Hello, On Wed, Nov 06, 2019 at 04:06:42PM -0500, Alfred M. Szmidt wrote: > Is it meant as a short summary of what the GNU project does? I could > see how it would serve such purpose, but then it isn't a contract. If > it is a contract, who is agreeing to it? The GNU project? In that > case, those goals are already written in the GNU manifesto, no? > What is the exact _goal_ of this text?
I thought I had answered this question in the other thread on Enlightenment, but you disagree, so I will give a few more explanations on my point of view here. For me, the GNU Social Contract is a first step towards defining a governance model for the GNU Project. It summarises the main purpose of the project, and as such, as you rightfully noticed, its content should not come as a surprise. I think it should be a necessary (but not sufficient) condition for stakeholders in the GNU project to take part in its governance. The term "social contract" seems to lead to confusion. So let me repeat that it is not meant as a contract in the sense of civil law, signed by two parties; but as a moral engagement of people invested in GNU (maintainers, web masters and so on) in their relationship to each other, but also to the outer world (for instance, users of the GNU system must be sure that they are getting only free software from the project). When you mention the GNU manifesto, it is a much longer text, rather of historical interest, and also a personal account. It is not something you can give to people and tell them "look, this is our project, and these are the points you are expected to heed when you join us". Of course, it is no coincidence if you have a déjà vu feeling when looking at the proposed GNU Social Contract. It is intended as a base for going forward with the GNU Project, but of course it takes the existing into account. Andreas