[Debian-in-workers] Re Re: Red Hat signs MoU with Kerala gov

[doxa at sancharnet.in]

>1. As a user of free software, the govt is free choose the person from
>   whom it wants to buy free sotware.

If you agree that Govt is not autonomous - where autonomy relates to unbridled freedom to lay out own rules - then it is not proprietary on their part to have their choice. The Govt needs to consult, and if there is a debate, they need to listen to all views, before arriving at a decision. Sadly, in this case, there were no such debates nor discussions. One should agree that information that is extended for processing belongs to the citizens and that a democracy is constituted by its citizens, which is precisely why a democratically functioning government needs to initiate consultations on such matters. Whether government is technically correct to go ahead with their own rules is a totally different argument.

>the contract?  Please be specific, and  please do tell us how this MoU
>is harmful to FREE SOFTWARE -  while I have all sympathies for them, I
>..
>..required, confuses free masala dosa and free software.)
I think this aspect has already been fairly covered in earlier discussion. There's always an established hierarchy entering the scene with RH, which creates some kind of antagonism with developers - which is where we need to listen to them. Wouldn't it be fine if we stood for developers-freedom rather than user-friendliness (or users-choice) ? Because, ultimately its going to be developers who will help us in declaring complete self-reliance, not the users. 

CK Raju