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Re: [LUG] getgnulinux.org

 

On Mon, 26 Mar 2007 14:28:43 +0100
james kilty <james@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> On Sun, 2007-03-25 at 13:22 +0100, Matt Lee wrote:
>
> >
> > There are several good reasons to not promote Ubuntu to anyone.
>
> Please will you summarise them. It is difficult for a newbie like me
> to not promote Ubuntu, having found it works perfectly with no
> problems on my laptop.

Feel free to continue promoting Ubuntu - with the knowledge that you
don't have to enable the proprietary repositories. Despite all the
discussion, I'll still be promoting Ubuntu to newbies and Debian to old
hands - although Debian is improving in that area with Etch.
(Thereagain, I'm biased, I'm a Debian Developer.)

It is important to talk about freedom and not blindly install "whatever
will work". All proprietary code should be avoided whenever possible -
it's just easier to say than do sometimes.

> The only other distro I have tried is Suse
> 10.0 on a slower machine and Yast seems not quite so easy to use and
> its rather clunky on an old machine. I do have others I intend to
> try, like Mandriva and FC but am still in the GUI stage of learning.
>
> I am so happy to be using Linux (and want to refer to it as GNU/Linux)
> and encourage others to do so.

Excellent. Just bear in mind that things are rarely black and white and
that there are issues with certain elements in the OS. Each
distribution chooses their preferred way to deal with the problems of
not-completely-free code. Debian is stricter than most, Ubuntu -
although based on Debian - makes it a little easier, Fedora take their
own path and others don't seem to even care.

Despite the discussions here, you are free to choose your level of
'compromise' - the issue is that everyone should be aware:

1. Proprietary code, in any form, is always a bad idea.
2. Using a free alternative is always better than using a proprietary
version, whether or not the free alternative is less functional. The
free version can only improve if people help to improve it - it will
not happen by itself.
3. Always consider the needs of those who will want to use free
software in the future, don't arrogantly assume that your immediate
needs are the most important consideration. That means using free
versions wherever they are available and reporting bugs as they appear.
4. Where no free alternative exists, do what you have to but try to use
the closest free code.
5. Discussion of freedom is important and not to be simply ignored.
6. The goal of GNU/Linux is NOT to dominate market share, have the most
users, take over the world or bankrupt Microsoft. The goal is simply to
share. Gaining users at the expense of using proprietary code is
suicidal. It is NOT about users, it is about the freedom to share.

Sharing is not bad, it is not illegal, it is not piracy.
Sharing is good for society, good for individuals and fundamental to
freedom. If you cannot share something, it is not free.

What is the point of freedom if you cannot share a solution with a
friend? Proprietary code prevents sharing and that is why it is so
dangerous.

--


Neil Williams
=============
http://www.data-freedom.org/
http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/
http://www.linux.codehelp.co.uk/

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