This is Proof That We Need to Speak Even More About Free Software and Explain What Freedom Means (Not Price, It's Not 'Freeware')
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2023-05-08 00:44:52 UTC
- Modified: 2023-05-08 00:44:52 UTC
This is
false:
Summary: Free-as-in-Freedom (FaiF) or freedom-respecting software is under attack; the "source code available" crowd (like Microsoft GitHub) is warping the debate and suggests not mentioning freedom at all
THE OSI,
a de facto front group of Microsoft, is trying to eradicate the "F" in FOSS or to stop saying FOSS altogether. We wrote about this on Friday morning [
1,
2]. But they're lying. They're self-serving sellouts. If anything, the misconception in the above page (screenshot of
page 12 of this document by Karen Melchior
et al) highlights the need to better explain -- or to explain more often -- what Free/libre software is, how it works, and how it is developed.
"For the EU side of things see point #129," an associate said. "Amendment 130 is the place where Software Freedom needs to be mentioned."
Here is the relevant part:
"The very term "freedom" is being actively, quickly, and quietly erased from society across the board," the associate noted. "Remember that RMS gets (or got) brigaded for having the audacity to mention the F-word loudly and publicly."
"I'd also say that opponents have now dusted off the term "freeware" after a very long hiatus to try to increase confusion about freedom and specifically about software freedom."
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