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www/philosophy imperfection-isnt-oppression.html


From: Navaneeth
Subject: www/philosophy imperfection-isnt-oppression.html
Date: Tue, 27 May 2014 08:20:28 +0000

CVSROOT:        /web/www
Module name:    www
Changes by:     Navaneeth <navaneeths52>        14/05/27 08:20:27

Added files:
        philosophy     : imperfection-isnt-oppression.html 

Log message:
        New page (RT #918613)

CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/philosophy/imperfection-isnt-oppression.html?cvsroot=www&rev=1.1

Patches:
Index: imperfection-isnt-oppression.html
===================================================================
RCS file: imperfection-isnt-oppression.html
diff -N imperfection-isnt-oppression.html
--- /dev/null   1 Jan 1970 00:00:00 -0000
+++ imperfection-isnt-oppression.html   27 May 2014 08:19:34 -0000      1.1
@@ -0,0 +1,113 @@
+<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" -->
+<!-- Parent-Version: 1.77 -->
+
+<title>Imperfection is not the same as oppression
+- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
+<!--#include virtual="/server/gnun/initial-translations-list.html" -->
+<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" -->
+<h2>Imperfection is not the same as oppression</h2>
+
+<p>by <a href="http://www.stallman.org/";>Richard Stallman</a></p>
+
+<p>When a free program lacks capabilities that users want, that is
+unfortunate; we urge people to add what is missing. Some would go
+further and claim that a program is not even free software if it lacks
+certain functionality &mdash; that it denies freedom 0 (the freedom to
+run the program as you wish) to users or uses that it does not
+support. This argument is misguided because it is based on
+identifying capacity with freedom, and imperfection with oppression.</p>
+
+<p>Each program inevitably has certain functionalities and lacks others
+that might be desirable. There are some jobs it can do, and others it
+can't do without further work. This is the nature of software.</p>
+
+<p>The absence of key functionality can mean certain users find the
+program totally unusable. For instance, if you only understand
+graphical interfaces, a command line program may be impossible for you
+to use. If you can't see the screen, a program without a screen
+reader may be impossible for you to use. If you speak only Greek, a
+program with menus and messages in English may be impossible for you
+to use. If your programs are written in Ada, a C compiler is
+impossible for you to use. To overcome these barriers with your own
+effort is too much to demand of you. Free software really ought to
+provide the functionality you need.</p>
+
+<p>Free software really ought to provide it, but the lack of that feature
+does not make the program nonfree, because it is an imperfection,
+not oppression.</p>
+
+<p>Making a program nonfree is an injustice committed by the developer
+that denies freedom to whoever uses it. The developer deserves
+condemnation for this. It is crucial to condemn that developer,
+because nobody else can undo the injustice as long as the developer
+continues to do it. We can, and do, try to rescue the victims by
+developing a free replacement, but we can't make the nonfree program
+free.</p>
+
+<p>Developing a program without adding a certain important feature is not
+doing wrong to anyone. Rather, it's doing some good but not all the
+good that people need. Nobody in particular deserves condemnation for
+not developing the missing feature, since any capable person could do
+it. It would be ungrateful, as well as self-defeating, to single out
+the free program's authors for blame for not having done some
+additional work.</p>
+
+<p>What we can do is state that is that completing the job requires doing
+some additional work. That is constructive because it helps us
+convince someone to do that work.</p>
+
+<p>If you think a certain extension in a free program is important,
+please push for it in the way that respects our contributors. Don't
+criticize the people who contributed the useful code we have. Rather,
+look for a way to complete the job. You can urge the program's
+developers to turn their attention to the missing feature when they
+have time for more work. You can offer to help them. You can recruit
+people or raise funds to support the work.</p>
+
+</div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above -->
+<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" -->
+<div id="footer">
+<div class="unprintable">
+
+<p>Please send general FSF &amp; GNU inquiries to
+<a href="mailto:address@hidden";>&lt;address@hidden&gt;</a>.
+There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a>
+the FSF.  Broken links and other corrections or suggestions can be sent
+to <a href="mailto:address@hidden";>&lt;address@hidden&gt;</a>.</p>
+
+<p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph,
+        replace it with the translation of these two:
+
+        We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality
+        translations.  However, we are not exempt from imperfection.
+        Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard
+        to <a href="mailto:address@hidden";>
+        &lt;address@hidden&gt;</a>.</p>
+
+        <p>For information on coordinating and submitting translations of
+        our web pages, see <a
+        href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
+        README</a>. -->
+Please see the <a
+href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
+README</a> for information on coordinating and submitting translations
+of this article.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>Copyright &copy; 2014 Free Software Foundation, Inc.</p>
+
+<p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license"
+href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/us/";>Creative
+Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License</a>.</p>
+
+<!--#include virtual="/server/bottom-notes.html" -->
+
+<p class="unprintable">Updated:
+<!-- timestamp start -->
+$Date: 2014/05/27 08:19:34 $
+<!-- timestamp end -->
+</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</body>
+</html>



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