> From: "Richard M. Stallman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2005 12:54:12 -0400 > Cc: emacs-devel@gnu.org > > If a program would run only on Windows, we recommend that people not > write that program at all. If we were to distribute such a program, > that would put us in a hypocritical position. So we don't distribute > such programs
Actually, we (i.e. the FSF and the GNU Project) do. When I worked on the GNU Software for MS-Windows and MS-DOS CDROM, you agreed to put 3 programs there that were written specifically for the users of Windows: the installer of the software, a clone of the Unix `man' command, and DJTAR, a utility that unpacks .tar.gz archives. I think the principle was: if the Windows-specific program helps people use GNU software, it is okay to write and distribute it. For the same reason, there are several Windows-specific programs that we maintain and distribute with Emacs (addpm, cmdproxy, ddeclient, etc.). So I think the ``Windows-specific equals BAD'' principle is too stringent; one needs instead to argue that the specific program or feature in question does not help the Free Software cause in any significant way. And whether this is true in the case in point is very hard to establish unequivocally, and thus open to opinions. _______________________________________________ Emacs-devel mailing list Emacs-devel@gnu.org http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/emacs-devel
