On Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 02:07:40AM -0400, Michael Gilbert wrote: > On Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 7:46 PM, Steve Langasek wrote: > > On Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 11:39:29PM +0100, Jérémy Bobbio wrote: > >> 3. One test I've been taught to use to reason about free software is the > >> Desert Island test [2] which starts by: > >> Imagine a castaway on a desert island with a solar-powered > >> computer. > >> Obviously, software that are only frontends to unreproducible “cloud” > >> services do not pass the desert island test. > > This is a mischaracterization of the "Desert Island test" as it was > > formulated on debian-legal. The Desert Island test is about whether a user > > can *comply with the license* of the software on a desert island when they > > have no contact with the outside world. That the software may not be > > *useful* to them on a desert island is a separate question, and applies to > > many sorts of software, not just those used for connecting to particular > > services over the Internet. > Then again, this is a misinterpretation of the fundamental question > Jeremy has attempted to pose. I am only addressing the factually incorrect interpretation of the Desert Island test, because such inaccuracies, if allowed to stand uncorrected, have a nasty habit of spreading. So no, I did not misinterpret his question - but as I am not a candidate, my thoughts on that question are out of scope for this discussion. -- Steve Langasek Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS Debian Developer to set it on, and I can move the world. Ubuntu Developer http://www.debian.org/ slangasek@ubuntu.com vorlon@debian.org
Attachment:
signature.asc
Description: Digital signature