Amazon was also the first significant provider of mainstream commercial music to offer a 100% DRM-free music store, and also the first (as far as I know) to offer a GNU/Linux client (albeit a non-libre client) for their music store.
Distributing a non-libre program means mistreating the users. We cannot ever consider that a good thing. Distributing music without DRM was a good thing, but now even the RIAA says that DRM is dead -- _on music_. But Amazon is trying to impose DRM on reading books. Whatever good Amazon has done has to be compared with the great harm it is now trying to do. This is not to say I'm rushing out to buy a Kindle; I really want one but haven't pulled the trigger exactly because of the DRM. But using Amazon affiliate codes to raise revenue for the Foundation is a world apart from endorsing Kindle's DRM. Advertising Amazon is a very strong form of promotion. Amazon set up this affiliate system because it expects to profit more this way -- so unless Amazon is mistaken in this expectation, the participation of such organizations contributes substantially to its business. It also says that GNOME thinks there is nothing really bad about Amazon. (People presume we would not promote a company we condemn.) If the intention is to convey a message like this: If you are going to buy from Amazon, please mention us so as to give us some of the money. But please don't choose Amazon because of us! then how about saying it explicitly? For instance, we could say If you are going to buy from Amazon, please use our affiliate code. That way, a part of what you pay will go to the GNOME Foundation. But please don't let this influence you to choose Amazon. Remember, Amazon wamts to impose DRM on books [link there to DefectiveByDesign.org] The best thing you can do is buy direct from the publisher. This will succeed in raising some of the funds without appearing to endorse Amazon. _______________________________________________ foundation-list mailing list foundation-list@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-list