No. The term :term:`non-free` refers to an archive section. NeuroDebian uses
+ exactly the same `archive sections as Debian proper
+ <http://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/ch-archive.html>`_. The *non-free*
+ section contains packages that have certain restrictions regarding **your
+ freedom** to employ them for a particular purpose. In contrast, for packages
+ in the *main* section your are completely free to do whatever and in whatever
+ context you like. Regardless of the actual license or archive section, all
+ packages in NeuroDebian are provided free of charge and under the licensing
+ terms of the original developers.
+
+.. _sec_pkg_authentication:
+
+What means "The following signatures couldn't be verified..."?
+--------------------------------------------------------------
+
+When you start using this repository, you probably get warning messages
+like this::
+
+ The following signatures couldn't be verified because
+ the public key is not available.
+
+Or you will be asked questions like this over and over::
+
+ WARNING: The following packages cannot be authenticated!
+ ...
+ Install these packages without verification [y/N]?
+
+This is because your APT installation initially does not know the GPG
+key that is used to sign the release files of this repository. It is easy to
+make APT happy again. The simplest way is to install the ``neurodebian-keyring``
+package that is available from the NeuroDebian repository. Alternatively:
+
+1. Get the key. Either download the `repository key from here
+ <_static/neuro.debian.net.asc>`_
+ or fetch it from http://wwwkeys.pgp.net (2649A5A9).
+
+2. Now feed the key into APT by invoking::
+
+ apt-key add #file#
+
+ Where `#file#` has to be replaced with the location of the key file you just
+ downloaded. You need to have superuser-privileges to do this (either do it
+ as root or use sudo).
+
+
+How can I cite NeuroDebian?
+---------------------------
+
+Please cite the following paper:
+
+ Halchenko, Y. O. & Hanke, M. (2012). `Open is not enough. Let’s take the
+ next step: An integrated, community-driven computing platform for neuroscience
+ <http://www.frontiersin.org/Neuroinformatics/10.3389/fninf.2012.00022/full>`_.
+ *Frontiers in Neuroinformatics*, 6:22.
+
+.. include:: link_names.txt
+.. include:: substitutions.txt