Re: [Fsfe-uk] Just a Minute

[Martin Keegan]

> Of course, but what specifically would you expect a national
> free software organisation to focus on?

This is the whole reason there's a fight. Some people think that an
organisation for Free Software (per se) is a distraction.

I persistently tried to have Saturday's meeting address the issue of
whether people like Martin Coxall and co were actually at the wrong
meeting, to no avail. Thus Saturday's meeting was very frustrating for me. 

As someone who believes in free software, I want there to be something
like the AFFS. However, my understanding of the situation is that there
exists a set of non-Free-Software issues which are more important than FS
itself, and which are crucial to the very survival of FS in a meaningful
form. I believe (and not everyone will agree with this) that it is wrong
for an organisation which is substantially about free software to
concentrate generally on other issues, no matter how related, without
changing its name/constitution to reflect that, etc.

For me this discussion is about how AFFS will fit into the wider scheme of
organisations in this area. I have been asking for people's view on this
since first I appeared on the mailing list (which was occasioned by
finding about about AFFS appointing some sort of liaison to a group I help
run). I still haven't got an answer, and we appear further away than ever
from a resolution of this matter.

Mk