GPA File Manager

[Robert J. Hansen]

On 11/17/2011 2:39 PM, Mark Kirchner wrote:
> But please let me re-phrase: Those rules seem to deny people the
> freedom to discuss software alternatives on a public mailing list?

If this was a public mailing list, I'd agree with you.

This mailing list is owned and operated by private citizens.  We're
guests in someone else's home, and that someone else has established
rules.  The courteous thing to do is to abide by those rules, to the
extent we can do so without running afoul of our own moral code.

Saying, "please do not recommend proprietary software" is not a rule
that gives me the moral heebie-jeebies, so I'm happy to comply with it.

> Or to put it differently: Any mailing list or forum about some piece
> of proprietary software that sets up rules like that ("you are not
> allowed to mention free software here") would be called intolerant
> and freedom-of-choice-denying - and rightfully so.

No: *you* would call them intolerant and freedom-of-choice-denying.
Please be careful about making universal statements about what the world
in general would say: the world generally does not conform to our
expectations.

Do you feel you have the right to stand in the middle of an Audi
dealership and loudly extoll the praises of the Peugeot?  Or would the
dealership owner be within his rights to tell you, "look, I'm very happy
you love the Peugeot RCZ, but you need to take your advocacy of it
somewhere else"?