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diff --git a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_12.html b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_12.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d482bac --- /dev/null +++ b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_12.html @@ -0,0 +1,304 @@ +<!-- This is the second edition of Free Software, Free Society: Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman. + +Free Software Foundation + +51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor + +Boston, MA 02110-1335 +Copyright C 2002, 2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc. +Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire book are permitted +worldwide, without royalty, in any medium, provided this notice is +preserved. Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations +of this book from the original English into another language provided +the translation has been approved by the Free Software Foundation and +the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on all +copies. + +ISBN 978-0-9831592-0-9 +Cover design by Rob Myers. + +Cover photograph by Peter Hinely. + --> + + + <a name="What_0027s-in-a-Name_003f"> + </a> + <h1 class="chapter"> + 12. What’s in a Name? + </h1> + <a name="index-nonfree-software_002c-insidious-and-nefarious-addition-of"> + </a> + <a name="index-terminology_002c-importance-of-using-correct-1"> + </a> + <a name="index-GNU_002c-GNU-Project-5"> + </a> + <a name="index-_0060_0060Linux_002c_0027_0027-erroneous-use-of-term-_0028see-also-open-source_0029-1"> + </a> + <a name="index-GNU_002c-GNU_002fLinux-v_002e-_0060_0060Linux_0027_0027-_0028see-also-both-open-source-and-terminology_0029"> + </a> + <a name="index-GNU_002fLinux-v_002e-_0060_0060Linux_0027_0027-_0028see-also-both-open-source-and-terminology_0029"> + </a> + <p> + Names convey meanings; our choice of names determines the meaning of +what we say. An inappropriate name gives people the wrong idea. A +rose by any other name would smell as sweet—but if you call it a pen, +people will be rather disappointed when they try to write with it. +And if you call pens “roses,” people may not realize what +they are good for. If you call our operating system +Linux, that conveys a mistaken idea of the system’s +origin, history, and purpose. If you call +it GNU/Linux, that conveys (though not in detail) an accurate idea. + </p> + <p> + Does this really matter for our community? Is it important whether people +know the system’s origin, history, and purpose? Yes—because people +who forget history are often condemned to repeat it. The Free World +that has developed around GNU/Linux +is not guaranteed to survive; the problems that +led us to develop GNU are not completely eradicated, and they threaten +to come back. + </p> + <p> + When I explain why it’s appropriate to call the operating system +GNU/Linux rather than Linux, people +sometimes respond this way: + </p> + <blockquote class="smallquotation"> + <p> + Granted that the GNU Project deserves credit for this work, is + it really worth a fuss when people don’t give credit? Isn’t the + important thing that the job was done, not who did it? You + ought to relax, take pride in the job well done, and not worry + about the credit. + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + This would be wise advice, if only the situation were like that—if +the job were done and it were time to relax. If only that were true! +But challenges abound, and this is no time to take the future for +granted. Our community’s strength rests on commitment to freedom and +cooperation. Using the name GNU/Linux is a way for people to remind +themselves and inform others of these goals. + </p> + <p> + It is possible to write good free software without thinking of GNU; +much good work has been done in the name of Linux also. But the term +“Linux” has been associated ever since it was first coined +with a philosophy that does not make a commitment to the freedom to +cooperate. As the name is increasingly used by business, we will +have even more trouble making it connect with community spirit. + </p> + <a name="index-developers_002c-proprietary-software-1"> + </a> + <a name="index-traps_002c-_0060_0060Linux_0027_0027-distribution-companies"> + </a> + <a name="index-citizen-values_002c-convenience-v_002e-3"> + </a> + <p> + A great challenge to the future of free software comes from the +tendency of the “Linux” distribution companies to add +nonfree software to GNU/Linux +in the name of convenience and power. All the major commercial +distribution developers do this; none limits itself to free software. +Most of them do not clearly identify the nonfree +packages in their distributions. Many even develop nonfree software +and add it to the system. Some outrageously advertise +“Linux” systems that are “licensed per seat,” +which give the user as much freedom as Microsoft + <a name="index-Windows"> + </a> + Windows. + </p> + <p> + People try to justify adding nonfree software in the name of the +“popularity of Linux”—in effect, valuing popularity above +freedom. Sometimes this is openly admitted. For instance, + <a name="index-Wired-magazine"> + </a> + <cite> + Wired + </cite> + magazine said that + <a name="index-McMillan_002c-Robert"> + </a> + Robert McMillan, editor of + <a name="index-Linux-Magazine"> + </a> + <cite> + Linux Magazine + </cite> + , “feels +that the move toward open source software should be fueled by +technical, rather than political, decisions.” + <a href="#FOOT28" name="DOCF28"> + (28) + </a> + And + <a name="index-Caldera"> + </a> + Caldera’s +CEO openly urged +users to drop the goal of freedom and work instead for the +“popularity of Linux.” + </p> + <a name="index-citizen-values_002c-production-v_002e-freedom-and-way-of-life"> + </a> + <p> + Adding nonfree software to the GNU/Linux system may increase the +popularity, if by popularity we mean the number of people using some +of GNU/Linux in combination with +nonfree software. But at the same time, it implicitly encourages the +community to accept nonfree software as a good thing, and forget the +goal of freedom. It is not good to drive faster if you can’t stay on the +road. + </p> + <a name="index-libraries-_0028comp_002e_0029_002c-as-traps"> + </a> + <a name="index-traps_002c-nonfree-libraries-1"> + </a> + <a name="index-traps_002c-nonfree-programming-tools"> + </a> + <a name="index-developers_002c-traps-for-1"> + </a> + <a name="index-Motif-_0028see-also-LessTif_0029-2"> + </a> + <a name="index-LessTif-_0028see-also-Motif_0029-2"> + </a> + <p> + When the nonfree “add-on” is a library or programming +tool, it can become a trap for free software developers. When they +write free software that depends on the nonfree package, their +software cannot be part of a completely free system. Motif and + <a name="index-Qt-2"> + </a> + Qt trapped large amounts of free software in this way in the past, +creating problems whose solutions took years. Motif remained somewhat +of a problem until it became obsolete and was no longer used. Later, + <a name="index-Sun-Microsystems"> + </a> + Sun’s nonfree + <a name="index-Java"> + </a> + Java implementation had a similar effect: the Java Trap, +fortunately now mostly corrected. + </p> + <p> + If our community keeps moving in this direction, it could redirect the +future of GNU/Linux into a mosaic of free and nonfree components. +Five years from now, we will surely still have plenty of free +software; but if we are not careful, it will hardly be usable without +the nonfree software that users expect to find with it. If this +happens, our campaign for freedom will have failed. + </p> + <p> + If releasing free alternatives were simply a matter of programming, +solving future problems might become easier as our community’s +development resources increase. But we face obstacles that threaten to +make this harder: laws that prohibit free software. As software patents +mount up, and as laws like the + <a name="index-DMCA-_0028see-also-_0060_0060Right-to-Read_002c_0027_0027-fair-use_002c-DRM_002c-and-libraries_0029"> + </a> + Digital Millennium Copyright Act are used to prohibit the development of free software +for important jobs such as viewing a DVD or listening to a + <a name="index-RealAudio-stream"> + </a> + RealAudio +stream, we will find ourselves with no clear way to fight the patented +and secret data formats except to + <em> + reject the nonfree programs +that use them. + </em> + </p> + <a name="index-call-to-action_002c-fight-for-freedom"> + </a> + <p> + Meeting these challenges will require many different kinds of effort. +But what we need above all, to confront any kind of challenge, is to +remember the goal of freedom to cooperate. We can’t expect a mere +desire for powerful, reliable software to motivate people to make +great efforts. We need the kind of determination that people have +when they fight for their freedom and their community—determination +to keep on for years and not give up. + </p> + <p> + In our community, this goal and this determination emanate mainly from +the + <a name="index-GNU_002c-GNU-Project-6"> + </a> + GNU Project. We’re the ones who talk about freedom and community +as something to stand firm for; the organizations that speak of +“Linux” normally don’t say this. The magazines about +“Linux” are typically full of ads for nonfree software; +the companies that package “Linux” add nonfree software +to the system; other companies “support Linux” by +developing nonfree applications to run on GNU/Linux; the user groups +for “Linux” typically invite salesmen to present those +applications. The main place people in our community are likely to +come across the idea of freedom and determination is in the GNU +Project. + </p> + <p> + But when people come across it, will they feel it relates to them? + </p> + <p> + People who know they are using a system that came out of the GNU +Project can see a direct relationship between themselves and GNU. +They won’t automatically agree with our philosophy, but at least they +will see a reason to think seriously about it. In contrast, people +who consider themselves “Linux users,” and believe that +the GNU Project “developed tools which proved to be useful in +Linux,” typically perceive only an indirect relationship between +GNU and themselves. They may just ignore the GNU philosophy when they +come across it. + </p> + <p> + The GNU Project is idealistic, and anyone encouraging idealism today +faces a great obstacle: the prevailing ideology encourages people to +dismiss idealism as “impractical.” Our idealism has been +extremely practical: it is the reason we have a +free GNU/Linux operating system. +People who love this system ought to know that it is our idealism made +real. + </p> + <a name="index-call-to-action_002c-use-correct-terminology-_0028see-also-terminology_0029-2"> + </a> + <p> + If “the job” really were done, if there were nothing at +stake except credit, perhaps it would be wiser to let the matter drop. +But we are not in that position. To inspire people to do the work +that needs to be done, we need to be recognized for what we have +already done. Please help us, by calling the operating +system GNU/Linux. + <a name="index-nonfree-software_002c-insidious-and-nefarious-addition-of-1"> + </a> + <a name="index-terminology_002c-importance-of-using-correct-2"> + </a> + <a name="index-_0060_0060Linux_002c_0027_0027-erroneous-use-of-term-_0028see-also-open-source_0029-2"> + </a> + <a name="index-GNU_002fLinux-v_002e-_0060_0060Linux_0027_0027-_0028see-also-both-open-source-and-terminology_0029-1"> + </a> + <a name="index-GNU_002c-GNU_002fLinux-v_002e-_0060_0060Linux_0027_0027-_0028see-also-both-open-source-and-terminology_0029-1"> + </a> + </p> + <div class="footnote"> + <hr> + <h3> + Footnotes + </h3> + <h3> + <a href="#DOCF28" name="FOOT28"> + (28) + </a> + </h3> + <p> + Michelle Finley, “French Pols Say, ‘Open It Up,’” 24 April 2000, + <a href="http://wired.com/politics/law/news/2000/04/35862"> + http://wired.com/politics/law/news/2000/04/35862 + </a> + . + </p> + </hr> + </div> + <hr size="2"/> + |