Re: ***UNCHECKED*** Re: Re: Willingness to share a position statement?
Hi,
On 25.03.21 23:32, Christian Kastner wrote:
>> the "technical" decisions we make based on that also have political
>> consequences.
> That's taking meaning of the word 'political' in the widest possible
> sense, and in that sense, literally any action (or inaction) carried out
> by an individual within a society is political, because they all have
> consequences.
Too some extent, yes:
> I interpret the calls for Debian being apolitical (to some degree) as
> calls differentiating at least between
> (1) whether specific political consequences are intended or not
That's one of the key points I was trying to make: Debian very
explicitly believes that users should have certain rights, and that
creating free software is the most effective way to achieve this.
We're absolutely not limited to creating free software because we
recognize that this isn't sufficient, as the environment in which the
software is to be used is also important for whether users can realize
their rights.
Therefore, we have done a lot of work besides writing software. Debian
was instrumental in getting US "munitions export" law changed to allow
the export of cryptographic software, and we have repeatedly taken a
stand against software patents.
Community building is just another area where we work in the interest of
our users, both directly (as the community gives them local support
resources) and indirectly (as the community is a source of new
contributors).
If there are issues within the community that are a hurdle to
participation, that is a conflict with our explicit political goal.
> (2) how deeply Debian gets involved
We are in a prominent position. The OSI's Open Source Definition is
derived from the Debian Free Software Guidelines, after all, not the
other way 'round.
There is no way for us to not be involved in something that affects the
whole free software community.
> (3) effects are directly or indirectly caused
> (4) degree of effect.
Indirect effects are often stronger and reach further than direct ones.
We're acting inside a complex and interconnected political sphere, and
limiting our vision to a small bubble will cause us to miss the bigger
picture.
Simon
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