Here’s the distrowatch announcement.

Moving to KDE

The biggest change in this version is moving to KDE for the desktop.

Something important to understand about that:  when I say “KDE for the desktop”, that doesn’t mean Netrunner is running all KDE apps. There are a lot of GNOME (and other) apps in there, because we are trying to present the best selection of applications and for some reason some people like some of the non-KDE apps better.

Still, I really like the idea of mixing KDE/GNOME. The obvious downside is the “bloat” – the Netrunner ISO is ~1GB, which kills the LiveCD route - but the upside is we do have the ability to present a different (and hopefully better) mix of applications.

If you have input on the application selection – especially if you want to “side” with me and push for more KDE! – get on the netrunner forums and let me know what you like!

Spit and Polish

This is a strange thing for me, because as I’ve said many times I have zero graphic design skills combined with near-apathy for how a distro looks out of the box.

That being said, there is someone (Starbuck) who obsesses over the visual end, and I hope his efforts are appreciated. I do like the wallpaper and theme, and again if you have input on the graphical direction, take it to the forums, because I guarantee you it will get read and discussed.

So give it a try already

Enough yakking from me – download the thing and give it a try and if the spirit moves you post some feedback on the netrunner forums.

A successful GNOME event involves everyone having fun. If someone in your audience is uncomfortable with something you’ve said, you’re not doing your job. Apologize to them as soon as possible, and try to avoid the topic that triggered this for the rest of your presentation.

Is it just me or is this an absurd “guideline”?

Walk the line

In fact the guidelines as a whole are absolutely reactionary, absurd and promote groupthink. They are overwhelmingly negative. “Don’t” do this. “Avoid” this.

How about instead you suggest a set of positive guidelines for speakers in accordance with the mission statement  of the GNOME Foundation and the goal of the GNOME project: to create a computing platform for use by the general public that is completely free software.

Is furthering the development of a Free Software platform the mark of a successful GNOME event? Or is “everyone having fun”?

I’d suggest  a successful birthday party for your 5-year old involves “everyone having fun”. Working out a major platform where decisions moral and technical must be made? Not so much. Education, illustration, healthy (and even heated) debate seem more appropriate than “everyone having fun” as a specific checkpoint.

Not only are the existing guidelines absurd and negative, but they are also impossible to comply with, because they are so overly-PC “avoid offending anyone at any cost” that no speaker can touch on any topic – much less one with any debate or controversy – without offending someone. (And boy-o-boy there is a contingent out there determined to be offended.)

Now I’m offended!

Personally, I’m offended everytime Team Apologista tears down Free Software and promotes a company dedicated to subverting and destroying Linux. I’m offended everytime the usual suspects launch another tired barrage of fact-free personal attacks against RMS.  But I do my best to argue my point of view in response, not suggest others shouldn’t be allowed to speak. By contrast, the Open Source Offenderati is eager to muzzle and exile those who disagree with them.

For extra chuckles, look at the guilty conscience-assuaging final paragraph:

Please keep in mind that the GNOME Foundation is not the right forum to debate whether someone should feel offended or not; you should simply avoid offending people even if you do not share their views. These guidelines do not constitute censorship since you have many other forums and opportunities to say whatever you wish.

The fundamental problem is that in many cases, you can not “simply avoid offending people” because people take offense – it is an action on their part, not yours. (Assuming here that one is not intentionally setting out to offend) Taking offense is virtually guaranteed when people don’t “share views”.

Black is not black, white is not white

I also love the “these guidelines do not constitute censorship” disclaimorese, like saying something makes it true.  Censorship is “the suppression or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the government or media organizations as determined by a censor.”

By definition, then, these guidelines are indeed censorship – having other forums and opportunities does not change that fact. (There is the consideration that censorship is not necessarily a “bad thing”, but that’s not the argument being made here).

Anyway, RMS is slated to speak at an upcoming GNOME conference and the pre-FUD is already being rolled out. That’s what brought this on – expect to see more pre/during/and post speech.

Jeremy Allison is representing Google on the GNOME Advisory Board.

GNOME needs more “fear monger, hating, conspiracy theorists” to offset the excessively polite and well-reasoned rational positions consistently taken by Team Apologista.

GNOME is part of the GNU project and supports the goals of the GNU project as defined by the Free Software Foundation. Free software licensing has always been a mainstay of GNOME, and we must ensure that this tradition continues. GNOME will include only Free software.

From the GNOME Foundation Charter.

About Me

I’m a member of some organizations. When an organization interests me, I take the time to educate myself about them and then I follow a very complex decision tree:

If I like and understand the organization’s reason for existence, then I consider contributing.

Else, I just stay away.

I know that is just the sort of irrational and illogical craziness we zealots engage in, so read it a few times if it’s not clear.

Not About Me

You know what I don’t do? Join an organziation whose Charter I don’t agree with and then do my goddamn dead level best to disrupt and insult people that do.

I don’t know about “free software”. Even after more than a decade it’s still an alien term for me. I know it is “opensource” for as far as I’m concerned. And that’s all I care about.
- Philip Van Hoof, GNOME Foundation Member

Usually I turn to HBO or Showtime to provide me with my drama fix, but the GNOME Foundation Mailing List is doing a pretty durn good job of spicing it up these last few weeks. It’s so good I might have to break it up over a few entries.

