A Call to Boycott Ubuntu? An Important Discussion Thread

[Graham Todd]

On Fri, 25 Sep 2009 03:24:13 -0400
Michael Haney <thezorch at gmail.com> uttered these words:

> So what do you think?  Is this yet again most Feminist overreaction to
> harmless male jokes or is racial discrimination a real problem in the
> FOSS world?  I've seen a few article which say sexual inequality in
> FOSS is a growing issue.
> 
> Share with us your thoughts because this is an important topic
[snipped]

I don't know, because neither link you published actually links to what
Mark Shuttleworth SAID, only reactions to what he said.  Too often
phrases are taken out of context or misinterpreted, so we should be
careful.

There is also the matter of cultural differences in different parts of
the world and whether we are trying to impose 1st World principles on
3rd World cultures.  Mark Shuttleworth himself comes from South Africa,
a post colonial geographic area which has only just entered the 21st
century and some of his views might express that background..

On the general issue, the matter of boycotting Ubuntu was postulated
like this: "should I send anybody links to Ubuntu related material?" to
which I answer "you must decide what you want to do, and then do it if
it isn't unlawful".  However, you will find yourselves in trouble if
you try to enforce an industry-wide embargo on ideas and opinions and
expressing them: it could be, for example, in contravention of the U.S.
First Amendment.

So, I'm not sure what was said and in what context, and I'm not sure
what is being proposed.  Without that I have no opinion on the matter.

-- 
Graham Todd
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