Msn client in the depot.. wtf oO
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Hi
I saw that aMSN is in the Trisquel repositorie .. oO
Why would you put a MSN client on it? Ok the client is free but the MSN protocol isn't, this is a serious freedom matter :/
No it's not. It's free software, it's perfectly fine to have included. If we followed what I suspect is your line of reasoning, then we should probably also remove gnash and swfdec. We should also definitely remove pidgin and include a version that is compiled without MSN or other proprietary protocol support.
So don't worry about it. It's free software, it's fine.
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Yeah but it induce people to say : Hey it's 100% free! , it's not!
Yeah the client is free software but the protocol behind it is not, it's criminal..
I am a translator!
Pidgin also works with that protocol, and many other closed protocols. In general we should strive to use or develop open, patent-free standards wherever applicable, like using .ogg instead of .mp3 or using javascirpt for browser games instead of flash, but that doesn't mean we should outright reject connecting with any website that has mp3 files available for download or features SWF elements. Richard Stallman gives pretty much the same opinion about this.
With that said, I do see your point in the special case of the MSN-like client in the Trisquel repos. Unlike Pigdin, which is a general chat program that can connect with almost any protocol, it's mainly developed to clone the functionality of MSN messenger. This is one question of software freedom that lacks a straightforward black and white answer, so I would encourage more discussion in the future of controversial issues like this one.
In general, we should not go so far as to call proprietary software "criminal". Nobody is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to agree to the license, after all. Pornography isn't criminal, either; that doesn't mean it's ethical.
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