codec support

[Peter Whittaker]

On Wed, 2006-02-08 at 16:54 -0700, Corey Burger wrote:
> As for a Canadian only version Ubuntu, I have very mixed feelings
> about it. It is a possiblity, but I would need some strong convincing.

I really like the idea, but not in isolation: IMHO, were this to be
done, it would be best done as an Ubuntu-wide project. There is
tremendous value in doing this, but there are considerable risks. We are
none of us - AFAIK - lawyers, and even the lawyers cannot always agree.

That said, a few quick thoughts:

Doing this "on our own" may nevertheless expose the broader Ubuntu - and
possibly Canonical - to legal risks, since this is an "official"
national mailing list with a "formal" association with Ubuntu.

Doing this as an Ubuntu-wide project allows the project to benefit from
the greater resources available to the broader community, especially
legal advice and assistance from Ubuntu-sympathetic or FLOSS-sympathetic
lawyers with broad and deep knowledge of the intricacies of
international copyright and patent law. Let's use as much of the law to
our advantage as we can, and fight only those truly pernicious aspects
where we have no other choice.

After kicking the pros and cons of the current Ubuntu stance re non-free
and encumbered software around in my head, I've come to believe that the
Ubuntu stance is absolutely the right one. If we give Joe and Jane user
an OS that lets them "do what they want" without further thought to the
issues (which may, for some, include undue limitations on their personal
freedoms and rights), then we simply perpetuate ignorance and perpetuate
the hegemony of those who would restrict our freedoms (note: freedoms
vary by country) and who use over-broad technology to impose regional
and local copyright concepts on the entire world.

By drawing so clear a line between free and (anything potentially)
non-free, by making it so that an otherwise fabulous distro is limited
by (at times questionable) format and software encumbrances, we draw
attention to these underlying issues and educate the broader user
community. If they are driven to other distros, so be it. If they are
driven to activism, even better.

Ubuntu - the Swahili term - is the goal. Ubuntu - the distro - is merely
a tool for achieving that goal and should never be confused with the
goal.

pww

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