Re: [Bug-gnuzilla] Free Software Add-on for IceCat

[Sam Geeraerts]

Ivan Zaigralin wrote:
> Adblock Lite is MPL. It has the Adblock Plus' current feature set
> with the old (pre-2) interface. The main difference is the absence
> of Allow Some Ads option, which is enabled by default in Adblock
> Plus. In an ironic twist of fate, Palant sold out to advertisers :)
> While the code of ABP is still free, IMHO, it should be removed
> because its default settings are designed to abuse the user, and
> replacements are available.

The criterion for inclusion in the Gnuzilla list is software freedom. If 
extensions are barred for other reasons, then the purpose of the list 
becomes less clear. There are also extensions in the list that 
facilitate the use of Google and other websites/services that have 
raised privacy concerns. With the current policy they could only be 
excluded if you'd argue that they encourage the use of websites that 
require running non-free Javascript.

That being said, the Gnuzilla project does pay attention to user 
privacy. Loic could choose to add that as a second criterion for the 
list (with the aforementioned risk). Another option is to add warnings 
to the list. That still requires that every extension be checked for 
privacy issues, because it shouldn't be that no privacy warning could 
also mean that it hasn't been checked. So it would take more work to get 
(certain types of) extensions on the list, making people less inclined 
to submit them. And like with SaaS, it's not always clear cut whether 
something crossed the line. I'm not opposed to the idea per se, though. :)

Anyway, I'm not sure ABP's default settings are even a privacy issue. 
And if I recall correctly, it does explicitly give users the choice to 
disable the whitelist when it's installed.