On Sunday, August 06, 2017 09:37:16 Jason Self wrote: > Henry Jensen <hjen...@mailbox.org> wrote .. > > > The link to the freeslack project shouldn't be a problem, since > > the page at https://www.gnu.org/distros/common-distros.html links > > to the very same project. > > There is no reference to FreeSlack on that page, only Slackware.
You do not consider a web link a reference? Both the cited FSF page and the FSFLA Linux-libre page link to the FreeSlack project. > But even if we consider Slackware, what is being said also be > considered: That page is discussing why Slackware is not acceptable > for adding as an FSF-endorsed distro. > > In comparison, the text I'm referring to is an out-and-out referral to > go *use* it if someone wants a 64-bit version: "If you are looking for > a libre Slackware x86_64 variant you are welcome to use the x86_64 > slack-n-free repo and have a look at the FreeSlack project." Please do not confuse FreeSlack with Slackware, the names are not THAT similar, and if you read the statement on the front wiki page, you will see FreeSlack is a documentation project which is NOT affiliated with Slackware project, and its distribution arm is free software. The distribution name may be A BIT confusing, which is why we are in the process of changing it to FXP or Freenix or something else, which is up to FSF at this point. We applied for FSDG certification in March 2016, and so far we haven't heard any suggestions from the FSF review team besides changing the name collision, which we agreed to do. Since then several months have passed, and we have not heard any comment about either "FXP" or "Freenix", leaving us in a kind of a nameless limbo. So at present, we think, we have zero outstanding issues with respect to FSDG. > I imagine that FSF-endorsed distros should probably not steer people > to others that are not? That would be a gross misrepresentation of the FSDG guidelines. Free distributions should not stir people towards non-free software, period. ConnOS is free software, which is why here at FreeSlack we think it's OK to mention them as an option for x32 arch. The FreeSlack's distribution, FXP, is also free software, Linux-libre-powered and without the Debian kernel controversy, so of course there are no issues about ConnOS linking to FreeSlack either. None of that has any bearing on FSDG compliance. I would agree that IF a Debian-style kernel SUGGESTS and STIRS users towards firmaware blobs, then the kernel should fail the FSDG. I am not in the position to comment on the specific kernel used in ConnOS, since I never studied that portion. I am also personally of the opinion that it's OK for an FSDG-compliant distribution to suggest an option which is free, although not necessarily FSDG-compliant. There's nothing wrong, IMHO, about informing users about Debian-style free kernels as viable options as long as the users are warned about the blobs. I know not everyone will agree, since this is kind of a gray area, but I think you can all understand my reasoning: at some point the user should admit some responsibility. Like RMS said, of course free software will allow you to install and run nonfree software, there's no cure for that, and it's not even a tragedy of any sort. But we don't declare web browsers nonfree, even though most of the big ones, like konqueror, are designed to drop the user into the javascript trap by default. We just admit that users should know better than to enable javascript on pages they don't trust to serve 100% free software. There's only so much hand-holding we can do as distro-maintainers, and preventing user from exploring viable 100% free-software options such as the libre channel of the Debian repository is simply not our job. There's no contradiction here, as far as I can see: FSF should not endorse Debian-style shenanigans if it doesn't want to, but FSF has no business telling other projects, even the one they endorse, to stop mentioning free software compilations which themselves fell short of FSDG.
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