Differences between current version and revision by previous author of FreeSoftware.
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Newer page: | version 5 | Last edited on Tuesday, April 27, 2004 12:13:38 am | by AristotlePagaltzis | |
Older page: | version 4 | Last edited on Thursday, June 19, 2003 5:44:28 pm | by CraigBox | Revert |
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
-Free Software is
a difficult subject
, some people agree with [RMS]'s definition of FreeSoftware
, others take a more pragmatic view
.
+Free software, in
a pinch
, is software that users have the freedom to examine
, modify, and redistribute
.
-A different alternative is OpenSource, provided by the Open Source Initiative at
http://www.opensource
.org/
+The FreeSoftwareFoundation provides a more canonical [Free Software Definition|
http://www.fsf
.org/philosophy/free-sw.html] that you should read at some point.
-If you would like to find out more about free software, you probably want to read
the [Free Software Definition
|http://www.fsf
.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
] at
the [Free Software Foundation|http://www
.fsf.org/fsf/fsf.html]
.
+Some people argue that
the [FSF]'s defintion is too rigid, and a more pragmatic view should be taken. The [Open Source Initiative
| http://www.opensource
.org/] uses
the umbrella term "OpenSource"
. Obviously, it follows that not all OpenSource software is also FreeSoftware
.
-[Linux] (or should that
be [GNU]/[Linux]) is free software
.
+Please
be sure to know the difference and not to confuse the terms -- if for no other reason than to avoid inciting a flamewar
.
-----
CategoryPolitics