[Bug-gnupedia]On accepting Microsoft proprietary formats

[Chad Mawson]

I'm encouraged to jump in at this point, it's great to see a community so
accepting of everyones opinions.  (As any part of the GNU community should
be...)

I'm looking at the submission of _any_ proprietary file format as an
opportunity.  A what? Yes an opportunity.  I learned about GNU in 1993,
after reading an article or interview by RMS about not supporting
development on Apple hardware because of their lawsuit against Microsoft
about the "look and feel" of Windows... (and the fact that they would sue
any company over the "look and feel" of software)

Now, the reason I say this is an opportunity.  If I wouldn't have read that
article (that was installed with a program I was _told_ I had to use in a
programming class - emacs) then I may have never known what GNU and Free
Software are all about.  How many of us would agree that a good number of
potential contributors to GNE don't know what or who GNU is?  I'm going to
venture that it is (or at least will be) a very large number.

This is where GNE can be an educational tool to help people learn about GNU
and the GNU definition of "free".  My view, and the view I see this list
turning to, is that we don't accept proprietary formats, but we accept a
non-proprietary format of those files.  On top of this we extend a helping
hand to anyone that needs help converting their files at least at the
beginning.  In the process we can make a gentle effort to show these people
the GNU ideals.  Some may think this goes beyond the scope of the project,
but I like to think that any project based on GNU ideals should have this as
a goal.

Thanks,

Chad Mawson
address@hidden