Date:	Fri, 1 Jan 1999 05:33:45 -0500
From:	Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
To:	alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk
Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] ISA Plug & Play support in kernel

    I don't think you
    can criticize Hannu and applaud ghostscript at the same time.

I think that the important issue is to do the right thing in the Linux
sources, rather than to criticize, or to avoid criticizing, anyone in
particular.

Since you've raised the subject of Ghostscript, I would like to
suggest that treating OSS just the way we treat Ghostscript would be a
big improvement.  Here are three crucial points about Ghostscript:

1. For Ghostscript, everything added to the non-free version will appear
in the free version a year later.

2. The free version of Ghostscript doesn't mention that there is a
non-free version.  (Or at least it is not supposed to; if it does,
please tell me!)

3. The rest of the GNU system and documentation doesn't mention that
there is a non-free version of Ghostscript.  The only Ghostscript that
is supposed to be mentioned *anywhere* in GNU anything is the free
Ghostscript.

We do sometimes make mistakes.  This week, an announcement on
gnu.announce did mention the non-free version of Ghostscript.  When I
saw it, I phoned the moderator immediately, to remind him of the
things that need to be checked carefully in announcements about
Ghostscript.

My impression is that none of these three things is true for OSS.
Perhaps I am mistaken about #1, but I have seen the facts directly
regarding #2 and #3.

If you could work with Hannu and others to change the situation, and
treat OSS the way the GNU Project treats Ghostscript, I would say the
problem had been tolerably solved.  (This is a serious suggestion, not
just a rhetorical straw man.)  It might still be desirable to switch
to ALSA for other reasons, but since I am not an expert on sound or
sound cards, I do not have an opinion about that.

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