www/philosophy free-sw.html

[Therese Godefroy]

CVSROOT:        /webcvs/www
Module name:    www
Changes by:     Therese Godefroy <th_g> 16/11/16 21:34:47

Modified files:
        philosophy     : free-sw.html 

Log message:
        After discussion with RMS: rearrange paragraphs, add subheaders, move 
the fsf-licensing include.

CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/philosophy/free-sw.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.148&r2=1.149

Patches:
Index: free-sw.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /webcvs/www/www/philosophy/free-sw.html,v
retrieving revision 1.148
retrieving revision 1.149
diff -u -b -r1.148 -r1.149
--- free-sw.html        20 Aug 2016 14:28:57 -0000      1.148
+++ free-sw.html        16 Nov 2016 21:34:47 -0000      1.149
@@ -10,10 +10,10 @@
 <!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" -->
 
 <h2>What is free software?</h2>
-<!--#include virtual="/licenses/fsf-licensing.html" -->
 
 <h3>The Free Software Definition</h3>
 
+<!--#include virtual="/licenses/fsf-licensing.html" -->
 <blockquote>
 <p>
 The free software definition presents the criteria for whether a
@@ -49,6 +49,8 @@
 an instrument of unjust power</a>.
 </p>
 
+<h4> The four essential freedoms</h4>
+
 <p>
 A program is free software if the program's users have the
 four essential freedoms:
@@ -85,23 +87,21 @@
 are free.  However, if we plan to modify A so that it doesn't use B,
 only A needs to be free; B is not pertinent to that plan.</p>
 
+<p>
+&ldquo;Free software&rdquo; does not mean &ldquo;noncommercial&rdquo;.  A free
+program must be available for commercial use, commercial development,
+and commercial distribution.  Commercial development of free software
+is no longer unusual; such free commercial software is very important.
+You may have paid money to get copies of free software, or you may have
+obtained copies at no charge.  But regardless of how you got your copies,
+you always have the freedom to copy and change the software, even to 
+<a href="/philosophy/selling.html">sell copies</a>.
+</p>
+
 <p>The rest of this page clarifies certain points about what makes
 specific freedoms adequate or not.</p>
 
-<p>Freedom to distribute (freedoms 2 and 3) means you are free to
-redistribute copies, either with or without modifications, either
-gratis or charging a fee for distribution, to
-<a href="#exportcontrol">anyone anywhere</a>.  Being free to do these
-things means (among other things) that you do not have to ask or pay
-for permission to do so.
-</p>
-
-<p>
-You should also have the freedom to make modifications and use them
-privately in your own work or play, without even mentioning that they
-exist.  If you do publish your changes, you should not be required to
-notify anyone in particular, or in any particular way.
-</p>
+<h4>The freedom to run the program as you wish</h4>
 
 <p>
 The freedom to run the program means the freedom for any kind of person
@@ -120,16 +120,7 @@
 functionality the program has, or whether it is useful for what you
 want to do.</p>
 
-<p>
-The freedom to redistribute copies must include binary or executable
-forms of the program, as well as source code, for both modified and
-unmodified versions.  (Distributing programs in runnable form is necessary
-for conveniently installable free operating systems.)  It is OK if there
-is no way to produce a binary or executable form for a certain program
-(since some languages don't support that feature), but you must have the
-freedom to redistribute such forms should you find or develop a way to
-make them.
-</p>
+<h4>The freedom to study the source code and make changes</h4>
 
 <p>
 In order for freedoms 1 and 3 (the freedom to make changes and the
@@ -160,6 +151,29 @@
 </p>
 
 <p>
+Whether a change constitutes an improvement is a subjective matter.
+If your right to modify a program is limited, in substance, to changes that
+someone else considers an improvement, that program is not free.
+</p>
+
+<h4>The freedom to redistribute if you wish: basic requirements</h4>
+
+<p>Freedom to distribute (freedoms 2 and 3) means you are free to
+redistribute copies, either with or without modifications, either
+gratis or charging a fee for distribution, to
+<a href="#exportcontrol">anyone anywhere</a>.  Being free to do these
+things means (among other things) that you do not have to ask or pay
+for permission to do so.
+</p>
+
+<p>
+You should also have the freedom to make modifications and use them
+privately in your own work or play, without even mentioning that they
+exist.  If you do publish your changes, you should not be required to
+notify anyone in particular, or in any particular way.
+</p>
+
+<p>
 Freedom 3 includes the freedom to release your modified versions
 as free software.  A free license may also permit other ways of
 releasing them; in other words, it does not have to be
@@ -169,15 +183,20 @@
 </p>
 
