Keeping Computers at the Hands of Their Owners
THE PAST 40+ years were spent by a growing (over time) number of principled people trying to safeguard freedoms that had long been enjoyed by users of computers - for the few who had access to them in the 1970s or earlier (usually at work or academic institutions).
Before code was copyrighted and well before more and more things got "commercialised" (not in a good way; commercialisation itself isn't a problem, depending on how it's done) the users actually owned and controlled what they had purchased. Think of cars before they got "smart" or, as some nowadays call them, "smartphones on wheels" (less safe than before 1, 2]).
Our goal isn't to merely advance a brand (such as "Linux" or "BSD") but to focus on the concepts and the goal as described in practical terms rather than names.
There's a reason why this site's name (or introduction) does not obsess over trademarks and such.
When things aren't done properly, this is what happens (screenshot below). █
