Re: Proposal for an Emacs User Survey

[Thibaut Verron]

> Tell me examples of popular usage that you refer to?

Downloading packages from Melpa every day. Or even using Doom or
Spacemacs (both activate the Melpa repository afaict, through Straight
in the case of Doom).

> Free form gives enough possibility for any user to explain anything
> they wish.

But do they wish to?

Imagine a poll for a presidential election, where John Doe and Richard
Miles are the frontrunners.

Now let's say that a pollster frames its question like this:

"Who do you intend to vote for?
- John Doe
- Other (please specify)"

What would you think of the data resulting from such a poll?

>
> > If anything, wouldn't we want to get an idea how many Emacs users
> > currently use a non-free package repository?
>
> I am not sure if there is any non-free package repository for
> Emacs.
>
> MELPA is fetching most packages from the Microsoft Github, and Github
> dictates free licenses for any public repository, most of them are
> free software. For me is hard to find particular example that uses non
> free software.

Okay...

> Above paragraph refers to MELPA, that could wrap non free software in
> the free software packages. I can then imagine links in packages pointing
> to non free software, that is what was meant with recommendation. It
> does not refer to questions in the opinion poll.

Okay.

> GNU project with promotion of free software is not biased as that
> would mean that it is influenced in an unfair way.

The GNU project is not biased. But the proposed amended survey would
be, similar to the hypothetical presidential poll above.

>
> GNU project is influenced in a fair way and thus should be promoting
> and supporting free software and helping users of proprietary software
> to understand what is free software and freedom in computing.
>
> The word propaganda you maybe used in a negative connotation, but the
> word itself means promoting information to spread some cause. Who is
> not interested, would not read it. The point of propaganda that some
> will get interested, so propaganda gives results for those who are.

Who is not interested might also leave the survey and skew the data.
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campaigns disguised as surveys are legion.

> > But, for example, wouldn't something like below be both short and
> > explicit enough?
> >
> > "- Melpa (Note: Emacs and the GNU project DO NOT ENDORSE package
> > repositories which encourage non-free software, see
> > https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/)"
>
> I do not think that it is necessary for survey from GNU Emacs to ask
> if people are using Melpa or whatever other software
> repository.
>
> Reason for that is that it is obvious that people do, people ARE using
> MELPA and Marmalade software repositories;

Okay, that is a valid point (although I would be interested to
know if people still use Marmalade). But then we might as well drop
the repository question altogether.

> AND more important reason
> not to ask is that information about usage of those repositories,
> likes, number of contributors, it is already available on the
> Microsoft Github "Insights" link on the MELPA page. There is no point
> in asking users what is already obvious. There are stars or likes on
> Github.

This data might have its own selection bias.