Comment 105 for bug 21202

"Stop using these kind of amateuristic operating systems. If you've got the money, just buy a Mac. It also has Unix-roots, it's fast and stable and everything just works."

Like you, I agree a better clipboard implementation is needed. But suggesting one succumb to non-free software as an alternative is unethical. Features are important, but in enumerating them, you suggest to us that your values are limited to superficial engineering values (speed, robustness, portability, features, and so on). Many of us, while considering those important as well, have human rights preceding these things. But that you are here in the first place, suggests that you came not out of principle, but as an alternative option, another flavour, if you will, of what you'd naturally prefer. Having said that, all I can say is that you have unfortunately missed the entire point of the philosophy of free software and would do well to either broaden your mind and actually read the GNU literature (gnu.org/philosophy), or stick to the McSoftware.

On another note, there is nothing to stop you from patching Xorg yourself. If upstream does not cooperate, hear them out and listen to what they have to say. There are typically two reasons why patches are not accepted on an active project: (1) Your idea is sound, but your technical approach is lacking; (2) Philosophically, what you are trying to do is not in harmony with the project's goals, the technical approach irrelevant.

If you disagree with their (2) response, there is nothing to stop you from forking the project. Indeed, this is done more often than you think. glibc, the heart of the GNU operating system, was swapped right out under your feet in Karmic with most people being none the wiser. It was replaced with eglibc. eglibc is a fork of glibc, for philosophical reasons.

If you don't want to fork it, there is nothing to stop you from patching at the package maintainers level. Indeed, most of the official packages contain distribution level patches. You can see this in the debian/patches directory in many of the Debian / Ubuntu source packages.

Kip