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diff --git a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_9.html b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_9.html deleted file mode 100644 index 872f86e..0000000 --- a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_9.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,191 +0,0 @@ -<!-- 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="Why-Free-Software-Needs-Free-Documentation"> - </a> - <h1 class="chapter"> - 9. Why Free Software Needs Free Documentation - </h1> - <a name="index-documentation-_0028see-also-both-FDL-and-manuals_0029-2"> - </a> - <a name="index-manuals-_0028see-also-manuals_002c-FDL_002c-and-documentation_0029-1"> - </a> - <p> - The biggest deficiency in free operating systems is not in the -software—it is the lack of good free manuals that we can include -in these systems. Many of our most important programs do not come -with full manuals. Documentation is an essential part of any software -package; when an important free software package does not come with a -free manual, that is a major gap. We have many such gaps today. - </p> - <a name="index-Perl"> - </a> - <p> - Once upon a time, many years ago, I thought I would learn Perl. I got -a copy of a free manual, but I found it hard to read. When I asked -Perl users about alternatives, they told me that there were better -introductory manuals—but those were not free. - </p> - <p> - Why was this? The authors of the good manuals had written them for - <a name="index-O_0027Reilly-Associates"> - </a> - O’Reilly Associates, which published them with restrictive -terms—no copying, no modification, source files not -available—which exclude them from the free software -community. - </p> - <p> - That wasn’t the first time this sort of thing has happened, and (to -our community’s great loss) it was far from the last. Proprietary -manual publishers have enticed a great many authors to restrict their -manuals since then. Many times I have heard a GNU user eagerly tell -me about a manual that he is writing, with which he expects to help -the - <a name="index-GNU_002c-GNU-Project-3"> - </a> - GNU Project—and then had my hopes dashed, as he proceeded to -explain that he had signed a contract with a publisher that would -restrict it so that we cannot use it. - </p> - <p> - Given that writing good English is a rare skill among programmers, we -can ill afford to lose manuals this way. - </p> - <p> - Free documentation, like free software, is a matter of freedom, not -price. The problem with these manuals was not that O’Reilly -Associates charged a price for printed copies—that in itself is -fine. (The - <a name="index-FSF_002c-and-selling-GNU-manuals"> - </a> - <a name="index-manuals_002c-GNU"> - </a> - <a name="index-GNU_002c-GNU-manuals"> - </a> - Free Software Foundation sells printed -copies of free GNU manuals, too.) But -GNU manuals are available in source code form, while these manuals are -available only on paper. GNU manuals come with permission to copy and -modify; the Perl manuals do not. These restrictions are the problems. - </p> - <p> - The criterion for a free manual is pretty much the same as for free -software: it is a matter of giving all users certain freedoms. -Redistribution (including commercial redistribution) must be -permitted, so that the manual can accompany every copy of the program, -on line or on paper. Permission for modification is crucial too. - </p> - <p> - As a general rule, I don’t believe that it is essential for people to -have permission to modify all sorts of articles and books. The issues -for writings are not necessarily the same as those for software. For -example, I don’t think you or I are obliged to give permission to -modify articles like this one, which describe our actions and our -views. - </p> - <p> - But there is a particular reason why the freedom to modify is crucial -for documentation for free software. When people exercise their right -to modify the software, and add or change its features, if they are -conscientious they will change the manual too—so they can provide -accurate and usable documentation with the modified program. A manual -which forbids programmers from being conscientious and finishing the job, or -more precisely requires them to write a new manual from scratch if -they change the program, does not fill our community’s needs. - </p> - <p> - While a blanket prohibition on modification is unacceptable, some -kinds of limits on the method of modification pose no problem. For -example, requirements to preserve the original author’s copyright -notice, the distribution terms, or the list of authors, are OK. It is -also no problem to require modified versions to include notice that -they were modified, even to have entire sections that may not be -deleted or changed, as long as these sections deal with nontechnical -topics. (Some GNU manuals have them.) - </p> - <p> - These kinds of restrictions are not a problem because, as a practical -matter, they don’t stop the conscientious programmer from adapting the -manual to fit the modified program. In other words, they don’t block -the free software community from making full use of the manual. - </p> - <p> - However, it must be possible to modify all the - <em> - technical - </em> - content of the manual, and then distribute the result through all the usual -media, through all the usual channels; otherwise, the restrictions do -block the community, the manual is not free, and so we need another -manual. - </p> - <p> - Unfortunately, it is often hard to find someone to write another -manual when a proprietary manual exists. The obstacle is that many -users think that a proprietary manual is good enough—so they -don’t see the need to write a free manual. They do not see that the -free operating system has a gap that needs filling. - </p> - <p> - Why do users think that proprietary manuals are good enough? Some -have not considered the issue. I hope this article will do something -to change that. - </p> - <a name="index-citizen-values_002c-proprietary-manuals"> - </a> - <p> - Other users consider proprietary manuals acceptable for the same -reason so many people consider proprietary software acceptable: they -judge in purely practical terms, not using freedom as a criterion. -These people are entitled to their opinions, but since those opinions -spring from values which do not include freedom, they are no guide for -those of us who do value freedom. - </p> - <a name="index-call-to-action_002c-promote-free-documentation"> - </a> - <p> - Please spread the word about this issue. We continue to lose manuals -to proprietary publishing. If we spread the word that proprietary -manuals are not sufficient, perhaps the next person who wants to help -GNU by writing documentation will realize, before it is too late, that -he must above all make it free. - </p> - <p> - We can also encourage commercial publishers to sell free, copylefted -manuals instead of proprietary ones. One way you can help this is to -check the distribution terms of a manual before you buy it, and -prefer copylefted manuals to noncopylefted ones. - </p> - <p> - <b> - Note: - </b> - We maintain a page that lists free books available from other publishers. - <a name="index-documentation-_0028see-also-both-FDL-and-manuals_0029-3"> - </a> - <a name="index-manuals-_0028see-also-manuals_002c-FDL_002c-and-documentation_0029-2"> - </a> - </p> - <hr size="2"/> - |