Re: Search Engine on start.fedoraproject.org

[Máirín Duffy]

Is there a reason for what I detect to be a tinge of paranoia here? There is a world of difference between a well-meaning FLOSS code upstream making an honest mistake and a provider lying about their FLOSS-ness. I hear about the former all the time, the latter -never-. Is it really a concern?

Perfection unfortunately is rare in this world and this is no less true in managing complex computing systems. The whole point of a policy should not be perfection since that'd be a lost cause and what would it gain us but frustration? Rather I believe the policy should be to work only with third parties who have a clear committment to FLOSS that is in accordance with Fedora's own views on free software whenever possible. To me, that would disqualify Google as they seem quite content to consume FLOSS in their web apps without providing source, no qualms about it, no attempt to even appear to be running FLOSS apps. (please correct me if i am wrong.)

Also re: the API stuff - if a third party we depend on goes byebye, we are screwed no matter what. How is having to implement our own thing to an API with little warning while we bleed a better situation than: 

- implementing our own thing on our own time without the messy step of ever having to rely on any third party proprietaryness and having dependant systems down for unknown time periods

- working w a third party vendor who we discover doesn't have 100% FLOSS to correct FLOSS issues just the same as we do w pkg maintainers today? (I would rather 50% FLOSS than 0%! If we miss a line do we run off stage and quit since the show is no longer worth finishing?)

Again re:apis as consolation - If my caterer decides the morning of my banquet that they can't provide the food anymore, having the intended recipes in hand is little solace when my 200 guests start showing up hungry...

Honestly, I'm more comfortable with Mike's gut feeling on a decision understanding a specific context's complexities than a blanket policy crafted without any possibility of accounting for the complex scenarios that await us. If a policy is needed I think it should be board signoff on infrastructure team calls involving third party services case-by-case.

~m

Sent from my Android

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