I assume the FSF hired Rubén because he was a good candidate for the job
position they were seeking to fill (maybe Rubén applied for the job also, I
dont know). Don't you think it would be fair if he did not get a job as a
sysadmin at FSF because he helps to make an FSF endorsed distro in his free
time? That sounds unfair to me. His paid job should be kept separate from his
unpaid activities by his employers. Is it unfortunate that he took a
full-time paid position with FSF instead of continuing to volunteer all his
free time to Trisquel? I suppose it depends on your perspective. I can see
your point, I just don't agree with it.
You state he should be paid to develop Trisquel. Why should the FSF choose
Trisquel as the one endorsed distro to support financially? AFAIK they have
already given it quite a boost compared to others by using it exclusively as
the FSF chosen distro (and openly saying so. RMS also openly states he uses
Trisquel) and by gifting USB ISO cards with Trisquel live on them.
I understand Trisquel is easy to use and has traditionally been well made,
but I think sponsoring with a full time salary and not the others would be
very unfair.
You assume Trisquel should receive the most financial backing because it's
the easiest to use. Why should that be the standard for the FSF to
financially reward software projects? The mission of the FSF is very clear:
"The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a nonprofit with a worldwide mission
to promote computer user freedom. We defend the rights of all software
users." It does not mention anywhere that their mission is to have as many
new rookie users as possible. I'm not saying it's not good to attract new
users, I just don't see why you assume that should be the guiding force of
the FSF. Other free softare users might also disagree with this position.
AFAIK RMS has stated before that attracting the most number of users is not
the guiding force. Neither is making the most powerful software possible.
Personally, the long time it has taken for Trisquel 8 to be released has been
a blessing in disguise. I have discovered other distros that I might not have
bothered to discover, I have furthered my knowledge of GNU/Linux out of
necessity, etc.
Meanwhile, Trisquel 7 is still easy to use and definitely welcoming to new,
rookie users. Free software depends on a community. If Trisquel is being left
to die, it is being left to die by its community (or it is not correctly
fostering community support, though I don't really know enough to make a
judgement).
