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Re: [wwwdocs] Add "free software" instead of "Open Source" to codingconventions.html
- From: Paolo Bonzini <bonzini at gnu dot org>
- To: gcc-patches at gcc dot gnu dot org
- Date: Thu, 01 Jan 2009 01:27:58 +0100
- Subject: Re: [wwwdocs] Add "free software" instead of "Open Source" to codingconventions.html
- References: <571f6b510812310145k4bb0125cja9b3be39187699ac@mail.gmail.com> <495BBEEC.5010501@codesourcery.com>
> But, of course, the FSF specifically highlights the distinction between
> "free" and "open-source" software and makes the point that this a
> philosophical difference, not, per se, a licensing issue. If someone
> else's software is more properly described as open-source, because that
> reflects the developer community and/or copyright holder's philosophy,
> it seems bizarre -- and perhaps rude -- to refuse to call it that. That
> would only seem to undermine the distinction that the FSF is trying to make.
I disagree. Free is a subset of open-source. If it is free (by the
Debian guidelines or anything else), why not call it that way? Open
source is a marketing name, and I understand why the developer would
prefer that name. But to anyone else it's the freedom that is
important, not the openness of the source.
Agreed on not being worth a fight though.
Paolo