Pristine source archive

[Peter S Galbraith]

> The free software community is wasting resources due to the fragmented
> approach to the format of source code distribution.
 
> I would like to see a co-operative distribution method between
> distributions and the individual project release managers that - 
>                                                         Allows
> distributions to use the pristine source archive as the primary source
> of their upstream source code, leaving only the metadata and patches
> in their source package.

Does this respect the letter of the GPL and not just the spirit?
We distribute binaries and rely on a third party to distribute source?
Or are we a member of that third party, making that okay?

Just wondering...

Peter