* Simon Morris <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [2006-07-05 21:25:29 +0100]: > Another reason why a term other than "free software" is sometimes > needed is that the word freeware is too easily confused with Free > Software and it has very negative connotations.
Have you read http://www.fsfeurope.org/documents/whyfs.en.html? Although some people say that using the term "free" creates ambiguity, many languages have separate terms referring to freedom and price. In these languages, the term "free" is not ambiguous. It may be in others, including English, but in those misunderstandings can easily be avoided by pointing out that free refers to freedom, not price. The terminology "Open Source" refers to having access to the source code. But access to the source code is only a precondition for two of the four freedoms that define Free Software. Many people do not understand that access to the source code alone is not enough. "Free Software" avoids catering to this relatively common misunderstanding. One other problem with "Open Source" is, it's a buzzword. I have not seen any translations of the term. (IMHO you should use your own language to talk about important questions). Try to translate "Open Source" in other languages, in German it sound really silly "Offene Quelle", "Offener Quelltext" or whatever, and is totally misleading. The source code alone, without the four freedoms, will not help you. [...] > I use the term "Free Software" rather than "Open Source" out of habit > but in this instance I would have been better off using the latter. I do not think it would have helped; a lot of people think "Open Source" is gratis, too. With best wishes, Matze -- Join the Fellowship and protect your freedom! (http://www.fsfe.org) _______________________________________________ Discussion mailing list [email protected] https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/discussion
