Category:Free software

Category: free software — this category contains wikis and / or other subject matter on subject of free (as in free speech or freedom; not as in price or free beer!) software. The 'free software movement' was started by Richard M. Stallman and GNU[1] in 1984, and later, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) was founded.

'Free software', as defined by four 'freedoms', is where the license gives everybody

• the freedom to run the program for any purpose – known as 'freedom 0';
• the freedom to study and modify the program – 'freedom 1', access to the source code is a precondition for this;
• the freedom to copy and redistribute the program so one can help his neighbor – 'freedom 2';
• the freedom to improve the program, and release the improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits – 'freedom 3'; access to the source code is a precondition for this.

The opposite of this would be non-free software; which would be best described as 'proprietary software' (or sometimes known as 'commercial software'). It should also be noted free software should not be confused with 'freeware'; which is simply proprietary (or commercial) software given away for free (as in free beer).

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a non-profit charity with a worldwide mission to advance software freedom. FSF is located at 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, Massachusetts (MA) 02110, United States of America (USA).

Related categories

GNU, Linux, Creative Commons, FOSS.

External links

• Free as in Freedom: Richard Stallman's Crusade for Free Software — by Sam Williams (March 2002); ISBN 0-596-00287-4; order number: 2874; 240 pages.