Re: Proposal for an Emacs User Survey

[Vasilij Schneidermann]

> If it mentions Melpa, it must explain the ethical reason we cannot
> recommend anything about Melpa.
> 
> I would rather not mention that name at all.

Not mentioning MELPA as an option because you feel uncomfortable about
it will distort survey results, especially for the part where you ask
what package archives people use.  Worse, it leads to a self-reinforcing
effect:  If the true extent of people using MELPA is unknown,
emacs-devel will continue making choices on the false premise that MELPA
isn't a thing at all.  In the worst case GNU ELPA will be eclipsed by
MELPA and cease to be of any practical concern (and it sure seems to me
that this is where things are heading currently).  Remember, this is a
survey to find out how Emacs users use their editor, not about how much
they adhere to FSF ideology.

> Let's add a short test: we could offer multiple choice answers for
> each of these.  For some questions the user should be able to select
> multiple answers, and should select all that are valid.
> 
>   > What is GNU?
> 
>   > What is GNU/Linux?
> 
>   > How does GNU Emacs related to GNU?
> 
>   > What is free software (libre software)?
> 
>   > Which of these are free liceenses?
> 
>   > How does GNU relate to free software?

See my last sentence above.  What's the point of this quiz?  Finding out
what percentage of Emacs users fully believes in GNU's goals?  What will
that information be used for?

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