From: "Joe Barr" 


The Free Software Foundation goes to great lengths to explain what they are
about and what they mean by "free software."  In fact they
provide a test for it.

[quote]

``Free software'' is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the
concept, you should think of ``free'' as in ``free speech,'' not as in
``free beer.''

Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute,
study, change and improve the software. More precisely, it refers to four
kinds of freedom, for the users of the software:

 * The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
 * The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs
   (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
 * The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor
   (freedom 2).
 * The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the
   public, so that the whole community benefits. (freedom 3). Access to the
   source code is a precondition for this.

[end quote]

Your definition may not be the same as theirs, but that doesn't mean they
are misusing the term.

As a matter of fact, my dictionary leans strongly towards the FSF view. The
first definition of the word listed in Merriam-Websters Collegiate 10th
Edition is "1 a. having the legal and political rights of a
citizen."

Later definitons appear which match up well with yours.  One example gives
this "1 d. enjoying personal freedom : not subject to the control or
domination of another."









On Sun, 15 Dec 2002 14:16:26 +0000, Tony Williams wrote:

> That's one way to look at it. I tend to think from the POV of the author
> - anything other than public domain is attaching strings to other
> people's use of the software. The conditions might be "pay me"
> (commercial) , "give me recognition" (BSD), or "support
the cause"
> (GPL).
>
> If the author want's to set conditions, fine - but doing so means that
> the software isn't free. FWIW I use Linux and we've (at work) given back
> to the community in the form of patches and suchlike - I support the
> FSF's goals myself and have donated. But I don't like their misuse of
> the term "free".

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