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libre for mozilla [message #47] Sun, 07 April 2019 14:58 Go to next message
locutus is currently offline  locutus
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Registered: January 2018
Location: US
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Is anyone willing to assist in getting working SlackBuilds
for
Iceweasel-esr & icedove
Have added a starting point on GitHub
https://github.com/aryr100/libre-SlackBuilds
Re: libre for mozilla [message #71 is a reply to message #47] Wed, 24 June 2020 15:18 Go to previous messageGo to next message
metaBLAG is currently offline  metaBLAG
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Registered: May 2020
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Sadly, there doesn't appear to be much headway made on this. Meanwhile, are there any freedom-related issues w/grabbing Icecat from Slackbuilds as is? As for email, how about Claws via Slackbuilds? That's libre is it not? I'm interested to know what Freenixers are using currently for browsing & mail...or for anything else for that matter! Wink
Re: libre for mozilla [message #72 is a reply to message #71] Wed, 24 June 2020 17:16 Go to previous messageGo to next message
connie is currently offline  connie
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IceCat is in FXP: https://freenix.net/fxp/freeslack64-14.2/fxp/

I would love to see a working alternative to IceCat, for a number of reasons. I do believe that the main point of failure in Firefox, as far as FSF is concerned, is the addons page, which directs users to a repository rife with nonfree addons, and no way to filter by license. If this issue is fixed in a SlackBuild, I could push it into FXP same day. Any alternative would be great, because sooner or later we need to bring FSF to the table and revisit/resolve many many issues like the one above, because arguments tend to be vague, and I've seen reports that these rules are not enforced consistently among FSF-approved distros.

PS: As it stands, Freenix project does not endorse or provide Firefox for any purpose, and this post is not an exception. However, I am personally so fed up with IceCat, I am using vanilla Firefox at the moment. We need a real solution, which is free of addons, robust, and tracks Mozilla's security releases with daily urgency.

[Updated on: Wed, 24 June 2020 17:34]

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Re: libre for mozilla [message #73 is a reply to message #72] Thu, 25 June 2020 14:54 Go to previous messageGo to next message
metaBLAG is currently offline  metaBLAG
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Thanks for the link; I also came across it later after poring through your FSF correspondences in the endorsement thread (always many interesting rabbit-holes there). Note to self: Always research a bit more before posting! Wink

At any rate, after reading more I can certainly see how directing someone to Slackbuilds could be problematic from an FSF perspective to say the least.

Not to beat a dead horse, but have you had a chance to look at Abrowser? It appears to be Trisquel's libre variation on Firefox/IceCat but it appears to be a bit more robust based on my limited experiences. That said, porting it to Freenix could be yet another (possibly daunting) challenge.
Re: libre for mozilla [message #74 is a reply to message #73] Thu, 25 June 2020 19:22 Go to previous messageGo to next message
connie is currently offline  connie
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Like I implied before, I don't think I got time to whip up a slackbuild for a significant modification of Firefox, like abrowser, but I would definitely use it if it was on hand.

Here's a cheerful thought: looking at about:config made me realize I can change urls there for Mozilla's addons finder, and just blank them or point them at fsf-approved list, if that works. If we can set some about:config lines during packaging, then may be that's all we need to get Firefox into compliance.
Re: libre for mozilla [message #75 is a reply to message #74] Mon, 13 July 2020 20:16 Go to previous messageGo to next message
KRT1 is currently offline  KRT1
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Registered: March 2017
Location: sol 3
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Just chiming in here with my own personal software choices in this department.

I am using Claws-Mail for email and RSS. Libre and awesome, not much to complain about, works on all platforms.

On my Freenix machine, I am using the "latest" Icecat for most basic browsing, and I still have a copy of Abrowser installed that I grabbed from ConnochaetOS's slack-n-free64 repo when it was still accessible. Abrowser tends to work better on sites that reject Icecat. Both of those are quite long in the tooth though. I have a "user agent switcher" add-on that I can use to fool sites into thinking that it is the latest Firefox. I have almost never had this go wrong, the site usually functions just fine once I get past their browser check script.

I am getting fed up with where the Internet is going, in general, with all the JavaScript and tracking and whatnot. I have actually been browsing more and more using Links/Lynx/w3m. Text-based browsing is actually pretty functional, but I can see why it would not appeal to many as a default browser option.

On my freed Slackware machines (32-bit and ARM machines where I have uninstalled all offending packages and am running a Linux-Libre kernel where possible), I have been using Firefox (with only Libre add-ons installed of course). And yes, I heavily modify my about:config. I actually disable pretty much any option that has an http:// or https:// in the value field somewhere, with the exception of the add-on updater URLs. That way my browser almost never "calls home" for any reason, and I don't have do deal with those annoying featured articles or whatever those are.

It is worth your time going through the about:config. That is one of the main reasons I still use Mozilla products at all. Most other browsers (whether libre or not) rarely have the fine-grained level of control that is available in the about:config section of Firefox et al.

Would a standard Firefox build with a modified about:config set at build-time satisfy the FSDG? That seems like a super-easy fix if so. Are they no longer hung-up on the logo trademark issue? I know that Debian got over that detail eventually.

[/$0.02]
Re: libre for mozilla [message #76 is a reply to message #72] Mon, 13 July 2020 20:22 Go to previous messageGo to next message
KRT1 is currently offline  KRT1
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connie wrote on Wed, 24 June 2020 15:16
IceCat is in FXP: https://freenix.net/fxp/freeslack64-14.2/fxp/
PS: As it stands, Freenix project does not endorse or provide Firefox for any purpose, and this post is not an exception.
I was actually curious about this, because both Firefox and Thunderbird show up in the changelogs. Should we be sanitizing those out of the changelogs? Just curious... freedom bug perhaps? The changelog counts as documentation, does it not?

https://freenix.net/fxp/freeslack64-14.2/ChangeLog.txt

(shows up in the RSS version too)
Re: libre for mozilla [message #77 is a reply to message #76] Sat, 01 August 2020 05:43 Go to previous messageGo to next message
connie is currently offline  connie
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I don't think us redistributing Slackware ChangeLog breaks anything. Our official ChangeLog is on the Web, anyway.
Re: libre for mozilla [message #78 is a reply to message #75] Sat, 01 August 2020 05:51 Go to previous message
connie is currently offline  connie
Messages: 28
Registered: January 2017
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Quote:
Would a standard Firefox build with a modified about:config set at build-time satisfy the FSDG? That seems like a super-easy fix if so. Are they no longer hung-up on the logo trademark issue? I know that Debian got over that detail eventually.
FSDG is too vague to address your question. You may as well just ask, will it satisfy FSF?
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