Re: [directory-discuss] [gnu.org #1430355] DRM free version of Firefox is available at Moz Directory

[bill-auger]

On Thu, 12 Sep 2019 04:38:01 -0400 Therese wrote:
> don't expect the basic users
> to take free software seriously if
> the criteria vary depending on the provider

how else could it possibly be? - "free software" is not a law of
nature nor an authoritative mandate - these distro guidelines
exist to help people make decisions about what they choose do
with their computers - concrete definitions are not essential to
that decision - the general criteria of computing freedom is
quite obvious and simple to understand - can i study the source
code to learn how it makes my computer behave? - can i modify and
replace that software if i would like my computer to behave
differently? - if the answer to either of those is "no"; then
clearly, one's "freedom" is impeded regarding their use of that
software - no definitions need be carved in stone in order to
determine that

it should not go without saying BTW, that the answer to both of
those essential questions is a resounding "no" for most web
pages, regardless of which web browser one uses - the mere use
of any web browser with javascript enabled, is inherently
dubious from the software freedom perspective

in the end, the decision is upon each computer user, depending
on their personal sensibilities - the distro guidelines are there
for everyone to read; and each person can decide which is most
agreeable

for example, people who enjoy the personal freedom that they
acquire when their children are occupied watching cartoons or
playing games with DRM, may decide that debian's more lenient
guidelines are quite acceptable to them

on the other hand, people who believe that all four freedoms
should be present for everything on their filesystem, including
music and artworks, would find that the debian guidelines are
more strict than GNU in that respect; where the GNU guidelines do
not hold non-executable files to the same standard - parabola and
hyperbola follow the GNU guidelines, and not debian's; but
nonetheless extend the GNU guidelines to require all four
freedoms for all files - thats just another example of how free
software allows each person to get what they want, as long as
the options are available, or to make what they want themselves

likewise, gamers who want to maximize the power of their
expensive video graphics, may also concede that certain blobs
are acceptable; and they may believe that a "mostly free" system
is good enough - debian also caters to people with that opinion -
after-all, the games they are playing are probably non-free too
- that person may also consider the criteria of the "steam"
system to be ideally "free" - to that person, "free software"
may simply mean "it does everything that i want my computer to
do out-of-the-box, and they gave it to me gratis"

in the end, each person who is at all concerned about software
freedom must decide: "which things am i comfortable with my
computer doing, without my knowledge or ability to change?" - if
the answer is "none", then an OS which follows the GNU
guidelines is going to provide the most guidance and assistance
to that concern - if the answer is anything other than "none";
then one has already made a compromise, regardless of any else's
criteria

seeing as the original topic of this thread was about suggesting
a web browser to users of proprietary operating systems, and i
see that entire premise as mis-guided; perhaps one of my
infamous analogies would be illuminating - to suggest that
someone using a proprietary operating system should use icecat,
is like suggesting: "i noticed that you have invited a pack of
rabid wolves carrying torches into your dynamite factory. i
suggest that you give them a flea bath. fleas are known to be
pests."

regardless of what anyone thinks about proprietary vs. free
software, that suggestion is ridiculous, according to my lonely
opinion - if the goal is for users of proprietary operating
systems to take free software seriously, then its easy to argue
that such ridiculous suggestions work against that goal