Re: Contradictiory directions (Was: Re: master 3d38d1d: Add sqlite3 support to Emacs)

[Alexandre Garreau]

Le merkredo, 15-a de decembro 2021, 8-a horo kaj 17:55 CET Po Lu a écrit :
> > There's an allowlist in place.  Only the pcre and csvtable modules
> > (both free modules) can be installed now via the current loading
> > mechanism.
> It's still based on looking at the names of modules: proprietary modules
> could easily be renamed so that their filenames are the same as the
> free ones, and vice versa: it is not concrete at all.

I think it’s a little ridiculous to fear that.  That’s obvious malicious 
intent, and distributions should refuse that anyway.  If a user does a 
such thing, it’s their intent, and their responsibility.  They decided to 
choose oppression, and we won’t be able to stop them (and it’s not 
illegal, copyright is only about distribution, copying, not usage)

> The PCRE and csvtable modules are also in the public domain.
> Proprietary versions of them could be created ino the future.

*That*’s worrying.  Keeps me thinking the gpl-compatibility symbol is the 
only Right Way to go.  We may completely disallow modules, with a call to 
implementation/TODO about allowing them when they contain a such symbol, 
and after that another one about hacking those libs to make them so, and 
providing patches to distribution.

But the first step is blocking them.

> BTW, the term "allowlist" is confusing.  It took me a while to guess its
> meaning.  Why not use the industry-standard term "whitelist" instead?

I disagree, allowlist looks weird and esoteric to me but it perfectly 
describes what it is.  Maybe Lars just participated in this modern trend 
of avoiding politically uncorrect/connotated words in technical jargon 
(such as positivity for “white” and negativity for “black”, although I’m 
still uncertain about it’s for sure historically related to racism; actual 
sociological/historical data welcome!); but still the side effect is those 
technical words becomes less like jargon and more understandable by laymen 
(or layperson? I don’t even understand the morphological nor etymological 
construction of layman anyway…) and newcomers (when they’re chose wisely, 
like here), I’m in favor of that, let me state my support of it.