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Re: Turning GNU into a bottom-up organization


From: Alfred M. Szmidt
Subject: Re: Turning GNU into a bottom-up organization
Date: Sun, 27 Oct 2019 13:07:35 -0400

   > > > Debian renegaded on their goal of being a 100% free software system,
   > > > they now include non-free software.
   > >
   > > What is called "Debian" does not include the non-free archive, that
   > > archive is not enabled by default, the user has to make an explicit
   > > action to enable it.
   > 
   > Debian clearly
   [...]

   That's your view. My view is that when I burn a Debian CD, on it there
   is only free software and links to non-free software (which is *not* on
   the CD). And that is what the Debian social contract allows.

That is the view of the GNU project too.  We don't recommend Debian
_exactly_ because of this.

   What is important here is this:

   > And that is the exact type word wiggling that we shouldn't accept
   > here, and the exact reason why this project is run the way it is run.

   And that is where a social contract would allow to enforce it, without
   the need for stubborn governance which hurts in other ways.

The Debian Social Contract has failed to do so, so there is no reason
to think that it would not fail to do so for the GNU project.

What you are suggesting would lead to the GNU project having a
non-free.gnu.org and then claiming that it isn't somehow part of the
GNU project.  That is the exact issue that the GNU project has
successfully avoided so far, and the Debian project has failed to
avoid, to the point that free softtware hackers now think that this is
an OK way to handle non-free software.

The only way tackle non-free software is to explicitly reject it, at
all times.



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