[Qgis-psc] AGM: plugins vote

[Alessandro Pasotti]

Can I just add a technical information to the Vote 1?

The plugin website application as been designed with the constraint
no-binaries allowed, which means that there is a quite low max-size
limitation for zip uploads.
Just keep in mind that if we choose to allow for binaries in the zip
file, that limit will probably need to be adapted, as well as the
storage size and the timeouts in case of large uploads on slow
connections.

Cheers


On Wed, Apr 8, 2020 at 4:23 PM Paolo Cavallini <cavallini at faunalia.it> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
> give the long list of modifications in the ticket
> https://github.com/qgis/PSC/issues/1
> I think it is better to give the question a last check.
> I'd appreciate if you could check if there is some mistake.
> Thanks.
> ===
> Current situation: only plugins which are multiplatform, free of
> binaries are allowed in official repository; plugins can fetch binaries
> post installation
>
> # Vote 1: Plugins are allowed to be platform specific
>
> Arguments against:
> The aim of QGIS.org is to freely empower all users; platform specific
> plugins limit functionalities to a subset of users. Given that the
> majority of users use Windows, it is quite likely that a number of
> Windows-only plugins will appear, thus putting users of free software at
> a disadvantage. Furthermore, clean coding is usually multiplatform.
>
> Arguments in favour:
> QGIS.org wants to give users the freedom to use QGIS the way they want
> and to share what they did. By allowing users to share plugins even if
> they are platform specific, these can be used by others on the same
> platform. Everyone else has the possibility to take these plugins and
> adapt them for more platforms. By allowing plugins to be platform
> specific we also open up the possibility to ship plugins which give
> access to specific tools like the touch bar, a hardware piece that is
> only available on mac.
> ---
> # Vote 2: Plugins are allowed to include FOSS binaries or libraries
>
> Arguments against:
> Distributing binaries along with plugins does not allow us to examine
> the code, and is a serious security risk. FOSS binaries can be checked,
> but this is extra work to which we should allocate resources.
> Having in the system many different copies of the same libraries may
> create problems, and encourages ad hoc patches that are not merged upstream.
>
> Arguments in favour:
> Many of the tools we use in everyday life are delivered in binary
> format. QGIS, Python, the operating system and much more are installed
> from binary packages on most systems. This allows everyone out there to
> benefit from these applications and libraries without using a compiler.
> ---
> # Vote 3: "Plugins are allowed to include proprietary binaries" and
> "Plugins should not be allowed to fetch (proprietary?) binaries post
> installation"
>
> Arguments against:
> Distributing binaries along with plugins does not allow us to examine
> the code, and is a serious security risk.
> Fetching post install give the responsibility of the installation to the
> user, who can autonomously evaluate security risks.
>
> Arguments in favour:
> Plugins are a way to integrate QGIS with custom business logic, external
> applications and hardware. Some tools are not open source. We want to
> empower QGIS users to integrate QGIS in the most flexible way possible
> with the best tools for their workflow. This already applies for data
> providers, where we integrate with MrSID, Oracle, ECW, Excel files and
> other proprietary formats and databases.
> Every plugin is required to comply with licensing requirements and
> inform the user about their rights and duties, this applies for
> proprietary as well as open source plugins.
> ---
> General
> Arguments against:
> The status quo committee believes the current situation worked well for
> years, and plugins are a huge success for QGIS. Changing it will not
> bring substantial advantages, and may cause issues especially for users
> of free operating systems.
>
> Arguments in favour:
> The pro committee wants to give users the freedom to use QGIS, their
> information and their computers the way they want. We are convinced that
> open source has a very strong backup in the QGIS community and that we
> can better encourage developers and users to foster open source by
> leaving them the freedom rather than putting restrictions in place.
> We are convinced that it is the right thing to give developers the
> possibility to share their work, to transparently communicate to a user
> what's inside their plugins and to give each individual user the power
> to decide what's appropriate for him.
> --
> Paolo Cavallini
> QGIS.ORG Chair
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-- 
Alessandro Pasotti
w3:   www.itopen.it