Re: Gitlab's "C" rating is overrated; add netneutrality; evaluate Playstore & F-Droid

[Aaron Wolf]

I agree with the gist here. Some notes:

There is an open GitLab issue around the CAPTCHA issues:
https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/issues/21998

Although marking Google Play with an F is a nice idea, the repo criteria
generally are about places for free software source code to be hosted.
Google Play does not offer that service in any form. From the FSF
position, an Instant Pot app would not be accepted regardless of
repository unless it is itself free software (which I presume it is not).

F-Droid is an interesting case. It does appear to directly host the
specific corresponding source tarballs for the hosted binaries. It could
be good to evaluate. But it otherwise generally just links to other
repos for the main free software project (e.g. GitHub).


On 2020-01-12 4:55 p.m., address@hidden
wrote:
> * Gitlab overrated *
> 
> Gitlab forces Tor users to execute non-free j/s in order to solve a
> CAPTCHA.  I believe this violates criteria C0.0 and C3.
> 
> 
> * Proposal to add network neutrality criteria *
> 
> Does FSF believe only all people or only /some/ people should have
> access to repos hosting free software?  I suspect the correct answer
> here is /all/.  So by extension, shouldn't there be a network
> neutrality criteria?  A core principle to network neutrality is
> /access equality/.  A criteria is needed to counter access inequality,
> whereby discrimination against people based on their geographic region
> and whether they use Tor.  There is already a criteria for Tor, but
> not too long ago Github had a scandal where people in certain regions
> were exluded.
> 
> 
> * Evaluations needed for Playstore and F-Droid *
> 
> There is a quite harmful trend where apps are exclusively available on
> Google's Playstore.  Many people cannot download the app of their bank
> without a Google account.  You can't even obtain the app for the
> Instant Pot (kitchen appliance) without going through Google.  This
> has really gotten out of hand.
> 
> The reason we need Playstore to be evaluated is so we can efficiently
> write letters and posts to vendors who force consumers into
> Playstore.  It would be useful to point to this site:
> 
>   https://www.gnu.org/software/repo-criteria-evaluation.html
> 
> and say "please make your app available outside of the Playstore
> because the Playstore has an F rating".
>