Paul W. Frields wrote:
On Fri, 2009-05-22 at 08:07 -0600, Christopher A. Williams wrote:
On Thu, 2009-05-21 at 20:12 -0400, Paul W. Frields wrote:
I would submit that the vast majority of people using Fedora today DO
care about software freedom and would prefer to see something like
Adobe's plugin released under a GPL (or like) license. But they also
still need to get work done right now. And unless / until Adobe licenses
their code, or gnash and swfdec mature to the point they are reasonable
substitutes for most use cases (it could happen), the non-Free Adobe
plugin and its current licensing terms are a practical compromise.
I really hope you didn't mean what you wrote in the context in which it
appears.
I think you inferred something I didn't mean. I wrote that Adobe Flash
was "not a method of *first resort* for people who care about software
freedom." (emphasis added)
I think it depends on your version of "care." And I don't think you will state
it to everyone's satisfaction, because it's a religious thing. There is a range
of user choice from "only commercial because it must be good, I paid for it," to
"I'll do without if I can't use free software." I fall in the "I'll use the free
tools if they work and something else when necessary."
In the case of Flash, people are locked in not by Adobe, but by the people who
use the format on their sites and in their files. And FOSS tools are playing a
game of catch-up, with varying degrees of success.
From what you said above, I gather that Adobe Flash was not a method of
first resort for you. You tried gnash and swfdec, and found that they
were not yet at the level of capability needed to support your work.
Only then did you resort to Adobe Flash. And that's precisely the case
I thought I was making. I have no doubt about your commitment to
software freedom! :-)
I am in the exact same boat. I need Flash frequently to view
proceedings from conferences and on other sites where I track
information about Fedora. I try swfdec and gnash regularly to see how
they're working, and if I can get reasonably close to information that
would help the projects, I file bugs. And then I resort to Adobe Flash
after that.
Precisely the point, you are locked in by the choices of the media creator. And
Flash, like mp3, is simply the standard by which people have chosen to operate.
There are probably people using Fedora who don't care as much about
software freedom, and just want a working Adobe Flash. For them, it may
be a matter of first resort, and so that admonition hopefully tells them
there are alternatives that may work for them, depending on the
Flash-based sites they frequent.
Is there a better way I could put this so it's not misunderstood?
I think you have done a fine job, and as noted you are not going to please
everyone on this topic. Don't agonize because you haven't made everyone happy,
adjust your message until all sides are equally unhappy, that way you know you
are being unbiased.
--
Bill Davidsen <davidsen@xxxxxxx>
"We have more to fear from the bungling of the incompetent than from
the machinations of the wicked." - from Slashdot
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