www/gnu manifesto.html

[Richard M. Stallman]

CVSROOT:        /webcvs/www
Module name:    www
Changes by:     Richard M. Stallman <rms>       09/12/14 15:53:36

Modified files:
        gnu            : manifesto.html 

Log message:
        Add footnotes 2a and 8.
        Minor clarifications in others.

CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/gnu/manifesto.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.39&r2=1.40

Patches:
Index: manifesto.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /webcvs/www/www/gnu/manifesto.html,v
retrieving revision 1.39
retrieving revision 1.40
diff -u -b -r1.39 -r1.40
--- manifesto.html      17 Sep 2009 14:06:07 -0000      1.39
+++ manifesto.html      14 Dec 2009 15:53:28 -0000      1.40
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 
 <p>Since that time, we have learned about certain common
 misunderstandings that different wording could help avoid.  Footnotes
-added in 1993 help clarify these points.</p>
+added since 1993 help clarify these points.</p>
 
 <p>For up-to-date information about the available GNU software, please
 see the information available on our <a href="/home.html">web
@@ -84,7 +84,7 @@
 decided to put together a sufficient body of free software so that I
 will be able to get along without any software that is not free.  I
 have resigned from the AI lab to deny MIT any legal excuse to prevent
-me from giving GNU away.</p>
+me from giving GNU away <a href="#f2a">(2a)</a>.</p>
 
 <h3>Why GNU Will Be Compatible with Unix</h3>
 
@@ -369,7 +369,7 @@
 
 <p>
    Restricting copying is not the only basis for business in software.
-It is the most common basis because it brings in the most money.  If it
+It is the most common basis <a href="#f8">(8)</a> because it brings in the 
most money.  If it
 were prohibited, or rejected by the customer, software business would
 move to other bases of organization which are now used less often.
 There are always numerous ways to organize any kind of business.</p>
@@ -601,18 +601,26 @@
 software at no charge, from your friends or over the net.  But it does
 suggest the wrong idea.</li>
 
+<li><a name="f2a"></a>The expression ``give away'' is another
+indication that I had not yet clearly separated the issue of price
+from that of freedom.  We now recommend avoiding this expression when
+talking about free software.  See
+<a href="/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#GiveAwaySoftware">
+<q>Confusing Words and Phrases</q></a> for more explanation.</li>
+
 <li><a name="f3"></a>Several such companies now exist.</li>
 
-<li><a name="f4"></a>The Free Software Foundation for 10 years raised
-most of its funds from a distribution service, although it is a
-charity rather than a company.  You
-can <a href="/order/order.html">order things from the FSF</a>.
+<li><a name="f4"></a> Although it is a
+charity rather than a company, the Free Software Foundation for 10 years raised
+most of its funds from its distribution service.  You
+can <a href="/order/order.html">order things from the FSF</a>
+to support its work.
 </li>
 
 <li><a name="f5"></a>A group of computer companies pooled funds
 around 1991 to support maintenance of the GNU C Compiler.</li>
 
-<li><a name="f6"></a>In the 80s I had not yet realized how confusing
+<li><a name="f6"></a>In the 1980s I had not yet realized how confusing
 it was to speak of &ldquo;the issue&rdquo; of &ldquo;intellectual
 property&rdquo;.  That term is obviously biased; more subtle is the
 fact that it lumps together various disparate laws which raise very
@@ -623,13 +631,23 @@
 See <a href="/philosophy/not-ipr.html">further explanation</a> of how
 this term spreads confusion and bias.</li>
 
-<li><a name="f7"></a>Subsequently we have learned to distinguish
+<li><a name="f7"></a>Subsequently we learned to distinguish
 between &ldquo;free software&rdquo; and &ldquo;freeware&rdquo;.  The
 term &ldquo;freeware&rdquo; means software you are free to
 redistribute, but usually you are not free to study and change the
 source code, so most of it is not free software.  See
 <a href="/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Freeware">
-the Confusing Words and Phrases page</a> for more explanation.</li>
+<q>Confusing Words and Phrases</q></a> for more explanation.</li>
+
+<li><a name="f8"></a>I think I was mistaken in saying that proprietary
+software was the most common basis for making money in software.
+It seems that actually the most common business model was and is
+development of custom software.  That does not offer the possibility
+of collecting rents, so the business has to keep doing real work
+in order to keep getting income.  The custom software business would
+continue to exist, more or less unchanged, in a free software world.
+Therefore, I no longer expect that most paid programmers would earn less
+in a free software world.</li>
 </ol>
 
 </div>
@@ -670,7 +688,7 @@
 <p>
 Updated:
 <!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2009/09/17 14:06:07 $
+$Date: 2009/12/14 15:53:28 $
 <!-- timestamp end -->
 </p>
 </div>