It has been suggested to me in private that we appear to be discussing name changes merely because RMS asked us to. This isn't what's happening, and I feel I should address it.
RMS and the FSF contacted us for the sole purpose of offering us support and publicity. Their offer was predicated on us supporting Free Software, which is our primary goal anyhow. After some discussion with RMS about OUR needs, I asked him if there was anything WE could do for the FSF. And only then did he politely suggest that using the word "Free" in place of "Open" would help his cause, and the discussion led thence to the idea of a name change. He may or may not have thought of that beforehand, but he didn't mention it until I asked. If RMS's first email to me had begun with criticism, demanding that we change our name or anything else, I would have thanked for his time and moved along unaffected. Instead, he came to us, offering us unconditional support. The fact is, if any big FOSS organization were to offer us what the FSF can give, we'd jump at the chance. Imagine if Red Hat offered us money and/or free publicity. We'd be ecstatic, and we'd happily display their logo in prominent locations. The FSF is only different in that their "logo" (besides the GNU thing) is a philosophy, represented by words we associate with Freedom. (Plus, the FSF has a lot more reach.) I am not suggesting that we do these things because they're demanded of us or we're RMS lapdogs. I'm suggesting that we do these things because when your friends do you favors, it's right to do them favors in return. They scratch our back, so we scratch theirs. Moreover, with an organization with the kind of reach that the FSF has, it is a politically prudent thing to get on their good side. If Microsoft were to offer us help, we'd be highly suspicious. But the FSF fundamentally shares our values. They are the right people for us to associate with. -- Timothy Miller http://www.cse.ohio-state.edu/~millerti _______________________________________________ Open-graphics mailing list [email protected] http://lists.duskglow.com/mailman/listinfo/open-graphics List service provided by Duskglow Consulting, LLC (www.duskglow.com)
