Re: General resolution: ratify https://github.com/rms-open-letter/rms-open-letter.github.io
* Russ Allbery:
> Sruthi Chandran <srud@disroot.org> writes:
>
>> I have an alternate suggestion. Instead of signing the said letter,
>> Debian can issue a position statement similar to the one released by FSF
>> Europe. [1]
>
>> Will share the amended text if this idea has supporters.
>
>> [1] https://fsfe.org/news/2021/news-20210324-01.html
>
> I'm comfortable with Debian signing the original letter, but as an
> organizational statement, I think I like this one somewhat better. I
> think an organization should try to express what that organization itself
> is going to do, and this seems clearer on that point. (Personal
> statements are a bit different.)
+1.
The FSF board has shown remarkable short-sightedness and arrogance in
readmitting RMS. I personally agree that he should no longer assume any
kind of leadership position within the Free Software community, simply
because by now he has lost any moral authority that he may or may not
have had in the past. However, the open letter cited in the GR pushes
the issue way too hard without any positive purpose: The damage to the
FSF has already been done and cannot be repaired.
The Debian project should not call for the removal of the FSF's board.
Neither should Debian urge people to refuse contributing to
FSF/RMS-associated software projects, especially not while we are still
shipping a Linux distribution that is built on such software projects.
If irony was generally acceptable for a GR, the Debian project should
simply offer its condolences to the FSF for having acknowledged its own
irrelevance. Since this does not work, let's keep things simple and go
with something modelled after the FSF's or the EFF's statements
Cheers,
-Hilko
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