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Re: A GNU “social contract”?


From: Alfred M. Szmidt
Subject: Re: A GNU “social contract”?
Date: Sat, 09 Nov 2019 04:39:19 -0500

You yet again refrained from answering specific questions, and instead
when off on a tangent. I think this now shows clearly what your
intention are, they aren't about having a discussion, it isn't about
trying to understand how this project works first before suggesting a
change, or trying to discuss topics with those who run the project on
level terms.
 
   So either, nothing is new; then why this resistance to having
   people commit to it? Or it is new, then why the resistance to
   writing it?

The difference is you are trying to make maintainers, who have never
agreed to anything specific other than technical aspects, to agree to
something else -- something that they have explicitly not been
required to agree with!  You've not even disucssed this with the
people running the project, who actually understand the nuances of
their own decisions.

The resistance here is not because of disagreement with what your
document says (which could serve as a short summary -- but you are
asking for far more), but how you are going about trying to force it
through, with a total disregard for everyone else involved.

   >>From what I understand, you are opposed to a self-organised GNU Project and
   instead prefer an organisation where Richard Stallman takes all decisions at
   his own discretion, without being accountable to anybody, contributors to the
   project and users alike. This is a possible position, but which is indeed
   contrary to the purpose of the social contract. So instead of claiming not
   to understand the goal of the social contract, it would be intellectually
   more honest to state that you are against the goal. After which, there is
   indeed little point in continuing the discussion.

This shows a clear misunderstanding, and I think at this point,
intentional, on how the GNU project is governed, RMS doesn't take "all
decisions at his own discretion" -- he doesn't work in a vacuum.  Each
GNU project is infact, and has always been, self governing in its own
realm of responsibilities -- namley technical.  Volunteers do
technical work at their own accord, and at their own whim.

Since I think we agree that there is little point in disucssing this
further, this document becomes automatically on the chopping block and
is I think entierly unsuitable since it totally misrepresents the GNU
project and its goals with its intent and but maybe not so much with
its wording.



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