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(maintain.info)Free Software and Open Source


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Free Software and Open Source
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   The terms "free software" and "open source" are the slogans of two
different movements which differ in their basic philosophy.  The Free
Software Movement is idealistic, and raises issues of freedom, ethics,
principle and what makes for a good society.  The Open Source Movement,
founded in 1998, studiously avoids such questions.  For more
explanation, see
<http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html>.

   The GNU Project is aligned with the Free Software Movement.  This
doesn't mean that all GNU contributors and maintainers have to agree;
your views on these issues are up to you, and you're entitled to express
them when speaking for yourself.

   However, due to the much greater publicity that the Open Source
Movement receives, the GNU Project needs to overcome a widespread
mistaken impression that GNU is _and always was_ an activity of the Open
Source Movement.  For this reason, please use the term "free software,"
rather than "open source," in GNU software releases, GNU documentation,
and announcements and articles that you publish in your role as the
maintainer of a GNU package.  A reference to the URL given above, to
explain the difference, is a useful thing to include as well.


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