Re: Advocating non-free softwares [WAS: Heads up about Frescobaldi & Ubuntu - Insert Menu Glitch]

[David Kastrup]

Jan Nieuwenhuizen <address@hidden> writes:

> james writes:
>
>>> Could you please be more aware and more careful about advocating the use
>>> of non-free operating systems?
>>
>> Does this mean we shouldn't mention that we use non-free operating
>> systems? Or ask questions, comments about non-free operating systems?
>
> I think we can proudly advertise that LilyPond runs on all common
> operating systems, I personally invested quite some time to create
> that.  This empowers users who are for one reason or another still
> stuck with a freedom-denying operating system.

They don't get to exercise the freedom to study, modify and improve the
software.  Now they don't get to exercise this freedom regardless of
which binary distribution they chose, but getting there is much more
straightforward under the free systems which LilyPond has been written
for.

So we are not actually "empowering" LilyPond users on proprietary
platforms.  We are handing them cake, and they can get the recipe for
it, but they don't have an oven, and they have to cater for the
ingredients one by one.

> I think it is wise to have some awareness about it when saying how
> fantastic the experience is of using a certain piece of
> freedom-denying software.

Well, it _is_ good cake.  But they would be welcome to the whole bakery.

-- 
David Kastrup