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www/philosophy linux-gnu-freedom.html
|
From: |
Therese Godefroy |
|
Subject: |
www/philosophy linux-gnu-freedom.html |
|
Date: |
Sun, 11 Jul 2021 04:48:00 -0400 (EDT) |
CVSROOT: /webcvs/www
Module name: www
Changes by: Therese Godefroy <th_g> 21/07/11 04:48:00
Modified files:
philosophy : linux-gnu-freedom.html
Log message:
Add breadcrumb, update to boilerplate 1.96, reduce line width, use
byline class for author, non-free > nonfree, http > https,
replace whole URLs in link text with more accessible wording.
CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/philosophy/linux-gnu-freedom.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.47&r2=1.48
Patches:
Index: linux-gnu-freedom.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /webcvs/www/www/philosophy/linux-gnu-freedom.html,v
retrieving revision 1.47
retrieving revision 1.48
diff -u -b -r1.47 -r1.48
--- linux-gnu-freedom.html 30 Dec 2019 11:28:30 -0000 1.47
+++ linux-gnu-freedom.html 11 Jul 2021 08:47:59 -0000 1.48
@@ -1,17 +1,24 @@
<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" -->
-<!-- Parent-Version: 1.90 -->
-<title>Linux, GNU, and freedom
+<!-- Parent-Version: 1.96 -->
+<!-- This page is derived from /server/standards/boilerplate.html -->
+<!--#set var="TAGS" value="aboutfs" -->
+<!--#set var="DISABLE_TOP_ADDENDUM" value="yes" -->
+<title>Linux, GNU, and Freedom
- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
<meta http-equiv="Keywords"
content="GNU, FSF, Free Software Foundation, Linux, freedom, software,
power, rights, Richard Stallman, rms, SIGLINUX, Joe Barr" />
<meta http-equiv="Description" content="In this essay, Linux, GNU, and
freedom, Richard M. Stallman responds to Joe Barr's account of the FSF's
dealings with the Austin Linux users group." />
<!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/linux-gnu-freedom.translist" -->
<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" -->
-<h2>Linux, GNU, and freedom</h2>
+<!--#include virtual="/philosophy/ph-breadcrumb.html" -->
+<!--GNUN: OUT-OF-DATE NOTICE-->
+<!--#include virtual="/server/top-addendum.html" -->
+<div class="reduced-width">
+<h2>Linux, GNU, and Freedom</h2>
-<p>
- by <strong>Richard M. Stallman</strong></p>
+<address class="byline">by Richard M. Stallman</address>
+<div class="article">
<p>
Since <a
href="https://web.archive.org/web/20190404115541/http://linux.sys-con.com/node/32755";>Joe
Barr's
@@ -94,7 +101,7 @@
There are people like Barr, that want their software “free
from ideology” and criticize anyone that says freedom matters.
There are people like Torvalds that will pressure our community into
- use of a non-free program, and challenge anyone who complains to
+ use of a nonfree program, and challenge anyone who complains to
provide a (technically) better program immediately or shut up.
There are people who say that technical decisions should not be
“politicized” by consideration of their social
@@ -111,11 +118,11 @@
Television Promotion Act">CBDTPA</abbr>
(formerly <abbr title="Security Systems Standards and Certification
Act">SSSCA</abbr>),
by the Broadcast “Protection” Discussion Group
- (see <a href="http://www.eff.org/";>http://www.eff.org/</a>) which
+ (see <a href="https://www.eff.org/";>www.eff.org</a>) which
proposes to prohibit free software to access digital TV broadcasts,
by software patents (Europe is now considering whether to have
software patents), by Microsoft nondisclosure agreements for vital
- protocols, and by everyone who tempts us with a non-free program
+ protocols, and by everyone who tempts us with a nonfree program
that is “better” (technically) than available free
programs. We can lose our freedom again just as we lost it the
first time, if we don't care enough to protect it.</p>
@@ -123,17 +130,17 @@
Will enough of us care? That depends on many things; among them,
how much influence the GNU Project has, and how much influence Linus
Torvalds has. The GNU Project says, “Value your
- freedom!”. Joe Barr says, “Choose between non-free and
+ freedom!”. Joe Barr says, “Choose between nonfree and
free programs on technical grounds alone!”. If people credit
Torvalds as the main developer of the GNU/Linux system, that's not
just inaccurate, it also makes his message more
- influential—and that message says, “Non-free software is
- ok; I use it and develop it myself.” If they recognize our
+ influential—and that message says, “Nonfree software is
+ OK; I use it and develop it myself.” If they recognize our
role, they will listen to us more, and the message we will give them
is, “This system exists because of people who care about
freedom. Join us, value your freedom, and together we can preserve
it.”
