Arch Linux

qyntyn

Member

Registered: 2024-08-10

Posts: 1

What is Arch Linux's provenance?

In the terms of service, it says:

These Terms of Service as well any other agreements between us and you shall be governed exclusively by German law to the exclusion...

That along with the Sovereign Tech Agency Injecting €562K into Arch Linux made me think that Arch Linux is a German distribution.

I understand that Arch Linux is used globally and has contributors who are located all over the world.

The context behind my query was simply to find out where it originated. (Would saying its a European distribution be valid for example?)

I have checked Wikipedia for Arch's history and I saw that Judd Vinet was born in 1980 in British Columbia (Canada) and so I wasn't sure if Arch Linux can be said to be Canadian.

Please don't respond with a "does it matter". I asked this question because I wanted to know and so it matters to me.

gromit

Package Maintainer (PM)

From: Germany

Registered: 2024-02-10

Posts: 1,046

Website

Re: What is Arch Linux's provenance?

We have a lot of German contributors but are registered with Software in the Public Interest, which is an American non-Profit: https://www.spi-inc.org/projects/archlinux/

seth

Member

Registered: 2012-09-03

Posts: 62,167

Re: What is Arch Linux's provenance?

rules for the use of the internet Platform Arch Linux […] accessible under the domain archlinux.org and various related subdomains (the "Platform")

"man whois"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hetzner

However

find out where it originated

is completely unrelated to it's current legal status and the most likely answer is Judd's bedroom office.
That again is however different from

I wasn't sure if Arch Linux can be said to be Canadian

which "no, you can't", because the concept of nationality isn't defined for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juridical_person in international law.
Archlinux is not Canadian and Microsoft isn't American. Regardless of where they originated or the nationality of their founders or where they are incorporated or host their services.

Please don't respond with a "does it matter". I asked this question because I wanted to know and so it matters to me.

Ok, but I will say that I don't like the attitude to assert that everyone else is a jerk that has to be explicitly lectured by you to not behave like a jerk.

I'll also say that depending how how much this actually matters to you (in a legal sense), you should probably consult a laywer.
You cannot cite some forum post in court as legal reference and they'll also inquire what information you actually need.

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twelveeighty

Member

Registered: 2011-09-04

Posts: 1,285

Re: What is Arch Linux's provenance?

If we assume for the moment that Judd started Arch then Arch's "Provenance" is Canada:

noun: provenance
    the place of origin or earliest known history of something.

However, you're confusing provenance with "Governing Law", which is the jurisdiction where lawsuits and enforcement will take place. Which of the two do you mean?