Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason wrote:
There is an ongoing discussion whether MP3 files should be allowed on Wikipeda, check it out - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Sound#MP3_on_Wikipedia
To me, this is a very simple question. If a file format can't be read with free software, then we must not use it. If a file format can be read with free software, but can't be created with free software, then we should strongly discourage the use. Notice that the GIF patent threat was to creators of software like The Gimp (to make the files) rather than to creators of software like Mozilla (to read the files). The situation with MP3 is, as I understand it, much worse. Here the threat is to both encoders and decoders. Therefore we must not use MP3 files.
It is important to undertsand that the issue of convenience is at the heart of our fight for freedom. People continue to use proprietary formats and proprietary software because they perceive it as being more convenient. One of the most important things that we can do is to illustrate that proprietary formats are actually inconvenient, so long as some people choose to use formats that are free. And if we at Wikipedia do our small part to get people to download and install a proper free decoder (this will generally just be a codec in a player) so that we make the free Ogg Vorbis format as convenient as the proprietary format, we will have achieved something important.
--Jimbo