ad/spyware query

[wes]

many thanks to jackson doak and ioannis vranos for their informative
replies to my query.

i will summarise my present understanding, so as to facilitate
clarification or correction:

> 1. do current releases of lubuntu incorporate these changes as well?

apparently not, as the functionality in question is restricted to
unity lens.


> 2. what are the lubuntu developer's attitudes on these changes?

from the response i gather that unspecified devs care, and
unspecified devs don't care, and that they have remained silent on the
topic in public fora.

my concern here is to test the wind, regarding *future* development of
the lubuntu distribution, since public statements by canonical's
representatives indicate plans to generalise the objectionable
functionality located at present in unity lens.

concerns of both users and devs who did object to the recent changes
to unity lens were ignored by canonical.  one can only expect similar
behavior in future from canonical, should they decide that it is in
canonical's interest to generalise ad/spyware to tools incorporated in
lubuntu.

absent knowledge of any public discussion of the topic by lubuntu
devs, i am left with little assurance that the lubuntu distribution
will remain on a free trajectory, despite its present state.


> 3. who hosts lubuntu's repositories?

canonical.  i suppose this is unsurprising, but i did not know the
answer.  thank you for the information.

i will probably do a minimal install of debian, and obtain additional
tools and applications as needed from the debian repositories.

cheers,
wes