Re: Endorsement of the GNU Social Contract

Seems to me that "contracts" are all about taking away your freedom, once
lawyers get their hands on them. I don't see any need to fix something
which is not broken. So why take the trouble?

But then I read a few more lines at the bottom of the proposal.

The wording may seem like a preparation for a similar event to what
happened very recently at the FSF. And that makes me wonder.

Yeah, I know that no one lives forever but can't that bridge be crossed
when we get there?



El vie., 14 de feb. de 2020 a la(s) 10:35, Ludovic Courtès ([email protected])
escribió:

> Dear GNU maintainer,
>
> Today is “I Love Free Software” day and we want to thank you for being
> part of GNU!
>
> You are receiving this message because you are listed as responsible for
> a GNU package in the ‘maintainers’ file on fencepost.gnu.org.  If you
> think this is inaccurate, or if you no longer want to be contacted about
> this initiative, please let us know about it.
>
> On January 28th, we emailed you regarding on-going work by the authors
> of this message to devise a “GNU Social Contract”.  The goal of this
> document is to formulate a common core set of values for the GNU Project,
> on which we can jointly build to form a stronger community.  It is both
> an agreement among us, GNU contributors, and a pledge to the broader free
> software community.  Additionally, we think it can be a first step towards
> formalizing a transparent and collective governance of the GNU Project.
>
> We received a number of questions and suggestions on the first draft of the
> document, witnesses to our collective approach to shaping a document that
> can help us go forward together.  We discussed all the input with great
> care; it is documented, together with the adopted resolutions, at:
>
>   https://wiki.gnu.tools/gnu:gsc-feedback
>
> The result of all this is version 1.0 of the GNU Social Contract as
> appended
> below, which can also be seen at:
>
>   https://wiki.gnu.tools/gnu:social-contract
>
> We believe that the outcome is an even snappier document, which lays out
> our common foundations even more clearly, and thank everyone of you who
> contributed to improving it.
>
> We now invite you to send a message, by February 24th, preferably signed
> with your OpenPGP key, to [email protected] (private alias) and
> optionally to [email protected] (public mailing list), containing
> one of the following statements:
>
>   • I, maintainer of package X, endorse version 1.0 of the GNU
>     Social Contract, available at
>     <https://wiki.gnu.tools/gnu:social-contract>.
>
>   • I, maintainer of package X, do not adhere to version 1.0 of the
>     GNU Social Contract, available at
>     <https://wiki.gnu.tools/gnu:social-contract>.
>
> The current status is maintained at:
>
>   https://wiki.gnu.tools/gnu:social-contract-endorsement
>
> Thanks in advance for your participation!
>
>   - Ludovic Courtès
>   - Andreas Enge
>   - Carlos O’Donell
>   - Mark Wielaard
>   - Andy Wingo
>
> ········································································
>
> # GNU Social Contract 1.0
> ---
>
> These are the core commitments of the GNU Project, which creates and
> distributes a software system that respects users' freedoms.
>
> ## The GNU Project respects users' freedoms
>
> The GNU Project provides software that guarantees to all users the
> _Four Essential Freedoms_, without compromise:
>   0. The freedom to run the program as they wish, for any purpose.
>   1. The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does
>      their computing as they wish.
>   2. The freedom to redistribute copies so they can help others.
>   3. The freedom to distribute copies of their modified versions to others.
>
> The GNU Project adopts policies that encourage and enable developers
> to actively defend user freedom.  These policies include using
> _copyleft licenses_, designed to ensure that users’ freedoms cannot be
> stripped off, when appropriate.
>
> Besides upholding the Four Essential Freedoms, the GNU Project pays
> attention to new threats to users' freedom, and responds to them as they
> arise.
>
>
> ## The GNU Project provides a consistent system
>
> The GNU Project develops an operating system, the _GNU System_, as well as
> a set of applications.  Each software component developed by the GNU
> Project
> is referred to as a _GNU package_.  GNU package developers work together to
> ensure consistency across packages.
>
>
> ## The GNU Project collaborates with the broader free software community
>
> The GNU Project works together with other free software projects to
> advance its goals, and aims to extend the reach of the project beyond
> the GNU System.
>
>
> ## The GNU Project welcomes contributions from all and everyone
>
> The GNU Project commits to providing a harassment-free
> experience for all contributors.  It wants to give everyone the
> opportunity of contributing to its efforts on any of the many tasks that
> require work.  It welcomes all contributors, regardless of their gender,
> ethnicity, sexual orientation, level of experience, or any other
> personal characteristics.
>
>

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Edscott Wilson Garcia
Reservoir Engineering
Mexican Petroleum Institute