this post was submitted on 20 Aug 2023
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Asklemmy
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Why should software be free?
The qeustion would rather be, why shouldn't software be free? Because there is no good reason it shouldn't be.
So people who create it can afford to live?
I forgot not everyone knows what free software means. Free as in freedom not free as in gratis. The other one has good, even great reasons for existing as you've said people need to pay the bills. The first one does not.
TIL of GNU's philosophical take on "free software". Thanks!
Though, it was quite a hassle to find amidst all the other search results for "free software"... ๐
Maybe we should use "libre" to differentiate the 2, like GNU points out.
Yeah, the english language has a problem with that. But not just English!
Polish does too, the translation would be "Wolne oprogramowanie". However wolne can be understood both as free and... Slow.
Yeah, slow software lmao
If you'd like to know more about software freedom checkout the Free Software Foundation, Software Freedom Conservancy, of course the GNU project and some Linux youtubers like Distrotube and the like.
This definition of "free" in the context of software is used only in specific circles. It's confusing for everyone else and another word should be used.
libre is one word that is already popular
Perhaps if we built a world in which no one needed to worry about necessities, it would not be even excusable to charge money for commodities?