New Thing: Same as the Old Thing

This latest kerfluffle (not to be confused with earlier kerfluffles [1] [2]) started up over concerns for a strategic roadmap on GNOME, the thread got all heated up by names that will be familiar to anyone following such issues (“trollers gonna troll” is how the kids say it in their rap music) , a re-boot was attempted, and now people are  unsubscribing from the mailing list[1][2].

Jump on in, the water’s fine

Like I said, there’s a ton of stuff to comment on, but here’s one to start on:

[Richard Stallman] Implementing a free platform for C# is a good thing to do.  If you would like to promote the use of C# itself, how about explaining to Novell and Microsoft that they need to fully implement said protection in an ironclad way for all the usual C# libraries.

[Miguel de Icaza] I spend a considerable amount of time doing this.   It has taken time, and there would be no Community Promise, and there would be no Silverlight agreement (the one that has no special Novell provisions) without this work.

[Ace Ventura]>Re-he-he-he-eally??
What about the fact that the Covenant defines a “Conforming Host” as either a web browser or a launcher implemented by Novell?

Wat about the fact that the Covenant defines “Moonlight 3” as only those portions developed by or on behalf of Novell?

What about the fact that the Covenant specifically defines the terms “Novell-Provided Copies” and “Novell Distribution“?

What about the fact that the Covenant restricts “by license and technical means” Media Packs to work only with Novell-Provided Copies of Moonlight?

What about the fact that the Covenant specifies test suites that Microsoft will provide to Novell for testing the functionality of Novell’s Moonlight candidates?

A simple request

Now, having read the text of the Covenant, anyone care to tell me exactly how there are no special Novell provisions in the Silverlight agreement?

Don’t get mad and call me a zealot or make fun of how rms uses the internet or engage in whatever distractionary technique Team Apologista has queued up when someone raises uncomfortable questions.

And don’t just attack one of those questions, either. You need to show that not a single one is a “special Novell provision”.

Extra irony

You may appreciate knowing that Mr. de Icaza makes this assertion – that there are no special Novell provisions (when there clearly are) – while calling a FSF article on mono “a package of half-truths” and accusing rms of spreading “half truths”.

I suppose even a package of half-truths is a step up from a package of no-truths.

In that first run-up we basically had a couple of the usual chuckleheads waging war against a flimsly constructed straw man in hopes of discrediting RMS/FSF/Free Software with a secondary effect of promoting “Open Source” as the preferred term (and a tertiary effect of embarassing themselves). The usual tactics from the usual suspects.

Today, I saw that Bradley M. Kuhn is now a member of the GNOME Foundation. GNOME is in desperate need of people who understand and respect the Free Software ethos, so this is welcome news indeed.

Trollin’ Trollin’ Trollin’

That news also spurred me to peek in on the GNOME Foundation mailing list again, where I was disappointed (but not surprised) to see the same chuckleheads still engaged in the same tactics. At least in this current iteration the straw men and push polls are a bit more restrained.

Perhaps some of this restraint is because some of the mailing list members are taking the chuckleheads to task? It becomes difficult to maintain shenanigans when people point them out. The encouraging thing is that I think if you take the time to read the list, you’ll see that for a large part trolls are being recognized and called out for what they are. (Try this thread as a good example.) Welcome news, indeed.

Ignant

One special peanut in that turd of thread caught my attention:

Free software isn’t a synonym for open source, and by only using ‘free software’ you aren’t including all the OSI definitions which GNOME also endorses.

Ah yes, one of my favorites topics: “Open Source” was originally intended to be synonym for “Free Software”. Of course, we know how that turned out – and how right RMS was to reject the “Open Source” re-labeling.

“Open Source” is increasingly not being used in its original intent to avoid making “corporate types nervous”, but is being wielded as some sort of weird anti-”Free Software” weapon.

It’s especially rich in the context of GNOME, because GNOME was orginally purposed as being “based entirely on free software”, and was quite proud to be associated with GNU:

As most GNU software, GNOME application code will be released under the GNU GPL. GNOME specific libraries will be released under the terms of the GNU LGPL.

(You’ve come a long way, baby.)

Why are you even here?

I sometimes wonder why people who are not pro-Free Software, not pro-GNU,  not pro-(L)GPL would try to be all involved in a GNU Free Software Project conceived under the auspicies of the (L)GPL?

Promoting Microsoft? Who? Us?

Remember that whole promoting proprietary software on Planet GNOME kerfluffle?

I know this will sound insane, but I think a huge-ass button saying “Install Microsoft® Silverlight™” might possibly fall under the “promotion of proprietary software” heading?

Here is where you go if you click the button:

Is this Where You Want To Go?

Note that you are directed to press the “Click to Install” button, which does not exist. Oh, Novell – truly it is all worth it for the wonders you have wrought. You are indeed bringing Linux users around the world the Real© Microsoft®™ Experience. I had nearly forgotten the endlessly retarded bullshit one had to deal with just by turning on the computer when running Microsoft Windows – and 800X that hassle when running Internet Explorer – but Novell is bringing it all to Linux! Huzzah!

And, so what if it causes a minor stir in the community – who cares what it took to get where we are today anyway? This is truly important stuff! Damn the principles, full speed ahead to Redmond!