Changeset - 241bdebac04c
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Mike Linksvayer (mlinksva) - 10 years ago 2014-11-16 15:32:41
ml@gondwanaland.com
all four freedoms are necessary
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gpl-lgpl.tex
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@@ -162,49 +162,49 @@ user has the following freedoms:
 
The focus on ``a particular user'' is particularly pertinent here.  It is not
 
uncommon for a subset of a specific program's user base to have these freedoms, while other
 
users of the same version the program have none or only some of these freedoms.
 
Section~\ref{Proprietary Relicensing} talks in detail about how
 
this can unfortunately happen even if a program is released under the GPL\@.
 

	
 
Many people refer to software with these freedoms as ``Open Source.''
 
Besides having a different political focus than those who call it Free
 
Software,\footnote{The political differences between the Free Software
 
  Movement and the Open Source Movement are documented on FSF's Web site at
 
  \url{http://www.fsf.org/licensing/essays/free-software-for-freedom.html}.}
 
Those who call the software ``Open Source'' are often focused on a side
 
issue.  Specifically, user access to the source code of a program is a
 
prerequisite to make use of the freedom to modify.  However, the important
 
issue is what freedoms are granted in the license of that source code.
 

	
 
Software freedom is only complete when no restrictions are imposed on how
 
these freedoms are exercised.  Specifically, users and programmers can
 
exercise these freedoms noncommercially or commercially.  Licenses that grant
 
these freedoms for noncommercial activities but prohibit them for commercial
 
activities are considered non-free.  Even the Open Source Initiative
 
(\defn{OSI}) (the arbiter of what is considered ``Open Source'') also rules
 
such licenses not in fitting with its ``Open Source Definition''.
 

	
 
In general, software for which most or all of these freedoms are
 
In general, software for which any of these freedoms are
 
restricted in any way is called ``non-Free Software.''  Typically, the
 
term ``proprietary software'' is used more or less interchangeably with
 
``non-Free Software.''  Personally, I tend to use the term ``non-Free
 
Software'' to refer to noncommercial software that restricts freedom
 
(such as ``shareware'') and ``proprietary software'' to refer to
 
commercial software that restricts freedom (such as nearly all of
 
Microsoft's and Oracle's offerings).
 

	
 
Keep in mind that none of the terms ``software freedom'', ``open source''
 
and ``free software'' are known to be trademarked or otherwise legally
 
restricted by any organization in
 
any jurisdiction.  As such, it's quite common that these terms are abused and
 
misused by parties who wish to bank on the popularity of software freedom.
 
When one considers using, modifying or redistributing a software package that
 
purports to be Open Source or Free Software, one \textbf{must} verify that
 
the license grants software freedom.
 

	
 
Furthermore, throughout this text, we generally prefer the term ``software
 
freedom'', as this is the least ambiguous term available to describe software
 
that meets the Free Software Definition.  For example, it is well known and
 
often discussed that the adjective ``free'' has two unrelated meanings in
 
English: ``free as in freedom'' and ``free as in price''.  Meanwhile, the
 
term ``open source'' is even more confusing, because it appears to refer only to the
 
``freedom to study'', which is merely a subset of one of the four freedoms.
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