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diff --git a/content/free-guide/why-free-sw.md b/content/free-guide/why-free-sw.md deleted file mode 100644 index 2a389fb..0000000 --- a/content/free-guide/why-free-sw.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,54 +0,0 @@ ---- -title: "Why you should use free software?" -date: 2021-06-24 -layout: wiki -wiki: freeguide -tags: [compilation, "free software", "proprietary", reason] ---- - -Free software is about freedom, not price[^1]. *Freedom* here refers to: - -0. The freedom to **run** the program as you wish, for any purpose - (**freedom 0**). -1. The freedom to **study** how the program works, and **change** it so it - does your computing as you wish (**freedom 1**). Access to the source code - is a precondition for this. -2. The freedom to **redistribute** copies so you can help others - (**freedom 2**). -3. The freedom to **distribute copies of your modified versions** to others - (**freedom 3**). By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to - benefit from your changes. Access to the source code is a precondition for - this. - -At first glance, you would think that most users would only benefit from -**freedom 0** and **freedom 2**. While it is true that most would not -exercise freedom 1 and freedom 3, they do indirectly benefits users. Because -the original programmers allows derivative programs to be distributed, they -cannot implement malicious anti-features, such as spying or fraud without being -spotted. Being free software is thus the prerequisite for being -user-respecting software. - -There are of course competing reasons for choosing software, such as -user-friendliness/ease-of-use. While these requirements are rather subjective, -I do agree that some free software programs have less fancy UI (like ) and -sometimes not easy to use (like GIMP). It is up to you to decide the balance -between criteria, but there is certainly strong reasons to prefer free -software, *ceteris paribus*[^2] - -The content below consists of lists of bad examples of proprietary software, as -well as some example of free software turning bad[^3] which resulted in forks. - -(It's empty right now, see GNU list below or contribute) - ------ - -Other lists: - -- [GNU's list of malicious functionalities with references][gnu-list] - -[gnu-list]: https://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html - -[^1]: <https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html> - The word "free" was used despite its ambiguity for lack of better word. -[^2]: All else being equal, but in fancy Latin. -[^3]: Subjective, I know. |