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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
matter of liberty; not price: To understand the concept; you should think of "free" as
in "free speech,
not as in "free beer:
We sometimes call it "libre software,
borrowing the French or
Spanish word for "free'
as in freedom; to show we do not mean the software is gratis.
You may have
money t0 get copies of a free program, Or YOu may have obtained copies at no
charge. But regardless of how You got your copies, YOu always have the freedom to copy and change
the software; even to sell copies_
We
campaign for these freedoms because everyone deserves
With these freedoms, the users (both
individually and collectively) control the program and what it does for them:
When users dont control the
program, we call it a "nonfree'
"proprietary" program
The nonfree program controls the users_
the
developer controls the program; this makes the program an _instrument of unjust power:
source" is
something different: it has
very different philosophy based on different values: Its practical
Adefinirion ic differenttoo
hut nearlvall onen cource
Drcnrinic Aroi tacttroe
We exnlain the difference in Whv
paid
them .
and
"Open