From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Tim McNamara Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: Icon designer wanted (Aquamacs Emacs) Date: Fri, 06 Jan 2006 15:09:44 -0600 Organization: ipHouse - Welcome Home! Message-ID: References: <54321A2A-3F36-4416-B473-49AC11FF057F@gmail.com> <853bk5gwa8.fsf@lola.goethe.zz> <792D87C1-B9A9-495E-9335-7139845D1CB0@gmail.com> <85fyo4zvei.fsf@lola.goethe.zz> <87sls47lvd.fsf@vh213602.truman.edu> <85wthftsme.fsf@lola.goethe.zz> NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1136582147 21014 80.91.229.2 (6 Jan 2006 21:15:47 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 6 Jan 2006 21:15:47 +0000 (UTC) Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Fri Jan 06 22:15:42 2006 Return-path: Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by ciao.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1EuyvW-0006uQ-KQ for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Fri, 06 Jan 2006 22:15:16 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1EuyxJ-00053R-NM for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Fri, 06 Jan 2006 16:17:01 -0500 Original-Path: shelby.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!postnews.google.com!news3.google.com!news.glorb.com!indigo.octanews.net!green.octanews.net!news-out.octanews.net!news-2.mpls.iphouse.net.POSTED!not-for-mail Original-Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.help User-Agent: Gnus/5.11 (Gnus v5.11) Emacs/22.0.50 (darwin) Cancel-Lock: sha1:kINZjGR4U1HHqep+fJWghWQt5Kg= Original-Lines: 36 Original-NNTP-Posting-Date: 06 Jan 2006 15:09:45 CST Original-NNTP-Posting-Host: cec63c64.newsreader.iphouse.net Original-X-Trace: DXC==_d3[ELEbiJ2^=K6Dca>`BVn\Tj8`^BbKeHS>e[L>83@72?T>l2>U:Km:@8]TdIggEf@e7N90MVdMWiVOZk3EBcJ Original-X-Complaints-To: abuse@iphouse.net Original-Xref: shelby.stanford.edu gnu.emacs.help:136888 Original-To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:32507 Archived-At: "Luis O. Silva" writes: > Hi, > > On Thu, 05 Jan 2006 17:23:55 -0600, Tim McNamara writes: > > TM> How well software works is a central issue in getting people > TM> to use it. If the Free Software movement is content to have > TM> a limited market and minimal adoption, well that can't be > TM> helped. > > There is no market. Free developers don't produce commodities. They > aren't looking for customers. They are freely working to create a > free tool (which is always better than the tools which are > commodities). Except that many of the free tools are not superior to the proprietary ones in practice. And without attending to that, free software risks being nothing more than a pedantic, philosophical stance and being nothing other than marginal. > If people don't understand freedom it is useless for the movement to > have millions using free tools. On this I am afraid we have irreconcilable differences. You (and David) are over-focused on free software in the abstract sense of freedom. Fine as a principle but it does not increase the freedom of computer users on a daily basis. IMHO where freedom counts is not in the abstract but at the keyboards and mouses and displays of users. If the goal is to promote freedom for computer users and to change the world for the better, then attention must be paid to the useability of free software and removing the obstacles to adoption by the mainstream. If the goal is to carve out some morally superior stance, then by all means carry on as you are. As far as I can tell, that's all the current approach is going to get you.