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Who's talking about Mono? The GNU complaint is that some ex-GNOME developers are promoting proprietary software through GNOME channels. Another developer was of

Who's talking about Mono? The GNU complaint is that some ex-GNOME developers are promoting proprietary software through GNOME channels. Another developer was offended by this complaint, and decided to troll the list. Additionally, there's nothing "booby-trapped" about Mono. I don't contribute to Mono applications much any more, because I don't think it'll advance the Linux desktop as much as other stacks, but there's no danger in using Mono. Based on Stallman's articles regarding Mono and Linux, he feels the same way -- it's safe as currently used, but not the best choice.

rbanffy 17y ago
I am sorry. Digging further in showed this is not about Mono but an apparently much smaller problem - the way some proprietary technologies are presented. As for Mono not being dangerous, I am still unconvinced. Microsoft has a lot of patents, some, undoubtedly, covering .NET-related technologies that have Mono counterparts. Microsoft also has threatened before to enter lawsuits against those who use them. Empty threats or not, I would go as far as to try to stay as far from it as possible.
- dtf 17y ago
  What I've never understood is why those who have complained bitterly about Mono being included in distributions seem to keep their mouths shut when it comes to Samba and multimedia - both arguably worse in terms of "patent minefields", and yet a core part of most distributions.
  - rbanffy 17y ago
    I think Samba enjoys some protection, at least on the EU, based on the interoperability requirements imposed on MS. Moving against it would be suicidal for Microsoft. As for multimedia, I guess it's because the patents are not Microsoft's. In any case, I think none is installed by default and most of multimedia stuff is not even on the default server. I am quite happy with whatever Nautilus calls "SSH" for quick stuff and NFS, because I learned it so long ago.

rbanffy 17y ago

I am sorry. Digging further in showed this is not about Mono but an apparently much smaller problem - the way some proprietary technologies are presented. As for Mono not being dangerous, I am still unconvinced. Microsoft has a lot of patents, some, undoubtedly, covering .NET-related technologies that have Mono counterparts. Microsoft also has threatened before to enter lawsuits against those who use them. Empty threats or not, I would go as far as to try to stay as far from it as possible.

dtf 17y ago
What I've never understood is why those who have complained bitterly about Mono being included in distributions seem to keep their mouths shut when it comes to Samba and multimedia - both arguably worse in terms of "patent minefields", and yet a core part of most distributions.
- rbanffy 17y ago
  I think Samba enjoys some protection, at least on the EU, based on the interoperability requirements imposed on MS. Moving against it would be suicidal for Microsoft. As for multimedia, I guess it's because the patents are not Microsoft's. In any case, I think none is installed by default and most of multimedia stuff is not even on the default server. I am quite happy with whatever Nautilus calls "SSH" for quick stuff and NFS, because I learned it so long ago.