Re: [GNU-linux-libre] A call to free software, and its users

[Alexandre Oliva]

On Aug 19, 2009, Diego Saravia <address@hidden> wrote:

> trying to separate code from data is like argue about angel's shoulders

There seems to be an assumed dichotomy here that isn't true.

> every data codification could be use to encode software, or seen as software

Every piece of code is data, true.  And irrelevant.

The important question is whether a particular piece of data is
information for practical use.  If it is, a number of moral and ethical
imperatives apply, that don't necessarily apply to other kinds of data.

And that's why it matters.  Fortunately, most often it easy to determine
whether or not a piece of data is information for practical use.

>> Gnash won't stop you from running them, but there's nothing in Gnash
>> that asks the user (or any other piece of software) for any non-Free
>> Software.

> It runs non-free without asking!!!!

Yeah, it does.  It's unfortunate that the user isn't informed about it,
but it's not even close to actually demanding the user to install and
run non-Free Software.

Warning users about non-Free Software would require a feature to be
implemented, to tell Free and non-Free Software apart and display a
message to the user, very much like the feature suggested in “The
Javascript trap” article to limit the use of obfuscript.  It would be
nice to have this feature, but it's not an imperative, for there's no
inducement or endorsement involved, it's a mere enablement.

Linux, OTOH, has implemented a feature in dozens of drivers that, rather
than just sitting there waiting for Free or non-Free Software to be
presented to it for execution, specifically demands non-Free Software to
be installed.  That's not mere enablement, that's inducement,
endorsement, and obtrusion.

-- 
Alexandre Oliva, freedom fighter    http://FSFLA.org/~lxoliva/
You must be the change you wish to see in the world. -- Gandhi
Be Free! -- http://FSFLA.org/   FSF Latin America board member
Free Software Evangelist      Red Hat Brazil Compiler Engineer