The debian-private mailing list leak, part 1. Volunteers have complained about Blackmail. Lynchings. Character assassination. Defamation. Cyberbullying. Volunteers who gave many years of their lives are picked out at random for cruel social experiments. The former DPL's girlfriend Molly de Blanc is given volunteers to experiment on for her crazy talks. These volunteers never consented to be used like lab rats. We don't either. debian-private can no longer be a safe space for the cabal. Let these monsters have nowhere to hide. Volunteers are not disposable. We stand with the victims.
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: "purity" package

I am confident that the approach used by "fortunes" will also work for
"purity".

Both packages have warnings in the package descriptions, and the
"fortunes" package proposes to remove the potentially offensive
fortunes when it is installed.  The "purity" package can offer to
remove the potentially offensive lists, as has been proposed.

Those measures should give everyone plenty of warning, and those who
will not be offended (or won't mind) can go right ahead and use the
packages.  And as far as I know, no-one has yet complained about the
"fortunes" package.

We're not just talking about two packages here.  Debian is about to
draw a line.  A line that says "we will not carry anything that might
be offensive". 

I think some quotes from the fortunes/off directory will show just how
far that "might" goes.  Anything that might possibly offend someone
is in there.  For example:

religion:
  I figure that if God actually does exist, He's big enough to understand an
  honest difference of opinion.
                  - Isaac Asimov

definitions:
  Brontosaurus Principle:
          Organizations can grow faster than their brains can manage them
          in relation to their environment and to their own physiology:  when
          this occurs, they are an endangered species.
                  -- Thomas K. Connellan

sex:
  I think I'll snatch a kiss and flee.
                  -- Shakespeare

I don't claim that _none_ of the fortunes are offensive.  I just want
to show you what kind of statement you are about to make by refusing
these packages.  Let's not become the distribution that takes a stand
for censorship.

> I'm all for your first ammendment freedoms, but I don't see how carrying
> this stuff improves the functionality of the Debian system.

They are _your_ first amendment freedoms.  I don't have any, being
Dutch and all.  But remember that this is the same amendment that
protects (tries to protect) your right to cryptographic software.
Don't treat it lightly.

Richard Braakman


--
TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS MAILING LIST: e-mail the word "unsubscribe" to
debian-private-request@lists.debian.org . 
Trouble?  e-mail to templin@bucknell.edu .