GNU bug report logs - #38360
Retroarch might violate FSDG

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From: Arne Babenhauserheide <arne_bab <at> web.de>
To: 38360 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Cc: ludo <at> gnu.org, anothersms <at> gmail.com
Subject: bug#38360: Retroarch might violate FSDG
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 2019 21:48:10 +0100

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Jesse Gibbons <jgibbons2357 <at> gmail.com> writes:
> On Wed, 2019-11-27 at 00:26 +0100, Nicolò Balzarotti wrote:
> I can confirm that snes9x is nonfree because it is only for non-commercial
> use. We should at least patch that out before the cores are available. I
> don't know about the other one.

Aren’t we overblocking here? This is not a case of a program restricted
to push someone into proprietary software, but a case of a program
restricted to not-for-profit for everybody.

It is a similar case as allowing to ship GPLv3 software in a ROM without
the option to modify it, as long as no one is able to modify it on that
medium, including the propagator.

In the case of snes9x no one is able to monetize the software, including
the creators, because many people have a stake in the non-commercial
clause, but the software is freely modifiable and you can share it
non-commercially.

It is also not advertised (I just tried) but simply one in a long list
of possible cores. A very long list. And you have to actively do the
online-lookup.

We’re not restricting software which displays non-free online comics
either.

Installing the fastest and most compatible free software cores by
default (pre-installed) would minimize the effect of cores bound to
non-commercial use being available online without restricting the users
in using RetroArch — and it would make retroarch more convenient to use.

Best wishes,
Arne
--
Unpolitisch sein
heißt politisch sein
ohne es zu merken

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