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Philosophy of the GNU Project
Free software means that the software's users have
freedom. (The issue is not about price.) We developed the GNU
operating system so that users can have freedom in their
computing.
Specifically, free software means users have
the four essential freedoms:
(0) to run the program, (1) to study and change the program in source
code form, (2) to redistribute exact copies, and (3) to distribute
modified versions.
Software differs from material objects—such as chairs,
sandwiches, and gasoline—in that it can be copied and changed
much more easily. These facilities are why software is useful; we
believe a program's users should be free to take advantage of them,
not solely its developer.
The articles in the short list below give an overview of GNU
philosophy. For further reading, please check the menu above, especially
Essays &
Articles, and
Speeches & Interviews.
See the
Audio & Video section
for recordings of Richard Stallman's speeches.
Introduction
●What is Free Software?
●
Why we must insist on free software
●
Proprietary Software Is Often Malware
●History of GNU/Linux
●Copyleft: Pragmatic Idealism
●Why Free Software Needs
Free Documentation
●Selling Free Software is OK!
●Motives For Writing Free Software
●The Right to Read: A
Dystopian Short Story by Richard Stallman
●Why
“Open Source” Misses the Point of Free Software
●When
Free Software Isn't (Practically) Superior
●Measures
Governments Can Use to Promote Free Software
●Free Software and Education
●Giving the Software
Field Protection from Patents
We also keep a list of
Organizations
that Work for Freedom in
Computer Development and Electronic Communications.
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