(Really) Free Software future Was: Re: Proposal to remove the off-topic, ...

[Svante Signell]

On Sun, 2019-10-13 at 21:44 -0400, Richard Stallman wrote:
> [[[ To any NSA and FBI agents reading my email: please consider]]]
> [[[ whether defending the US Constitution against all enemies,]]]
> [[[ foreign or domestic, requires you to follow Snowden's example.]]]
> 
> Indeed, gnu-system-discuss is for system-level technical issues.
> We set up gnu-community-private for nontechnical issues.
> Please, everyone, move this discussion there.
> 

The following is definitely on-topic for the gnu-system-discuss mailing
list, as it is technical. 

I'm also Cc:ing this to guix-devel, who made the big mistake of
publishing the joint statement to that list: (however, I'm a big fan of
Guix, it is a major contribution to really free software, see below)

I'd like to bring up two things you Richard was too weak to make a
statement on historically: gnome and systemd.

Gnome: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNOME When Miguel de Icaza
destroyed the gnome project with his contributions to that project.

>From August 2015:
Me:
> > OK; I understand that you cannot take action for software using the
> GPL that you created (here systemd), even if Freedom 1 is violated.
> > Nevertheless, can you please take your (GNU/FSF) hand off Gnome, it
> is no longer (in my and many others opinion) a GNU project (and
> hasn't been for a long  time, since Miguel took over).
> > 
> Hi again. Sorry to bother you. In the world of free and open
> software, systemd is one of the most mean creatures. And you from
> FSF/GNU still don't have an opinion? Additionally, why are you still
> supporting gnome; they don't adhere to the free software philosophy
> any longer, it died with icaza :(

Me:
>   > Additionally, why are you still supporting gnome;
>   > they don't adhere to the free software philosophy any longer,
> 
RMS:
> How so?
> 
>   >  it died with icaza :(
> 
RMS:
> On the contrary, he betrayed us totally; GNOME has more or less
> got back on track since his departure.

I don't agree and many with me don't either. Please exclude Gnome from
ther GNU project list. That would be brave of you, still being the head
of GNU.

>From May 2015:
Me about freedom 1:
> * The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it
>   does your computing as you wish (freedom 1). Access to the
>   source code is a precondition for this. 

> Systemd: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systemd
> violates freedom 1: (as well as the *NIX and KISS philosophy)

 
> The agenda is very clear: Extend, embrace and extinguish. No other
> distros will survive in the long term.

RMS from August 2015:
> I know Systemd is free software.  As for its technical merits or
> demerits, I have never seen it so I don't have an opinion.

Me:
> Is there any way that you could consider taking away your/FSF/GNU
> support away from Gnome. That would make a large impact in the Free
> Software community (and maybe also in the Open Source community).

The above statement also applies to systemd. Perhaps we should divide
free software into two groups: 1) Really free software where Freedom 1
applies and 2) not-so-free software where Freedom 1 does no longer
applies.

Here gnome and systemd are in the second kind. Especially systemd, even
if GPLed, is currently swallowing most of free software excluding large
groups of people to make contributions. This is not a bright future for
free software, it is destroying it (every vendor lock-in dream)

Thank you for your time.