# Free Software Free Software is software that respects users' freedom and community, as defined by [[Richard Stallman]] and the [[Free Software Foundation (FSF)]]. "Free" refers to freedom (libre), not price—summarized as "free as in speech, not free as in beer." The movement began in 1983 when Stallman launched the [[GNU is not Unix (GNU)|GNU]] project to create a complete free operating system. The free software philosophy treats software freedom as an ethical imperative, not merely a practical development methodology. Stallman argues that proprietary software is fundamentally unjust because it gives developers power over users. This distinguishes free software from [[Open Source]], which emphasizes practical benefits (code quality, collaboration) rather than ethical principles. ## The Four Freedoms Free software is defined by four essential freedoms: | Freedom | Description | |---------|-------------| | Freedom 0 | Run the program for any purpose | | Freedom 1 | Study how the program works and modify it (requires source code) | | Freedom 2 | Redistribute copies to help others | | Freedom 3 | Distribute copies of your modified versions | Software that provides all four freedoms is "free software." Missing any one means the software is proprietary. ## Free Software vs Open Source | Aspect | Free Software | [[Open Source]] | |--------|---------------|-----------------| | Philosophy | Ethical imperative | Practical benefits | | Focus | User freedom | Development methodology | | Origin | Stallman, FSF (1983) | OSI (1998) | | Terminology | "Free as in freedom" | Business-friendly | | Goal | Social justice | Better software | Both movements often overlap in practice—most free software is also open source and vice versa. The [[Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)]] umbrella term bridges both. ## "Free" Ambiguity English's single word "free" causes confusion: - **Libre** (freedom): The intended meaning - **Gratis** (no cost): Not the primary concern Free software can be sold; what matters is that users have the four freedoms. Conversely, gratis software (freeware) without source code is not free software. ## Free Software Licenses Licenses that guarantee the four freedoms: - [[GNU General Public License (GPL)]] (copyleft) - [[LGPL License]] (weak copyleft) - [[Affero General Public License (AGPL)]] (network copyleft) - [[MIT License]], [[BSD License]] (permissive) - [[Apache 2.0 License]] (permissive with patents) ## Key Organizations - **[[Free Software Foundation (FSF)]]**: Stallman's organization, stewards GNU and GPL - **Software Freedom Conservancy**: Fiscal sponsor for free software projects - **Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)**: Digital rights advocacy ## References - https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html (official definition) - https://www.fsf.org - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software ## Related - [[Richard Stallman]] - [[Free Software Foundation (FSF)]] - [[GNU is not Unix (GNU)]] - [[Open Source]] - [[Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)]] - [[GNU General Public License (GPL)]] - [[Open Source Initiative (OSI)]]