Category:Free software

Category: free software — this category contains wikis and / or other subject matter on 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).

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.

Related categories

GNU, Linux, Creative Commons.