Re: Open source - Free software

[Alexander Terekhov]

Jay Belanger wrote:
[...]
> Not at all; the word "free" means "unfettered" in many circumstances
> when it could logically mean without charge. I provided some examples.
> Pretending otherwise is obfuscating, not communicating.

You should read the GNU Manifesto (original, without later added 
footnotes):

"GNU, which stands for Gnu's Not Unix, is the name for the complete 
Unix-compatible software system which I am writing so that I can give 
it away free to everyone who can use it. ... Once GNU is written, 
everyone will be able to obtain good system software free, just like 
air."

Based on this claim, Michael Zeleny came up with a descriptive phrase 
"free software" as a proper name (and gave the name "Free Software 
Foundation" to the organization). He was deceptively expelled from the 
Free Software Foundation by the underhanded dealing of Richard Stallman, 
whose allies took exception to his argument that "free" meant just 
what it said in "obtain good system software free, just like air." So
he claimed.

Later came the footnotes:

"GNU, which stands for Gnu's Not Unix, is the name for the complete 
Unix-compatible software system which I am writing so that I can give 
it away free to everyone who can use it.(1) ... Once GNU is written, 
everyone will be able to obtain good system software free, just like 
air.(2)"

http://www.gnu.org/gnu/manifesto.html#f1

"(1) The wording here was careless. The intention was that nobody 
would have to pay for *permission* to use the GNU system. But the 
words don't make this clear, and people often interpret them as 
saying that copies of GNU should always be distributed at little or 
no charge."

http://www.gnu.org/gnu/manifesto.html#f2

"(2) This is another place I failed to distinguish carefully between 
the two different meanings of "free". The statement as it stands is 
not false--you can get copies of GNU software at no charge, from 
your friends or over the net. But it does suggest the wrong idea."

regards,
alexander.