> Oh wait, I think I do actually see what you mean now.... You're concerned > about the message we send out if we use non-free software to promote GNOME > and things like this e.g. git servers and social networking?
You've identified the issue, but you're focusing only on the possible negative side of it. Using nonfree software to promote GNOME would associate GNOME with the idea that nonfree software is ok. Promoting GNOME that way would help the cause in a narrowly focused way (more users, more development of GNOME _are_ good, all else being equal) at the cost of harming it in a broader and deeper way. The issue has positive side, too. In promoting GNOME, it is possible to talk about freedom explicitly, and talk about choices that GNOME has made for the sake of freedom. Thus, while helping the cause in a narrowly focused way, you help the cause in a broader and deeper way at the same time. One can spread a bad message by visibly using an unethical resource; however, choosing ethical resources does not _by itself_ spread a good message because it does not communicate anything. To spread the good message, you have to say it overtly. For instance, carrying an iThing around with you is enough to endorse Apple, but NOT carrying an iThing doesn't convey rejection of Apple. To show that you reject iThings on ethical grounds, you need to say so. Note that there's nothing wrong with "git servers" in general. Some are bad, some are ok. Doesn't GNOME maintain its own repository? It can and should make sure its repository is entirely good. Also, "social networking" in general is not a bad thing. Social networking systems vary greatly, so they can be good or bad, depending on details. Facebook is atrocious and we shouldn't encourage people to be useds of Facebook. On the other hand, using GNU Social is fine. Twitter used to be ok until it started making users identify themselves, last year I think, but it is still POSSIBLE to use it without running nonfree software, last I heard. Advertising is not inherently bad, but if you sell ads on a site via Google, you're likely to find it shows ads for nonfree software on your site. Unfortunately Google offers no way to filter ads based on this criterion. Also, internet advertising today normally means tracking visitors, and tracking visitors is direct mistreatment of them -- which is worse than merely conveying a bad message to them. See http://gnu.org/philosophy/surveillance-vs-democracy.html. -- Dr Richard Stallman President, Free Software Foundation 51 Franklin St Boston MA 02110 USA www.fsf.org www.gnu.org Skype: No way! See stallman.org/skype.html. _______________________________________________ foundation-list mailing list foundation-list@gnome.org https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-list
