12.08.07

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Quote of the Day: Richard Stallman on the GNOME Desktop

Posted in Free/Libre Software, GNOME, GNU/Linux, Mono, Novell at 7:04 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

On December 3rd, Richard Stallman posted the following message to the GNOME Foundation’s mailing list.

GNOME is based on a philosophy, but it is not just a philosophy. It is a project to develop and maintain a desktop environment.

”The sort of favoritism that would be improper is to make a decision for the sake of profit (rather than the success of GNOME and the triumph of freedom).“A technical project has to make specific technical decisions. It can’t favor all the options that fit the philosophy; often it has to choose an avenue and follow it. Whatever the choices, some might call them “favoritism”, but that’s tough. Choosing can’t be avoided.

GNOME is a desktop environment, but it is not just a desktop environment. It is also based on a philosophy of free software and freedom. That philosophy sometimes yields specific ethical reasons for making specific technical choices. To someone who thinks only in terms of technology, these might seem like “favoritism”, but favoring the ethical (or what leads to it) over the unethical is right and proper.

The sort of favoritism that would be improper is to make a decision for the sake of profit (rather than the success of GNOME and the triumph of freedom).

That last (and concluding) paragraph is worth special emphasis. It underlies an important issue. Corporations are taking self-serving routes, which even involve software patents, in order to take advantage of free desktops and extract more revenue from them. It’s selfish and it is based on short-sighted goals that endanger tomorrow's free desktop. Without being Free, GNU/Linux will find it difficult to compete. Its strengths, merits, and pretty much any distinguishing value will vanish, leaving it trailing behind and catching up with somebody else’s pre-imposed lead. █

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