Subject: bug#37267: 27.0.50; Menus About GNU and GNU and Freedom to be made offline

From: Jean Louis <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 17 Sep 2019 07:30:54 +0200

* Glenn Morris <[email-masked]> [2019-09-17 03:18]:
> Stefan Kangas wrote:
> 
> >> Perhaps we should also include
> >> https://gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html
> >> and https://gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html.
> >
> > I think that makes sense. Are there any objections to removing the
> > wontfix tag?
> 
> Yes, why should Emacs have to distribute these files (after no
> objections to a 5-year removal process), as opposed to any other GNU project?
> 
> Why not make a separate project collecting said docs and encourage
> GNU/Linux distributions to make it a binary dependency (or suggested
> package) for all GNU packages?

Emacs is probably main GNU package, it is popular and helps in
disseminating the information about GNU project since its beginning. I
am sure that is why those files like "About GNU" are included in the
Emacs, as it is main prominent and very necessary GNU package, there
were not so many software programs in the beginning, software like
Emacs was used to disseminate GNU information, and I hope it remains
so forever.

This bug was to change menu from the online URL to the static text to
be displayed within Emacs, that contains the online URL, for reasons
that majority of this world still does not have proper Internet
connection and thus menu item remains not accessible. It relates to
last menu item in Help menu "About GNU" (the URL) so that the text
"About GNU" can be shown within Emacs and without online connection.

It is little different subject which files shall be distributed with
the Emacs distribution. Those files make it quite informative and have
brought number of users to GNU project, there are jokes and other
informational files in Emacs distribution. 

Jean