Re: Git GUIs and interpretation of GNU guidelines

[Aaron Hill]

On 2020-09-19 11:48 am, Jean Abou Samra wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> As part of a large change to CG section 3, "Working with source code",
> I'd like to link to a page with a choice of Git GUIs. There is this on
> Git's official website:
>
> https://git-scm.com/downloads/guis/
>
> Here comes the problem: it links to both free as in speech and
> proprietary software.
>
> Is it fine with respect to GNU guidelines to link to that page? Maybe 
> with a
> sentence like "We recommend picking a piece of free software among 
> those."?

My $0.02 is that the page you referenced clearly labels each program by 
platform, price, and license.  If that were not the case, then one could 
justify providing an appropriately curated list to ensure the user is 
well-informed.  I say follow the free(dom)/libre principle--link to that 
page, and let the user make their own choice.

Regarding your sentence, I wonder if the word "recommend" could be 
problematic.  Granted you are not calling out any particular program 
that might be misconstrued as sponsorship or advertisement.  What do you 
think of this phrasing?

"This site (link) provides a list of GUI clients, including free 
software for various platforms."


> Otherwise, do you have a couple Free Git GUIs to propose for linking?

While I make use of Code's git integration for various tasks, mainly I 
just run git via the terminal.  But since Code is not really a dedicated 
git GUI client, it is probably not worth mentioning.


-- Aaron Hill