On 05.02.2010, 18:39 James wrote:
Actually, "we" have had a very long-term rule that we don't use non-OSS software as a part of the Wikimedia "stack". This rule is so old it pre-dates the Foundation (I remember it being a concern that the new-fangled Foundation wouldn't necessarily take it into account in future). It has always been an ideologically-based rule, even if it has also had practical needs.
I know that a lot of people will claim that the Toolserver's tools aren't part of the software used as a part of the Wikimedia wikis. I disagree. To the end-user, the software that we the community use to link from geo-tagged articles in Wikipedia, or find categories, or other things. Sure, lots of these are editor- rather than reader-focussed, but I don't think that there is an easy line to draw.
If people want a shell account to run "cool" tools that happen to do Wikimedia-related things, there's no particular need for them to have TS access. There are lots of free or cheap shell providers out there. TS access is a privilege, and we should expect those who have the advantages of this privilege to work within the same rules that we expect from other members of the community.
But then, I've never written code for the toolserver, running code on my own shells when I've needed it. So maybe I'm biased. :-)
Yours,
As the matter of fact, both Toolserver AND Wikimedia cluster already use non-free software. Using an ideologically correct technology is a good thing, but some also believe that using a functional technology is good too.