Re: [Phpgroupware-developers] The GIF issue

[Dan Kuykendall (Seek3r)]

Loic Dachary wrote:
> 
>         It seems a very long explanation to say something very simple. You
> changed your mind. In June 2001 you agreed to remove the GIF files from
> phpGroupWare, explicitly, as part of the necessary steps to become part
> of the GNU project.

I did not change my mind. I thought I had agreed to convert all the
png's to gifs, and put in place the changes to the image finding
functions so that PNG would be prefered. I did not know that I could not
include GIF's in the package at all. I had always intented to have both
so that users could use either ones they wanted.

>         Could you, in addition, explain why and for what reason you think
> that the GNU project should not boycott GIF anymore ? Or outline the new
> GIF boycott policy so that it fits with phpGroupWare policy ? 

I will need to research the issue in greater detail to put togther a
more full argument. At this point I am only working off of what I know
from basic observation of the issue. I have not done extensive research,
nor heard about any real threat from unisys. The couple times I have
heard anything about unisys going after anyone, it was generally big
players and didnt seem to me that they had a case. I feel by the time
they could go after someone like me their patent will have expired. 

> I guess
> you don't subscribe to http://burnallgifs.org/ either ?

Not fully no. I tend to try and always see both sides of any issue.
burnallgifs.org only looks at one side and its most extreme, and at this
point I would need to spend more some looking into opposing viewpoints
to some to some final conclusion.

>         Maybe I'm too sensitive on this subject. I'd like to see more
> support against software patents because they are likely to hit Europe
> soon. Sometime it requires more than merely working around existing
> software patents. It requires to stand against them, boycotting GIF files,
> for instance.

I too have a big issue with software patents. I realize how dangerous
they can be, and am always willing to speak out against them. 
However, unlike you the gif issue is not something personal to me. I
dont want to offend you in any way, but I will speak my opinion and am
glad for some friendly debate. It is *not* personal.

I have no problem adding a copy of the nogif page from GNU.org, making
PNG's the default in phpGW or anything else like that. I just dont see
the need to yank out all the gif's for users that want to use them.



Dan