Re: Contradictiory directions

[Óscar Fuentes]

Alexandre Garreau <galex-713@galex-713.eu> writes:

>> > The PCRE and csvtable modules are also in the public domain.
>> > Proprietary versions of them could be created ino the future.
>> 
>> So you just decidead that all those versions that allow to distribute
>> non-free versions of the code are incompatible with the GPL after all?
>> <sigh>
>
> No, but enough for them to *potentially become* so *without being noticed* 
> by emacs or even the users themselves…
>
> …what if one day mac os x or ubuntu or windows starts bundling a version 
> of sqlite with special “improved” extensions that are made proprietary? we 
> don’t want that.  We want emacs to break in that case, and potentially the 
> users to do something to become themselves responsible of a such 
> combination of software.

If the OS starts shipping SQLite with "improved" extensions and Emacs
uses it, it is the same as any other OS-provided library: acceptable by
GNU, although undesirable.

Please note how you do talk about problematic extensions but not about a
problematic OS-provided SQLite shared library. Why are we so concerned
with the possibility of unholy extensions and not so much with the
possibility of an unholy SQLite binary? Because in that case the only
choice is to not use SQLite at all? (and most other Free but not GPL
libraries)

Seriously, let's stop making up dramas based on scenarios disconnected
from reality. The propietary software industry does not give a rat ass
about Emacs and soon it will not give a rat ass about Gcc either,
because there are better *free* alternatives, which arose in great part
thanks to stances like this.