- See <a
href="/gnu/thegnuproject.html">http://www.gnu.org/gnu/thegnuproject.html</a>
+ See <a href="/gnu/thegnuproject.html">The GNU Project</a>
for the history.</p>
<p>
When I ask people to call the system GNU/Linux, some of them respond
@@ -150,7 +157,7 @@
Project campaign for freedom.</p>
<p>
Since this came up in the context of Linux (the kernel) and Bitkeeper,
- the non-free version control system that Linus Torvalds now uses, I'd
+ the nonfree version control system that Linus Torvalds now uses, I'd
like to address that issue as well.</p>
<h3 id="bitkeeper">Bitkeeper issue</h3>
@@ -159,10 +166,10 @@
<p>
The use of Bitkeeper for the Linux sources has a grave effect on the
free software community, because anyone who wants to closely track
- patches to Linux can only do it by installing that non-free program.
+ patches to Linux can only do it by installing that nonfree program.
There must be dozens or even hundreds of kernel hackers who have done
this. Most of them are gradually convincing themselves that it is ok
- to use non-free software, in order to avoid a sense of cognitive
+ to use nonfree software, in order to avoid a sense of cognitive
dissonance about the presence of Bitkeeper on their machines. What
can be done about this?</p>
<p>
@@ -173,14 +180,14 @@
That update process could run automatically and frequently.</p>
<p>
The FSF cannot do this, because we cannot install Bitkeeper on our
- machines. We have no non-free systems or applications on them now,
+ machines. We have no nonfree systems or applications on them now,
and our principles say we must keep it that way. Operating this
repository would have to be done by someone else who is willing to
have Bitkeeper on his machine, unless someone can find or make a way
to do it using free software.</p>
<p>
The Linux sources themselves have an even more serious problem with
- non-free software: they actually contain some. Quite a few device
+ nonfree software: they actually contain some. Quite a few device
drivers contain series of numbers that represent firmware programs to
be installed in the device. These programs are not free software. A
few numbers to be deposited into device registers are one thing; a
@@ -196,11 +203,11 @@
The Linux developers have a plan to move these firmware programs
into separate files; it will take a few years to mature, but when
completed it will solve the secondary problem; we could make a
- “free Linux” version that doesn't have the non-free
+ “free Linux” version that doesn't have the nonfree
firmware files. That by itself won't do much good if most people
- use the non-free “official” version of Linux. That may
+ use the nonfree “official” version of Linux. That may
well occur, because on many platforms the free version won't run
- without the non-free firmware. The “free Linux” project
+ without the nonfree firmware. The “free Linux” project
will have to figure out what the firmware does and write source code
for it, perhaps in assembler language for whatever embedded
processor it runs on. It's a daunting job. It would be less
@@ -210,7 +217,7 @@
that the job is not necessary.</p>
<p>
Linux, the kernel, is often thought of as the flagship of free
- software, yet its current version is partially non-free. How did
+ software, yet its current version is partially nonfree. How did
this happen? This problem, like the decision to use Bitkeeper,
reflects the attitude of the original developer of Linux, a person
who thinks that “technically better” is more important
@@ -219,19 +226,23 @@
Value your freedom, or you will lose it, teaches history.
“Don't bother us with politics,” respond those who don't
want to learn.</p>
+<div class="column-limit"></div>
<p id="update">
<strong>Update:</strong> Since 2005, BitKeeper
is no longer used to manage the Linux kernel source tree. See the
article, <a href="/philosophy/mcvoy.html">Thank You, Larry
- McVoy</a>. The Linux sources still contain non-free firmware blobs,
+ McVoy</a>. The Linux sources still contain nonfree firmware blobs,
but as of January 2008,
a <a href="//directory.fsf.org/project/linux"> free version of
Linux</a> is now maintained for use in free GNU/Linux
distributions.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
</div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above -->
<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" -->
-<div id="footer">
+<div id="footer" role="contentinfo">
<div class="unprintable">
<p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to <a
@@ -249,13 +260,13 @@
to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org";>
<web-translators@gnu.org></a>.</p>
- <p>For information on coordinating and submitting translations of
+ <p>For information on coordinating and contributing 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>
+information on coordinating and contributing translations of this article.</p>
</div>
<p>Copyright © 2002, 2017, 2019 Richard M. Stallman</p>
@@ -268,10 +279,10 @@
<p class="unprintable">Updated:
<!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2019/12/30 11:28:30 $
+$Date: 2021/07/11 08:47:59 $
<!-- timestamp end -->
</p>
</div>
-</div>
+</div><!-- for class="inner", starts in the banner include -->
</body>
</html>
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