ethical ubuntu

[Jack Wasey]

Alexander Jacob Tsykin wrote:
> On Tuesday 06 June 2006 17:51, Jack Wasey wrote:

> "not make installing alien applications easier than it already is, as is 
> widely proposed"
> 
> This seems to imply that making software harder to install is a good thing, I 
> think that defeats the point of software freedom, that everybody is free to 
> use whatever software they choose, provided it is legal.
> 
> I did read the rest of your post, and I know it talks about information only, 
> but this phrase seems fairly explicit.

Please do change the phrase on the wiki to something more acceptable to you. 
Consider though that the Ubuntu charter excludes certain software not fit even 
for multiverse. By making something single-click installable, you're going 
against the Ubuntu Charter. I see this as a regression to be avoided regardless 
of the ethical spec.

If an extra dialogue box with a generic warning and a link is making things 
harder, then I think it is a price worth paying. However, there are less 
intrusive alternatives which you could flesh out on the wiki; e.g. automatically 
adding URLs to the desktop or firefox bookmarks with the same references 
(probably to the ubuntu wiki, but possibly directly to third-party web sites).

> Also, I would not contend that it is even a bad thing for companies to comply 
[snip]
> The case of Yahoo is totally different, [snip]

Your opinions are interesting and a great example of why providing information 
enables an informed decision.

Jack