Re: Proposal for an Emacs User Survey

[Jean Louis]

* Dmitry Gutov <dgutov@yandex.ru> [2020-10-17 00:10]:
> If it had a policy to only publish wrappers for proprietary software, it
> would be a "repository for wrappers of proprietary software".
> 
> But a repository which has a policy to only publish free software, is a
> repository for free software.
> 
> > For same reaso Debian GNU/Linux cannot be said to be free, at many
> > pages they guide users to include non-free software, unspoken from
> > Archlinux or other distributions.
> 
> I don't think that's how it works. If the software is free, we call
> it free.

Maybe I have expressed myself wrongly.

It is not a free software repository if it publishes non-free
software, it is mixture of the two.

So MELPA is also mixture of software that is truly free software and
that other group of software which has the only purpose to interact
with non-free software, more or less promotional tool in free software
community to capture some users for proprietary software, or pathetic
way to promote proprietary software.

> > That question is best answered here:
> > https://github.com/melpa/melpa/issues/7185
> 
> Good example of infighting. Not an answer.

Question about MELPA will be answered there. It is best answered
there, we will see if MELPA authors do like idea or maybe like
Archlinux do not mind if some packages are steering users to access
proprietary software.

> It would be a lot more polite to include your actual name in the account
> description, by the way. Calling yourself "GNU Support" looks like an
> overreach.

I could not register the really intended domain support.gnu, so it is
other way around.

> > sure there are reasons for initiator for the survey, those reasons may
> > be that whay you call biased, I call it opinions, but not necessarily
> > unjust opinions (biased).
> 
> Removing a known popular option from the answers makes a survey biased.
> 
> > It is better to say opinionated.
> 
> Are we reinventing English words now?

Maybe you are native English speaker, I am not. So I am consulting
dictionaries for fine differences, like Wordnut.

biased

* Overview of verb bias

The verb bias has 2 senses (no senses from tagged texts)
1. bias -- (influence in an unfair way; "you are biasing my choice by telling 
me yours")
2. bias, predetermine -- (cause to be biased)

while opinionated:

* Overview of adj opinionated

The adj opinionated has 1 sense (first 1 from tagged texts)
1. (1) opinionated, opinionative, self-opinionated -- (obstinate in
your opinions)

* Overview of verb obstinate

The verb obstinate has 1 sense (no senses from tagged texts)
1. obstinate -- (persist stubbornly; "he obstinates himself against all 
rational arguments")


GNU project is obstinated stubbornly not to promote proprietary
software and cannot endorse software repositories that do so.

It is not biased because the stubborn opinion is not equal to being
influenced in unfair way, quite opposite it is being influenced in
just way.

Free software is good because it helps the user to control its own
computing.

That package that is made for Emacs can be issued under GNU GPL, yet
with the only reason to circumvent the purpose of GPL so that
proprietary software makers can control such user, then such software
repository is not ethical and questions about such repository are not
relevant for GNU Emacs development, as it is already known that MELPA
is not endorsed for the discussed reasons.

In fact, how much we have written here, instead why you did not write
to MELPA on that issue and ask them to remove those few packages?