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Re: Let's not forget why many people use/contribute to Debian



> I think this comparison still don't hit the point. 
> The problem ist free or non-free, so comparison should be if
> you want to use a hammer that is fully free or a hammer, that
> can be used better but you are not allowed to use it comercially or
> to modify it.

No, the original comparison was correct.  Most people want what works best for
the job.  They don't care about anything else except that.  Telling them
they're not allowed to use a hammer until someone carves one out of a stone,
or until they go to a far-away country to get one is not going to attract
builders to your town.

If something's just to darn hard, most people won't bother doing it.  If
Debian is just for purist hackers like us, then we might as well get rid of
non-free, as well as GNOME (because we don't need it anyway), but if Debian is
for most people, then we have to make sure that most people will be happy to
use Debian.

Don't forget that removing non-free could scare people away from *Linux*
itself, not just Debian.  "I tried Linux, and I couldn't do anything with it.
It didn't even have Netscape!"  It's not technically accurate, but it will
inevitably be the subject of many conversations.

Let's stay focused.  We're supposed to be mostly indifferent (we have a
policy, we don't care who meets it, and we won't make any exceptions, (ie. for
KDE)), not zealous.  Remember how we dismiss zealots, and hipocrites.  We
don't want to do the same thing we often criticize others for.

If you're going to reply, please reply to the whole message, not just parts
you want to pick at, while forgetting the rest of what I said.  That goes for
all messages you reply to.

-- 
Please always Cc to me when replying to me on the lists.

"Real hackers mostly think crackers are lazy, irresponsible, and not very
bright, and object that being able to break security doesn't make you a
hacker any more than being able to hotwire cars makes you an automotive
engineer."
   -- The Hacker HOWTO

Dwayne C. Litzenberger - dlitz@cheerful.com

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