Re: [gentoo-project] Gentoo, GitHub, and the Social Contract

[Andrew Savchenko]

On Sat, 14 Feb 2015 22:40:54 +0000 Ciaran McCreesh wrote:
> On Sun, 15 Feb 2015 01:35:40 +0300
> Andrew Savchenko <bircoph@g.o> wrote:
> > On Sat, 14 Feb 2015 22:31:48 +0000 Ciaran McCreesh wrote:
> > > On Sat, 14 Feb 2015 23:23:48 +0100
> > > Alexander Berntsen <bernalex@g.o> wrote:
> > > > On 14/02/15 23:13, Ciaran McCreesh wrote:
> > > > > That's how Git works.
> > > >
> > > > Consider contributors (Gentoo developers or not) that want to
> > > > submit patches to a project. They should have access to the
> > > > primary repository (git or not), and be able to contribute
> > > > without being forced to use proprietary software. This is
> > > > incredibly easy to facilitate, so I don't expect us to have a
> > > > problem related to github and our social mission here.
> > >
> > > What if their ISP runs proprietary software to manage its network?
> > > Will Gentoo accept patches by pigeon? (Obviously the postal service
> > > can't be relied upon to not use proprietary software.)
> >
> > One should not confuse transparent data transmission mediator and
> > active data management engine required to create, submit or
> > apply changes.
>
> What's the difference between connecting to a proprietary Git server
> over an open network stack, and connecting to an open Git server over a
> proprietary network stack?

1a. If proprietary git server denies user, nothing can be done.
Access to a free software project is restricted.
1b. If proprietary network stack makes it impossible to use free
git server, it is possible to change ISP in most of cases.

2a. Github has almost no obligations to free software users:
service access is free, but may be restricted any moment without any
legal penalties.
2b. ISP services are usually paid for, so users have a possibility
to affect ISP actions in majority of cases.

Best regards,
Andrew Savchenko