154 lines
5.8 KiB
HTML
154 lines
5.8 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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<html>
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<head>
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<title>FSFE - Information Folder</title>
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</head>
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<body>
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<a id="moreinfo" href="http://www.fsfeurope.org/">Free Software Foundation Europe</a>
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<div id="fsfe">
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<h1>Free Software Foundation Europe</h1>
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<p class="background">
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Access to software determines participation in a digital society. To
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ensure equal access, participation and competition in the information
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age, Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is dedicated to digital
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freedom in the form of Free Software. No person should ever be in a
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position to use software that does not offer the freedoms to be used,
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studied, modified and distributed.
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</p>
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<p>
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FSFE was founded in 2001 as a non-profit and non-governmental
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organisation to strengthen the social, political, legal and technical
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foundation of Free Software in Europe. It is active in a strong global
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network of like-minded organisations and has teams in many European
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countries.
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</p>
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<a href="http://www.fsfeurope.org/">http://www.fsfeurope.org/</a>
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</div>
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<div id="free_software">
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<h1>What is Free Software?</h1>
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<p>
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Free in Free Software refers to freedom, not price. Free Software
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provides four essential freedoms:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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<b>The freedom to run the program, for any purpose.</b>
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Placing restrictions on the use of Free Software, such as time ("30
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days trial period", "license expires January 1st, 2004") or purpose
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("permission granted for research and non-commercial use") makes a
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program non-free.
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</li>
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<li>
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<b>The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your
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needs.</b>
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Placing legal or practical restrictions on the comprehension or
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modification of a program, such as mandatory purchase of special
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licenses, signing of a Non-Disclosure-Agreement (NDA) or - for
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programming languages that have multiple forms or representations -
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making the preferred human way of comprehending and editing a program
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("source code") inaccessible also makes it proprietary (non-free).
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Without the freedom to modify a program, people will remain at the
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mercy of a single vendor.
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</li>
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<li>
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<b>The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help others.</b>
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Software can be copied/distributed at virtually no cost. If you are
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not allowed to give a program to another person, that makes a program
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non-free. This can be done for a charge, if you so choose.
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</li>
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<li>
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<b>The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements
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to the public, so that the whole community benefits.</b>
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Not everyone is a good programmer. Some people do not know how to
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program at all. This freedom allows those who do not have the time or
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skills to solve a problem to gain access to improved software. This
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can be done for a charge.
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</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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These freedoms are rights, not obligations. Respecting these freedoms
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for society may at times oblige the individual. Any person can choose
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not to make use of them, but may also choose to make use of all of
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them. In particular, it should be understood that Free Software does
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not prevent commercial use. If a program fails to allow commercial use
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and commercial distribution, it is not Free Software. A growing number
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of companies base their business model on Free Software, including some
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of the largest software vendors. Free Software makes it legal to
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provide help and assistance, it does not make it mandatory.
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</p>
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</div>
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<div id="contribute">
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<h1>Contribute</h1>
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<p class="background">
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Your support allows FSFE to continue working for Free Software. It
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helps to increase our profile and allows us to launch new projects that
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benefit the entire community.
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</p>
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<h2>Get involved!</h2>
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<p>
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The most direct way to support FSFE is by getting involved in what we
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do. We are a collaborative community and our work is the result of
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contributions by hundreds of people. You can be one of them by joining
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one of our teams. Perhaps you can help with the translation team, the
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booth teams, or one of many others.
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</p>
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<a href="http://www.fsfeurope.org/contribute">http://www.fsfeurope.org/contribute/</a>
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<h2>Join the Fellowship of FSFE!</h2>
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<p>
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This is the easiest way to become involved in our activities. As a
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Fellow, you add your visible support and contribution to all activities
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of FSFE. You will also meet many like-minded people online and in the
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many Fellowship meetings across Europe.
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</p>
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<a href="http://fellowship.fsfe.org/">http://fellowship.fsfe.org/</a>
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<h2>Donate money and convince your employer to become a Patron of
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FSFE!</h2>
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<p>
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The effectiveness of FSFE depends to a large degree on the financial
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resources that we can use to work for Free Software. By donating, you
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and your company can contribute directly to this. Our bank details:
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</p>
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<a href="http://www.fsfeurope.org/donate/">http://www.fsfeurope.org/donate/</a>
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</div>
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<address>
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Free Software Foundation Europe<br/>
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Talstraße 110, 40217 Düsseldorf, Germany<br/>
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E-Mail: office@fsfeurope.org<br/>
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Phone: +49 700 373387673<br/>
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http://www.fsfeurope.org/<br/>
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</address>
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</body>
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<timestamp>$Date$ $Author$</timestamp>
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</html>
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<!--
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mode: xml ***
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End: ***
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-->
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