[Freedombox-discuss] Request for Comments: Agenda Items for 2020 Summit

[Jonas Smedegaard]

Quoting Fioddor Superconcentrado (2020-11-25 15:30:46)
> Covid19 has forced masses of people and small businesses online. Those 
> newcomers are falling into free-as-in-free-beer SaaSS traps. We missed 
> a huge opportunity to serve and grow, and we should catch up ASAP and 
> rescue as many as we can. FreedomBox needs a proper video-conferencing 
> solution for individuals and small communities.

I maintain the package janus, which as far as I am aware is the best 
backend available in Debian now.  It requires a frontend - i.e. someone 
needs to either package Jangout or write something new.  There is 
working demo code, and it runs e.g. at https://live.jones.dk/demos/


> I don't know if I'm biased by my personal experience, but I tried to 
> get my daughters to use JSXC and it resulted to be way too buggy.

I assume you mean the Debian package libjs-jsxc - please file a 
bugreport with the details of what failed for you (or point to the 
already filed bugreport - I cannot seem to find it).


> We're inconsistent! We and/as debianites use Jitsi Meet for 
> videoconferencing, but it is not packaged in Debian and due to web 
> standards evolving so fast, will likely never be, unless it is granted 
> the same exceptional status that browsers have.

Beware that fast-moving web is a reason for a package to not _stabilize_ 
not not a reason to not have a package at all.

Jitsi Meet is likely unsuitable for FreedomBox for a different reason, 
however: It is implemented in Java which requires more memory than is 
commonly available on hardware targeted for FreedomBox.


> - As Debian pure blend this limits us over other solutions. I don't 
> know how far we could/should bend those limits.

For the term "Debian Pure Blend" there is zero tolerance for bending - 
either it is 100% inside Debian or it is the wrong term.

Use the term "Debian Blend" instead, and you can bend however you like.

https://wiki.debian.org/DebianPureBlends#Terminology


> I believe we could include such software as long as we clearly 
> distinguish what is FreedomBox (Debian) and what are external 
> plug-ins. YunoHost would be a good partner here because they're Debian 
> based as well.

I would recommend to keep FreedomBox a Debian Pure Blend, and point to 
Yunohost for features and services not offered by FreedomBox.

I put differently: I recommend those wanting to develop FreedomBox-like 
things by more relaxed definitions of "Free" than those used in Debian 
to join forces with Yunohost.  And for FreedomBox to consider 
recognizing that different definitions of "Free" exist (without relaxing 
how FreedomBox itself defines it).


 - Jonas

-- 
 * Jonas Smedegaard - idealist & Internet-arkitekt
 * Tlf.: +45 40843136  Website: http://dr.jones.dk/

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