diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'content')
| -rw-r--r-- | content/free-guide/_index.md | 5 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | content/free-guide/why-free-sw.md | 54 |
2 files changed, 59 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/content/free-guide/_index.md b/content/free-guide/_index.md index b38a1e3..623e52e 100644 --- a/content/free-guide/_index.md +++ b/content/free-guide/_index.md @@ -12,3 +12,8 @@ unintuitive. This includes: - how-tos - software/service reviews +These posts are intended to be written in collaboration, since I have only so +much experience. Please send your software reviews and guides to me via this +email: + +[huyngo+freeguide@disroot.org](mailto:huyngo+freeguide@disroot.org) diff --git a/content/free-guide/why-free-sw.md b/content/free-guide/why-free-sw.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2a389fb --- /dev/null +++ b/content/free-guide/why-free-sw.md @@ -0,0 +1,54 @@ +--- +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. |