Re: contributing to Emacs

[Björn Bidar]

Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org> writes:

> [[[ 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. ]]]
>
>   > One problem with Hyperkitty is that it requires javascript to display
>   > any message, which is makes it kind of useless in non-js browsers like
>   > eww and lynx.
>
> Features that require Javascript are totallky unacceptable if the JS
> code is nonfree (see https://gnu.org/philosophy/javascript-trap.html)
> and problematical even if the JS code is free
> (see https://gnu.org/philosophy/wwworst-app-store.html).


Why do you assume JavaScript = nonfree? Mailman3-Hyperkitty is free
software.

> We should avoid web features that send JS code, whenever possible.
> Sending code to run immediately in the user's computer, in a way that

Besides avoiding JavaScript in modern web is impossible in 99% of the
cases besides for websites that load all of their content synchronously
on the initial load of the page.

> gives the user community no feasible opportunity to study the code and
> release modified versions that people have a real option to use,
> undermines the freedom of free software.

You can't modify code of content that is loaded of from other computers,
the entity that hosts a web application such as Hyperkitty is in control
which JavaScript is shipped.

In such a case GPL isn't enuogh as you don't have to release modified
versions of the app, AGPL is required.