自由软件基金会(Free Software Foundation,FSF)在昨天发表了名为“对双重标注说不：支持Google对WebM的推动”的公告，文章称FSF已注册成为WebM项目的支持者，并 建议其他基金会和组织一同加入。文章还对H.264的专利限制进行了讨论，并表示相信WebM可以成为未来互联网的视频编码标准。
以下为全文翻译：
我们注册并成为了WebM项目的支持者，也建议其他基金会或组织加入----请向[email protected]发信，询问加入的方法。同时我们也希望网站的运营者开始放弃H.264，并以WebM的格式分发视频。
Google在上周宣布其下的Chromium/Chrome浏览器将放弃H.264的支持，并转用他们刚刚免费开放的WebM编码。在公告发布后的几天里，我们看到了许多关于互联网未来走向的讨论。 我们认为这是对免费软件、用户和所有互联网使用者有益的一步，并赞同Google所作出的改变。在很长的一段时间里，网络视频一直是充满危险的，大多数的视频都是通过私有、非标准化的Flash发布，虽然有GNU Gnash等替代软件，但它们的用户体验一直不佳。所以当HTML5的工作开始时，视频分发和回放是重中之重。但当每个人都同意标签的样子时，视频应该使用的编码却存在争论。
微软和苹果选择了支持H.264，Mozilla和Opera则选择了WebM和Ogg Theora。Google曾经在一段时间支持所有的编码，但现在它大胆的放弃了H.264的支持，转而支持免费的标准。 这个是好消息，因为如果H.264成为了网络视频的标准，互联网不会比现在更好：H.264是一个受版权控制和阻碍的编码，它的所有者----MPEG LA组织要求开发者在实现H.264编码之前同意一个专利许可证。这个许可证在根本上是与自由软件不相容的，它要求开发者限制软件的用途，而且在很多情况下会要求缴纳费用。
所以要使互联网继续对任何人免费的话，我们需要推动一个自由的编码成为HTML5的事实标准，而WebM可以胜任：Google为WebM提供了一个与自由软件相容的许可证，甚至发布了一个免费的实现；Google亦在积极地推广WebM，而放弃H.264的支持则是这个方向上的又一大步。 有人认为Google的这个行为是互联网标准的一次倒退，因为H.264有更多硬件和软件的支持。这些评论代表的是对互联网开放自由精神的误解，如果不拒绝受专利控制的数据格式，互联网怎能保持开放和免费呢？ 但争论还会继续，现在是时候行动并确保WebM在未来变成标准。
于此，我们注册并成为了WebM项目的支持者，也建议其他基金会或组织加入----请向[email protected]发信，询问加入的方法。同时我们也希望网站的运营者开始放弃H.264，并以WebM的格式分发视频。 我们将在不久后将PlayOgg运动(译者：这是一个推广Ogg音频编码的运动)修改为PlayFreedom，一个着眼于推广WebM和Ogg开放格式的运动，你可以注册并帮助推广WebM。 让我们行动起来，让互联网保持免费和自由吧！
原文:
No double standards: supporting Google's push for WebM
By Brett Smith ― last modified January 19, 2011 09:50
We've signed up as a supporter of the WebM Project, and we encourage other foundations and organizations to join us―write to [email protected] to learn how. Today, we're also urging Web site operators to distribute videos in the WebM format, and abandon H.264
Last week, Google announced that it plans to remove support for the H.264 video codec from its browsers, in favor of the WebM codec that they recently made free. Since then, there's been a lot of discussion about how this change will affect the Web going forward, as HTML5 standards like the video tag mature.
We applaud Google for this change; it's a positive step for free software, its users, and everyone who uses the Web. For a while now, watching video on the Web has been fraught with peril. Most of it is delivered with Flash, which is proprietary, nonstandard software. Free software alternatives like GNU Gnash are available, but the user experience isn't always as seamless as it ought to be.
When work began on the next version of the HTML standard, HTML5, work on video delivery and playback was a priority. But while everybody agrees on how the
tag should look, there's no agreement about how that video should be encoded. Microsoft and Apple support H.264; Mozilla and Opera support WebM and Ogg Theora. For a while, Google has been supporting all of these codecs―but now it's made a bold move to support free standards and drop H.264.
That's good news, because if Web video standardizes on H.264, that won't be any better than the situation today. H.264 is a patent-encumbered codec; the MPEG LA organization requires developers who implement it to agree to a patent license. This license is fundamentally incompatible with software freedom. It requires developers to restrict how their software can be used, and to collect royalties in many situations.
In order to make sure the Web stays free for everyone, we need a free codec to prevail as the de facto standard with HTML5. WebM can be that codec: Google provides a patent license with the standard that is compatible with free software licenses, and even got the development ball rolling by releasing a free implementation. They're also promoting it aggressively, and their decision to drop H.264 is one more step in that direction.
Some reaction to Google's move has suggested that it represents a step back for standards on the Web, because H.264 is supported by more hardware and software. Those comments represent a fundamental misunderstanding of the vision of the Web as free and unencumbered. We can only be free if we reject data formats that are restricted by patents.
But the issue's not settled yet. Now's the time for everyone to take action and make sure that WebM actually sees the adoption we need. To that end, we've signed up as a supporter of the WebM Project, and we encourage other foundations and organizations to join us―write to [email protected] to learn how. Today, we're also urging Web site operators to distribute videos in the WebM format, and abandon H.264.
Soon, we'll revamp our PlayOgg campaign into PlayFreedom, where we'll be focusing on more ways that everyone can encourage WebM adoption. You can sign up now to learn more about how you can help. Together, we can ensure that the Web fulfills its promise of being free for everyone.
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