On Fri, Dec 14, 2007 at 11:37:02PM +1100, Damien Miller wrote: > This incredibly misguided. People won't switch to free software > because of hectoring and hamfisted attempts to frustrate their > choices, but they instantly switch when free software becomes a > compelling replacement - look at Apache or OpenSSH.
Don't bother. You forget that Richard no longer lives in the real world. That's one of the working assumptions: he's a fool disconnected from real pursuits. The other possibility being that he knows exactly what he's doing, and just has double standards. It's very easy for him to say "he doesn't recommend OpenBSD" (which some people will construe as "he recommends AGAINST OpenBSD", this is the way people work, even if he doesn't say so) and at the same time to endorse emacs, gcc, gnewwhateverlinuxdistroofthemonth, and to conveniently say he's either `not aware' of non-free software in there, or that `it's a problem' with that distribution. All in all, since we live in a non-perfect world, there is no real world endeavor that will rise up to Richard's ideal. The choice of what to endorse, and what not to endorse is definitely a political choice. Richard, you can try to weasel your way all you can, saying you're `not aware' of such and such. In the end, if you want to be true to your goals, you should say you do not recommend ANYTHING. Heck, you should say to people that they should not use computers at all, for obvious reasons. See ? this is about the same sophistry you are using AGAINST OpenBSD. All that talk of ethical choices and whatnot is complete balloney. You are doing *exactly the same thing* you accuse us of doing. Publishing your Yes/No opinions about *some* software is *exactly* the kind of editorial work we do with the ports tree of OpenBSD. I cannot believe you do not know there *are* some non-free pieces of software in some work you recommend, or that there *are* non-free extensions to your work in GCC and emacs. In the end, where you choose to place the barrier is completely arbitrary. I am now firmly convinced that you place OpenBSD outside that barrier for reasons you won't state. The ports tree is just a pretext. We are outside the fuzzy realm of Richard's world *just because we have a strongly different opinion* about licensing. We believe in people freedom. We don't try to force our own twisted variation of `freedom' down their throat. And that's what this is all about. All your nice arguments are just weaseling. They're not even consistent. You're still delaying on a definite answer on the GCC, Emacs situation. ... which is why I adopted Theo's terms, because it's true. You're just an hypocrit with delusions of self righteousness. It might even be possible that you finally believe your own lies.
