Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!anise.acc.com!pst From: pst@anise.acc.com (Paul Traina) Newsgroups: gnu.gcc Subject: Re: Apple vs. FSF (THE BOYCOTT IS A FAILURE) Message-ID: <1RdG4N#1SP537=pst@anise.acc.com> Date: 1 Jun 89 01:38:56 GMT References: <1Rd512#2N2hXM=pst@anise.acc.com> Lines: 33 Followups-To: poster [POLITICAL WARNING: this message has nothing to do with gcc technical aspects. If we had a "gnu.politics" or an info-gnu-politics mailing list, I would place it there. I have redirected usenet followups to me.] Paul> We should stop the boycott NOW. Dave> Why should we stop the boycott? In the essense of terseness, read my previous messages about my perception of the failure of the boycott. I think we should stop the boycott because it did not serve its purpose (Apple is still suing Microsoft) and it is contrary to the very principles that the FSF was founded on. I don't mean to offend, but IMHO it was a punative short sighed measure that has not hurt the intended victim, but as been a disservice to FSF supporters. Right now, I hope RMS & Len are considering supporting the movement to rescind the Apple boycott. I didn't agree with it at the time, and I had been thinking about proposing to cancel the boycott at the USENIX BOF. I then thought about how the Apple suit could affect the FSF, so I decided to keep my mouth shut. Dave Berry brought this thing to a head, and now it's time to re-think our position. We need to band together and fight look-and-feel lawsuits. We don't need the execess baggage of a punative and useless boycott. I think I'm not _totally_ off base when I claim that the FSF was established to help maximize the flow of information. That's always been the stated goal of RMS's politics. ((grin) just ask someone at Symbolics) The boycott seemed like the only way we could "strike back" at the bullies at Apple. Unfortunately, it has made the FSF into a bully itself. That's not what we're supposed to be about. Fight lawyers, not other programmers.