Re: visualization of CVS commits

[David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org>]

Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> writes:

>> From: Richard M Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
>> CC: tealeg@member.fsf.org, emacs-devel@gnu.org
>> Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:21:20 -0400
>> 
>>     Why not?  I thought a format was only bad if its details were kept
>>     secret.
>> 
>> A format is bad if it pressures people into use of non-free software.
>> Secrecy is one reason that might happen, but patents are another.
>> Rapid changes by a company are another.  Those two both apply to Flash.
>
> Are there pattern issues with MS Word format?

I think partly so.

> And if so, how come OpenOffice handles it without risking litigation?

Sun has a patent exchange pact with Microsoft.  I think this would tend
to cover the upstream OpenOffice and thus keep the topic off the table.
Microsoft tends to apply visible pressure only when they consider
something at stake for them, so they tend to be rather lax about
pursuing reverse engineering of their formats and the usage (keeps the
focus off the possible consequences of their monopoly position).  You
can't rely on it: it has surprised a lot of people when they started
pursuing some FAT patent for preformatted media recently.

But Openoffice derivatives are off the radar in that respect, I guess.

-- 
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum