RMS says Debian Mono decision ‘risky’
The founder of the Free Software Foundation, Richard Matthew Stallman, has termed Debian’s decision to include Mono as part of its default desktop task a move that “leads the community in a risky direction.” More here
Stallman said: “The problem is not unique to Mono; any free implementation of C# would raise the same issue. The danger is that Microsoft is probably planning to force all free C# implementations underground some day using software patents.
“This is a serious danger, and only fools would ignore it until the day it actually happens. We need to take precautions now to protect ourselves from this future danger.”
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RMS is right: using mono in any distribution of GNU/Linux that does not have patent protection clauses is likely to generate risk. We shouldn’t support the inclusion of mono in any distribution. Furthermore, including any implementation of patented Microsoft processes is likely to end up in trouble. The precautionary principle applies here.