From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: Jean Louis Subject: Re: MAME emulator is giving incentive to use non-free software Date: Tue, 29 Mar 2016 06:42:43 +0200 Message-ID: <20160329044242.GA1239@protected.rcdrun.com> References: <20160328215516.GA27719@protected.rcdrun.com> <20160329002620.GB6484@jookia-eeepc.Home> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Return-path: Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:4830:134:3::10]:35083) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1aklVe-0007Nx-Gz for guix-devel@gnu.org; Tue, 29 Mar 2016 00:44:07 -0400 Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1aklVa-00013M-PZ for guix-devel@gnu.org; Tue, 29 Mar 2016 00:44:06 -0400 Received: from stw1.rcdrun.com ([217.170.207.13]:59834) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1aklVa-00011r-F5 for guix-devel@gnu.org; Tue, 29 Mar 2016 00:44:02 -0400 Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <20160329002620.GB6484@jookia-eeepc.Home> List-Id: "Development of GNU Guix and the GNU System distribution." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: guix-devel-bounces+gcggd-guix-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sender: guix-devel-bounces+gcggd-guix-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org To: guix-devel@gnu.org For further thinkering, for those people who shoule be deciding what software shall be included in free software distribution and what not, here are some arguments: Guidelines, read them well, especially sections such as "Nonfree Firmware", then section "Trademarks", and "Please Teach Users about Free Software":=20 http://www.gnu.org/distros/free-system-distribution-guidelines.html List of software that does not respect the Free System Distribution Guidelines (this is work in progress): https://libreplanet.org/wiki/List_of_software_that_does_not_respect_the_F= ree_System_Distribution_Guidelines What is going on at Trisquel: https://trisquel.info/en/wiki/software-does-not-respect-free-system-distr= ibution-guidelines At the Trisquel link, one can see "Mac-on-Linux emulator": Description: Allows running MacOS inside a GNU/Linux system, Problem: Only runs/supports proprietary software Recommended Fix: Remove program/package (Source) package name(s): mol, mol-drivers-linux Trisquel Status: Fixed (removed upstream) Compare the above to MAME issue, as it is similar. Now is the time to think. It will be late in 3-5 years to correct mistakes: - decision to include MAME in a free GNU distribution directly influences users to use non-free software and promotes non-free software=20 - the argument "let us search for one free software ROM" to justify the inclusion of MAME in such free distribution is one-sided, and does not foresee the future results. As MAME is made exclusively with the purpose to support non-free software, the practical future result is that people will be guided to download and use non-free ROMs, - free software distribution shall not offer a platform for conservancy of non-free software for future, - it can be clearly seen that website of MAME: http://mamedev.org/ offers under Download section, non-free ROMs: http://mamedev.org/roms/ (disregard their definiton of "free" as they are not) - why would free software distribution support and include software that was primarily made for usage of non-free software?! Single fact that such software is free does not demand and promote usage of free software. See Guidelines. - MAME=C2=AE is a U.S. registered trademark, that may be found with the USPTO: http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=3Dlogin&p_lang=3Denglish&p_d=3D= trmk by searching for: MAME, serial number: 78578919, where it says: Goods and Services IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: Downloadable computer software that enables the emulation of arcade games and their associated hardware, allowing them to run on a general purpose computer operating system. FIRST USE: 19981100. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 19981100 Owner (REGISTRANT) Salmoria, Nicola And the owner, clearly says on the website: http://mamedev.org/ "Please note that MAME is a registered trademark of Nicola Salmoria, and permission is required to use the "MAME" name, logo or wordmark. " which makes the whole software package under that name (MAME=C2=AE) non= -free and incompatible with GPL 2.0 -- for example, I cannot sell MAME package that I would get from GuixSD, as I would be required special permission to use MAME=C2=AE trademark. - or Nicola Salmoria could make to the distribution something like what KIK INTERACTIVE INC. did to kik package with the NPM: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3D11341491 and trademark issues ar= e the exact reason why some other packages are not included or have been forked - using MAME is endorsement for the use of non-free ROMs, even if there would be 1-2 free ROMs, people would come to MAME website and download non-free ROMs. Regarding Wine: - Wine website is constantly endorsing non-free software, what is easy to see from their News: https://www.winehq.org/announce/1.9.6 as they develop the software to run non-free software, I guess mostly for gamers, who don't care about free software philosophy. - for that same reason I would reject Wine in ALL free software distributions. - single fact that some piece of software is free software, shall not be the only factor to consider inclusion of software in free software distribution. - Wine is not "freedom respecting" software (see guidelines), and as such, does not demand, rather it encourages users to use non-free software. - few exceptional cases may exceptionally download it and run for their exceptional uses in the non-free world, without inclusion of Wine in the free software distribution. All written above are my opinion, and not legal advices. Jean Louis