Re: FAQ release! Need help!

[George <jirka 5z com>]

On Thu, Sep 03, 1998 at 08:23:05PM -0400, Todd Graham Lewis wrote:
> I object.
> 
> 1) Free software has a murky definition; someone please point me to the
> equivalent of "The Open Source Definition", v1.0.

there is way more written  on the term free software ... look at
www.gnu.org (e.g. http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html)

> 2) I severaly dislike using imprecise terms like this.  Specifically,
> I want to make clear that traditionally non-FSF-related communities,
> such as xBSD and Mozilla, are our bretheren.  Stallman has said, if I
> am remember correctly, that BSD-style licenses are not free software.

stallman consideres both bsd and mozilla folks free software so there
is no problem there ... 

> If this were an issue of the FAQ being inaccurate, then that would be
> one thing.  The FAQ is accurate in this case, however; you just happen not
> to be fond of my terminology.  I really do prefer the term "open source",
> I think that it's the better term, and so I would like to stick with it.
> 
> Does anyone else feel strongly that it should be "free software" instead
> of "open source"?  If there's a groundswell of opinion in favor, then I
> might change it.

I definately prefer free software to open source ... "open" as a word has
been so severely raped in the proprietory software world, I don't think
it should be used to refer to something truly free and open ...

plus free software is just much more natural for me to say then open
source software which for some reason sounds just too official ... it almost
reminds me of someone giving me street directions as in "make a left hand
turn on the next intersaction" ... instead of just saying "hang a left over
there" ... I tend to dislike language and terms that just sound too official

George

-- 
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George Lebl <jirka@5z.com> http://www.5z.com/jirka/
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