[Bug 269656] Re: AN IRRELEVANT LICENSE IS PRESENTED TO YOU FREE-OF-CHARGE ON STARTUP

[Chip Bennett]

On Friday 19 September 2008 2:46:38 pm kafpauzo wrote:
> The purists are worried that the software on Google's servers is
> restricted. The purists feel that because Google hasn't released their
> _server_ software, this makes Google's service non-free. They feel that
> Firefox becomes non-free just because it connects to servers that run
> non-free software.

Hopefully I'm not being misconstrued as a purist. I do not believe that 
Firefox becomes non-free just because it connects to servers that run 
non-free software.

My contention is that Firefox *may* become non-free because it has services 
enabled that require the end user either accept their use terms, or else 
disable those services. (The EULA for those services still resides within 
Firefox, albeit presented in a far superior manner than that which begat this 
bug report.)

> My opinion is that such a purist view is extreme and impractical. I
> don't want my free software to be restricted to contacting only servers
> that run free software. I think this would be a very severe restriction.

Again, I've not seen anyone advocate restricting anyone from using those 
services; rather, only that those services be disabled by default in Ubuntu's 
Firefox package.

Enabling those services is - at most - as simple as checking a configuration 
check box.

> I'm delighted that I'm invited and welcome to install huge lots of free-
> as-in-freedom software on my system, but I don't want to insist that
> every server that I contact do the same, nor do I feel that Firefox
> becomes any less free because of restrictions on Google's server
> software.

I don't think anyone in this discussion has suggested what you seem to believe 
has been suggested.

In the end, I'm just trying to get the conversation started with respect to 
what "freedom" means in the nascent software-as-a-service world in which we 
find ourselves. Firefox is just the first instance, but what happens here 
will set a precedent. I think it is wise to think through what precedent 
Ubuntu wants to set.

-- 
AN IRRELEVANT LICENSE IS PRESENTED TO YOU FREE-OF-CHARGE ON STARTUP
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/269656
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