Re: Question for candidates

[Lionel Dricot <lionel dricot lanedo com>]

Le vendredi 27 mai 2011 à 16:34 -0400, Richard Stallman a écrit :
> I'd like to ask the candidates this question:
> 
> * What do you think GNOME should do to help promote the ideals of free
> software, beyond being composed of free programs.

>From my experience, a lot of people believe that Free Software are not
trustworthy because there's no support nor any guarantee.

It's a bit astonishing to see people thinking that because:
- Support for non-free software is not always good
- There is generally no guarantees at all with any software 

We should change the bad perception around free softwares and advertise
that:
+ Free software enforces competition and thus allows you to choose the
best provider of support
+ Free software avoids vendor lock-in
+ Free software usually have open communities which allows some basic
free support and free documentation.


I think that improving the commercial support is a great way of
promoting free softwares. By gaining economic weight, free software will
also gain politic weight.


Lionel