On Thursday 09 February 2006 17:32, Thomas Bushnell BSG wrote: > > I have no idea what you're talking about. Nobody is calling for "strict > > majoritarianism". What is being called for is that the developers be > > allowed to decide issues of interpretation of the DFSG, as is their > > prerogative. > > Ah, well, they do have that right. All I'm saying is that when their > "interpretation" is judged by the Secretary to be more in the nature > of a "repeal", they must do so by a 3:1 vote.
But what you are saying is that the developers don't have that right. The Secretary does, because he or she can judge whether something is a matter of interpretation or a modification. He/she therefore can arbitrarily decide what constitutes a legimitate and an illegitimate interpretation of the DFSG. Therefore, you willingly grant the Secretary the power to interpret the DFSG. The developers can only interpret the DFSG within the range allowed by the Secretary, or face the 3:1 obstacle. And indeed, our current Secretary refuses to countenance the idea that the GFDL being free is an acceptable interpretation. I happen to agree - I believe that only without invariant sections is the GFDL Free - but I don't think it's up to Manoj to tell us this, so I'm upset at the 3:1 requirement. Please cite the part of the constitution which grants the Secretary this extraordinary power. Despite what Raul Miller repeatedly asserts, a minor power to decide issues of constitutional interpretation in cases of deadlock DOES NOT mean that they have the power to interpret the DFSG, since the DFSG is not the constitution. Indeed, section 4.1 states that the developers, by way of GRs or elections, have the power to "issue, supersede and withdraw nontechnical policy documents and statements. These include documents describing the goals of the project, its relationship with other free software entities, and nontechnical policies such as the free software licence terms that Debian software must meet. They may also include position statements about issues of the day." The GFDL sounds like an "issue of the day" to me. Christopher Martin -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
