279 lines
9.3 KiB
HTML
279 lines
9.3 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
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<html>
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<version>3</version>
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<head>
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<title>Free Software</title>
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</head>
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<body class="toplevel freesoftware">
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<h1>What is Free Software</h1>
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<div id="introduction">
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<p>
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The principles of Free Software are simple but it is important
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to not get confused by the underlying complexity caused by its
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long history. Learn about the <a href="#freedoms">four
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freedoms</a> and their meaning, the fundamentals about <a
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href="#licences">Free Software licenses</a>, the <a
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href="#advantages">advantages</a> that Free Software provides,
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and the most common <a href="#synonyms">synonyms</a>.
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</p>
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<p>
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Looking beyond the circle of software itself, you can read more about
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the interplay of Free Software with <a href="#more">other fields</a>
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like education, procurement and democracy.
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</p>
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</div>
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<h2 id="freedoms">The Four Freedoms</h2>
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<p>
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Free Software refers to freedom, not price. It guarantees its users the
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essential four freedoms. The absence of at least one of these freedoms
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means an application is proprietary, so non‐Free Software.
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</p>
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<!-- Pie chart and text adopted from p.4 of the PMPC brochure -->
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<div class="fsgrid">
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<div class="pie">
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<div class="pie-use"><p>Use</p></div>
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<div class="pie-study"><p>Study</p></div>
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<div class="pie-share"><p>Share</p></div>
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<div class="pie-improve"><p>Improve</p></div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<div class="icon-grid icons-sm">
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<ul>
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<li>
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<img src="/graphics/icons/pie-topleft.png" alt=""/>
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<div>
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<h3>Use</h3>
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<p>
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Free Software can be used for any purpose and is free of
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restrictions such as licence expiry or geographic limitations.
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</p>
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</div>
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</li>
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<li>
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<img src="/graphics/icons/pie-topright.png" alt=""/>
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<div>
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<h3>Study</h3>
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<p>
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Free Software and its code can be studied by anyone, without
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non‐disclosure agreements or similar restrictions.
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</p>
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</div>
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</li>
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<li>
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<img src="/graphics/icons/pie-bottomleft.png" alt=""/>
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<div>
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<h3>Share</h3>
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<p>
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Free Software can be shared and copied at virtually no cost.
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</p>
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</div>
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</li>
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<li>
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<img src="/graphics/icons/pie-bottomright.png" alt=""/>
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<div>
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<h3>Improve</h3>
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<p>
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Free Software can be modified by anyone, and these improvements
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can be shared publicly.
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</p>
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</div>
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</li>
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</ul>
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</div>
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<h2 id="licences">Licenses</h2>
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<p>
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The four freedoms are given by a software licence. Software licences
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define the conditions under which a programme can be used and reused. For
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it to be Free Software, the licence text must contain at least the four
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freedoms. The <a
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href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html">Free Software
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Foundation</a> and the <a
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href="https://opensource.org/licenses/category">Open Source Initiative</a>
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maintain lists of reviewed and approved licences. An application can
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usually not be considered Free Software if its licence does not appear in
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one of these lists.
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</p>
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<p>
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There are a multitude of licences with different focuses, and a
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software product or parts of it can also be licenced under more than one
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licence. The actual selection is a strategic question but you are advised
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to pick one of the most widely used licences.
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</p>
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<h2 id="advantages">Advantages</h2>
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<!-- adopted from PMPC brochure p.16+17 -->
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<p>
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Free Software is about freedom. In practice, this provides numerous
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advantages for users, organisations, businesses and governments.
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</p>
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<div class="icon-grid">
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<ul>
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<li>
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<img src="/graphics/icons/autonomy.png" alt="" />
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<div>
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<h3>Autonomy</h3>
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<p>
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Free Software helps to develop and maintain tailored software that
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suits your needs, not just the vendor's business model.
