GNU
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ABOUT GNU
PHILOSOPHY
LICENSES
Lnu
Philosophy
Essays & articles
About free software
Principles
What is Free Software?
"Free software
means software that respects users'
freedom and community Roughly, it means that the
users have the freedom to run; cOPy distribute;
study; change and improve the software. Thus,
"free software" is
matter of liberty; nOt price. To
understand the concept; you should think of
free'
in "free speech
not as in "free beer:
We sometines
call it
libre software; " borrowing the French Or
Spanish word for "free
as in freedom, t0 show we do
not mean the software is
You may have
money t0 get copies of
tree
program, Or YOu may have obtained copies at no
charge: But regardless of how you got YOUr copies
you always have the freedom t0 copy and change the
software, even t0 sell copies.
We campaign tor these freedoms because everyone deserves
then.
With these freedoms, the users (both individually and
collectively) control the program and what it does for them;
When users don t control the program; we call it a
nonfree"
proprietary" program: The nontree program controls the
users, and the developer controls the program; this makes
the program an instrument of unjust power.
"Open source" is
something different: it has
very different
gratis.
paid