Re: General Resolution: Statement regarding Richard Stallman's readmission to the FSF board result
Hi Bdale,
On Tue, Apr 20, 2021 at 11:35:21AM -0600, Bdale Garbee wrote:
> I admit to having really mixed feelings about whether Debian should
> *ever* make broad public statements about anything. So, no problem in
> my mind with making it harder for the project to do so.
One of the purposes of the project is to clear obstacles to the development
of free software, and making broad public statements is one of many tools
we can use to do that.
We have, for example, sent out a press release on the patent situation
surrounding Microsoft Sender ID[1], and also published a position
statement[2] on software patents.
We have also lobbied hard for changes in US export regulations surrounding
cryptography[3], and exerted a lot of pressure on the FSF concerning the
GFDL license, including a press release[4] following a GR[5].
> But then, I've also been around a *long* time, and am often wistful
> about the days when it at least seemed that most of our discussions were
> about making technical improvements in Debian.
None of the things above are technical improvements, but concern the legal
and political environment in which technical contributions are made.
The debate we're having here is whether the *social* environment in which
contributions happen is also our concern, as this, too, can present an
obstacle for people who want to contribute that is neither technical nor
political.
Ironically, the opponents of taking a public stand on social issues are
claiming that this would introduce a political angle -- but we have never
shied away from politics.
Simon
[1] https://www.debian.org/News/2004/20040904
[2] https://www.debian.org/News/2012/20120219
[3] https://www.debian.org/legal/cryptoinmain
[4] https://www.debian.org/News/2006/20060316
[5] https://www.debian.org/vote/2006/vote_001
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