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</p>
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</div>
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</li>
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<li>
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<img src="/graphics/icons/collaboration.png" alt="" />
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<div>
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<h3>Collaboration</h3>
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<p>
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Free Software can be shared and used in a non-exclusive way by
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everyone – serving the public good.
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</p>
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</div>
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</li>
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<li>
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<img src="/graphics/icons/share-copy.png" alt="" />
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<div>
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<h3>Share & Copy</h3>
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<p>
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A Free Software licence allows a limitless number of installations
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to be run, without paying extra.
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</p>
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</div>
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</li>
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<li>
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<img src="/graphics/icons/no-lock-in.png" alt="" />
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<div>
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<h3>No Lock-in</h3>
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<p>
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Free Software licenses reinforce independence from vendors and
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provide more choice in service providers.
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</p>
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</div>
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</li>
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<li>
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<img src="/graphics/icons/reuse.png" alt="" />
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<div>
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<h3>Reuse Code</h3>
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<p>
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Free Software provides the freedom to reuse the code for other
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projects.
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</p>
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</div>
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</li>
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<li>
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<img src="/graphics/icons/innovation.png" alt="" />
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<div>
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<h3>Innovation</h3>
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<p>
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A Free Software licence encourages innovation for your software.
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</p>
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</div>
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</li>
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<li>
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<img src="/graphics/icons/competition.png" alt="" />
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<div>
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<h3>Competition</h3>
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<p>
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Free Software resists monopolisation and enhances competition.
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</p>
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</div>
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</li>
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<li>
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<img src="/graphics/icons/security.png" alt="" />
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<div>
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<h3>Security</h3>
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<p>
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Free Software allows for independent security checks that help
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close security holes faster.
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</p>
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</div>
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</li>
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</ul>
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</div>
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<h2 id="synonyms">Synonyms</h2>
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<p>
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Over the course of time, people came up with additional labels for Free
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Software. Often the motivation for these terms is to highlight different
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aspects and to avoid confusion.
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</p>
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<p>
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Free Software was first defined with the four freedoms mentioned above by
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the <a href="/freesoftware/gnuproject.html">GNU project</a> in 1986. In
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1998, "Open Source" was set up as a marketing campaign for Free
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Software but with the same freedoms in mind. Other widely known labels for
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Free Software are "Libre Software", initiated to avoid the ambiguity of
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the English word "free", and "FOSS" or "FLOSS" as abbreviations for "Free
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(Libre) Open Source Software".
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</p>
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<p>
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The level of freedom particular software offers is always determined by
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the licence, not the label. In other words, don’t get confused by
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different terms for the same features. If you are interested in the
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historical background and why we prefer the original term, you can <a
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class="learn-more"
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href="/freesoftware/comparison.html">Read more...</a>
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</p>
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<h2 id="more">Further Insights</h2>
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<p>
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The numerous advantages of Free Software are a benefit in themselves, but also contribute positively to other technical and non-technical fields. Since the FSFE's foundation in 2001, we have been exploring different areas and how Free Software can make a difference.
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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<strong><a href="/freesoftware/democracy.html">Democracy</a></strong>:
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technology greatly influences today's society. That is why control over
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technology has to be in the hands of everybody, not just a small group.
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong><a href="/freesoftware/standards/">Open Standards</a></strong>: Open
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Standards allow people to share all kinds of data freely and with
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perfect fidelity. They resist lock-in and other artificial barriers to
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interoperability, and promote choice between vendors and technology
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solutions.
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong><a href="/freesoftware/education/">Education</a></strong>: Free
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Software is pedagogically superior; its basic spirit of freedom
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and cooperation is the proper spirit of education in a democratic
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environment.
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</li>
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<li>
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<strong><a href="/freesoftware/procurement/">Public
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Procurement</a></strong>: Free Software is a perfect fit for the public
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sector. It is a public resource that government organisations can use,
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study, improve, and share with each other. For citizens, this means
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transparency, cost efficiency, and the freedom to interact with their
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government in the way that suits them best.
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</li>
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</ul>
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</body>
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</html>
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