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http://opensource.org

Open Source is not about freedom, nor is it about licenses. It's about community. Of course everyone knows about Richard Stallman's concern about having the freedom to modify all software on his machine. Tim O'Reilly has had a concern for many years that Open Source licenses do not keep software Open Source when it is not being distributed but instead performed as in Web 2.0 applications. Yet, after ten years of Open Source, I've come to think that both these concerns are misplaced.

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MBP2000's picture
Created by MBP2000 13 years 43 weeks ago
Category: Philosophy   Tags:
can.axis's picture

can.axis

13 years 43 weeks 9 hours 34 min ago

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"open source" vs Free Software

"open source" is not about freedom, but «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.» --
* source (The Free Software Definition): http://www.fsf.org/licensing/essays/free-sw.html
* Freedom is... the GNU Operating System: http://www.fsf.org/
* Free Software movement and the Open Source movement are today separate movements: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html#relationship

kiba's picture

kiba

13 years 43 weeks 8 hours 24 min ago

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They're missing the point.

They're missing the point. It *is* about freedom.

Community, development process, etc are all additional baggages that came with the hacker culture but it doesn't define open source and free software. Yes, the community is part of our identity, but the ideal defined us.

The free software community is defined by its defiance against monopolists and bullies, not its development process or large scale collaboration.
-----Signature----
*Copyright creates monopolies. Copyleft promote the free market.

*"Monopoly corrupts. Absolute monopoly corrupts absolutely"-- http://againstmonopoly.org

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