Re: [ELPA] New package: kixtart-mode

[Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org>]

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  > > There is no dependency or inter-op with the interpreter, and the package
  > > was developed independently - since the source code is not available it
  > > is also impossible for me to create any link to it.

  > Yes, I understand this.  The question is rather one of policy/strategy
  > than one of copyright.

That is true.

  > > But if this is the final decision I'll live with it.

  > I can never remember exactly what is the policy in such cases, so I'm
  > hoping Richard will chime in.

Our general policy makes a subtle distinction between these two cases:

1. If a nonfree program FOO is not well known, we don't even mention that
it exists.  Because we don't want to promote using FOO.

2. If a nonfree program FOO is well known and widely used, something to
help and encourage FOO's users to use some GNU packages along with FOO
is good.

3. Anything that would encourage the existing users of some GNU packages
to use FOO with them is bad.

Is SickStart the main scripting language for Windows now?  If so, it
will surely be widely used, so case 2 would apply.  Then we would want
to include support for editing it.

BUT, it is a bad thing if people use SickStart to write scripts
that they could have written in a free scripting language.
Is there anything we can do to urge people to use Perl or Python
or Bash instead of SickStart?

Why would someone, on Windows, use SickStart rather than those other
scripting packages?  Does it have some major advantage, for use on
Windows?

Or is it that Microsoft is going to tell everyone that "SickStart is
the scripting language for Windows!  Be the first on your block to try
SickStart!" and people will be led by the nose?

Maybe we can come up with a way to encourage people to choose some
free and portable scripting language, even when using Windows.

-- 
Dr Richard Stallman (https://stallman.org)
Chief GNUisance of the GNU Project (https://gnu.org)
Founder, Free Software Foundation (https://fsf.org)
Internet Hall-of-Famer (https://internethalloffame.org)