 <p>
-In order for these freedoms to be real, they must be permanent and
-irrevocable as long as you do nothing wrong; if the developer of the
-software has the power to revoke the license, or retroactively add
-restrictions to its terms, without your doing anything wrong to give
-cause, the software is not free.
+The freedom to redistribute copies must include binary or executable
+forms of the program, as well as source code, for both modified and
+unmodified versions.  (Distributing programs in runnable form is necessary
+for conveniently installable free operating systems.)  It is OK if there
+is no way to produce a binary or executable form for a certain program
+(since some languages don't support that feature), but you must have the
+freedom to redistribute such forms should you find or develop a way to
+make them.
 </p>
 
+<h4>Copyleft</h4>
+
 <p>
-However, certain kinds of rules about the manner of distributing free
+Certain kinds of rules about the manner of distributing free
 software are acceptable, when they don't conflict with the central
 freedoms.  For example, <a href="/copyleft/copyleft.html">copyleft</a>
 (very simply stated) is the rule that when redistributing the program,
@@ -199,25 +218,10 @@
 relate to each other.
 </p>
 
-<p>
-&ldquo;Free software&rdquo; does not mean &ldquo;noncommercial&rdquo;.  A free
-program must be available for commercial use, commercial development,
-and commercial distribution.  Commercial development of free software
-is no longer unusual; such free commercial software is very important.
-You may have paid money to get copies of free software, or you may have
-obtained copies at no charge.  But regardless of how you got your copies,
-you always have the freedom to copy and change the software, even to 
-<a href="/philosophy/selling.html">sell copies</a>.
-</p>
-
-<p>
-Whether a change constitutes an improvement is a subjective matter.
-If your right to modify a program is limited, in substance, to changes that
-someone else considers an improvement, that program is not free.
-</p>
+<h4>Rules about packaging and distribution details</h4>
 
 <p>
-However, rules about how to package a modified version are acceptable,
+Rules about how to package a modified version are acceptable,
 if they don't substantively limit your freedom to release modified
 versions, or your freedom to make and use modified versions privately.
 Thus, it is acceptable for the license to require that you change the
@@ -249,6 +253,8 @@
 facility that allows you to specify the original program's name as an
 alias for the modified version.</p>
 
+<h4>Export regulations</h4>
+
 <p>
 Sometimes government <a id="exportcontrol">export control regulations</a>
 and trade sanctions can constrain your freedom to distribute copies of
@@ -271,6 +277,16 @@
 software nonfree.
 </p>
 
+<h4>Legal considerations</h4>
+
+<p>
+In order for these freedoms to be real, they must be permanent and
+irrevocable as long as you do nothing wrong; if the developer of the
+software has the power to revoke the license, or retroactively add
+restrictions to its terms, without your doing anything wrong to give
+cause, the software is not free.
+</p>
+
 <p>
 A free license may not require compliance with the license of a
 nonfree program.  Thus, for instance, if a license requires you to
@@ -285,6 +301,8 @@
 law applies, or where litigation must be done, or both.
 </p>
 
+<h4>Contract-based licenses</h4>
+
 <p>
 Most free software licenses are based on copyright, and there are limits
 on what kinds of requirements can be imposed through copyright.  If a
@@ -304,6 +322,8 @@
 it is nonfree.
 </p>
 
+<h4>Use the right words when talking about free software</h4>
+
 <p>
 When talking about free software, it is best to avoid using terms
 like &ldquo;give away&rdquo; or &ldquo;for free,&rdquo; because those terms 
imply that
@@ -315,6 +335,8 @@
 &ldquo;free software&rdquo;</a> into various languages.
 </p>
 
+<h4>How we interpret these criteria</h4>
+
 <p>
 Finally, note that criteria such as those stated in this free software
 definition require careful thought for their interpretation.  To decide
@@ -329,6 +351,8 @@
 it easier to see why certain licenses do or don't qualify.
 </p>
 
+<h4>Get help with free licenses</h4>
+
 <p>
 If you are interested in whether a specific license qualifies as a free
 software license, see our <a href="/licenses/license-list.html">list
@@ -569,7 +593,7 @@
 
 <p class="unprintable">Updated:
 <!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2016/08/20 14:28:57 $
+$Date: 2016/11/16 21:34:47 $
 <!-- timestamp end -->
 </p>
 </div>