Re: RealMedia used for GUADEC live transmissions?

[Richard Stallman <rms gnu org>]

    On the other hand, if there's no mature Free alternative, then the
    GU4DEC organisers would have to not allow people to view the talks over
    the internet at all. That's not productive either :-)

GNOME, like GNU as a whole, was developed in order to reject use of
non-free software.  When you use RealPlayer, the medium conveys a
different message, which says, "You should use non-free software".
The medium contradicts the message.  There is no use in carrying the
message to more people at the cost of distorting it.

Using non-free software for this was not just self-defeating, it was
also easy to avoid.  I don't know if OGG video streaming is ready, but
OGG audio streaming certainly works.  GUADEC could have used that
method, and advised speakers to post any video or slide presentations
for people to download.  That would work fine, with well-tested and
widely available software.