I think a lot of people here are losing sight of the fact that many people use Debian, not mainly because it's free software, but because things are done The Right Way(tm) around here. In other words, many users, and developers alike, although interested in the prospect of a completely free operating system, do not want it forced on them when it is not practical. The more difficult it becomes to use Debian in practical situations, the less likely someone is to use Debian. The time will come where Debian will be completely free, but that will be when non-free simply fizzles out and dies, not when a few overzealous developers tell us it will be. If this GR passes, and it becomes more difficult than it already is to get practical, non-free software on a Debian system, then I suppose Debian will be forked. After all, people will not reluctantly accept this new direction Debian might take. Rather, they, users and developers alike, will just go elsewhere. We all know what splintering did to UNIX. I think it's time to ask the Debian developers if this General Resolution is worth the potential fork it will likely cause. -- Please always Cc to me when replying to me on the lists. "Real hackers mostly think crackers are lazy, irresponsible, and not very bright, and object that being able to break security doesn't make you a hacker any more than being able to hotwire cars makes you an automotive engineer." -- The Hacker HOWTO Dwayne C. Litzenberger - dlitz@cheerful.com See the mail headers for GPG/advertising/homepage information.
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