Re: [Bug-gnupedia] Content Format

[Hook]

Alexander Braun wrote:
>
> Hi, my name is Alexander and I'm still new here
>
> ->Then I think that the project has just cut an enormous number of
potential
> ->authors out of the project.  Sorry, although I dislike Microsoft as much
as
> ->a lot of other people, I think it's arrogance to tell the world that
they're
> ->not allowed to use the most common word processing tool in the world to
> ->submit articles.
>
> sorry if I'm meddling,

Absolutely not, opinions are what count.

> but exactly this is the point of free. you can't
> act free if you allow to chain the stuff by not free software.  if you
> would allow to send word-documents, you would cast away every effort the
> fsf did to help to maintain freedom. this way you would leave the path
> of freedom in an opportunistic manner, just because M$ claims the
> monopol. i don't think that i have to repeat, that m$ and/or bill gates
> contain the legal rights on famous pictures and such stuff. it's not only
> about software, it's just about freedom. the whole thought of the
> encyclopedia is born struggling for freedom. the freedom of thoughts, the
> freedom to talk and the freedom of staying human the next decades. and i
> assure you there must not be any impact of non-free software, thoughts
> packagingand so on, because in the end this would spoil the idea.

Legal rights over pictures are different (IMHO obviously). We're talking
about a practical issue of allowing, or not, potential authors to use and
submit articles written using the worlds most common word processing
software. Currently I've not heard of Microsoft claiming *any* rights over
content produced using their software, and I'd appreciate someone quoting
chapter and verse if I'm wrong.

If they ever did, then, for a start, every legal firm in the world would be
breaking the law, as would police forces ... well you get the idea.  If
there was a practical alternative, then, yes, I'd agree, but there isn't.
Just saying "no, you can't submit MS Word documents, and if you try we'll
reject them automatically" strikes me as bigotry.  There are a large number
of able, intelligent people out there who have struggled to get comfortable
with MS Word and are likely to be reluctant to change for reasons which they
probably won't be interested enough to understand.

Discriminating aginst them is far worse than any editorial control.

Paul