From 1ae0306a3cf2ea27f60b2d205789994d260c2cce Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Christian Grothoff Date: Sun, 11 Oct 2020 13:29:45 +0200 Subject: add i18n FSFS --- talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_10.html | 243 ------------------------ 1 file changed, 243 deletions(-) delete mode 100644 talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_10.html (limited to 'talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_10.html') diff --git a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_10.html b/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_10.html deleted file mode 100644 index 6b36f2d..0000000 --- a/talermerchantdemos/blog/articles/scrap1_10.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,243 +0,0 @@ - - - - - -

- 10. Selling Free Software -

- - -

- Many people believe that the spirit of the - - - GNU Project is that you -should not charge money for distributing copies of software, or that -you should charge as little as possible—just enough to cover -the cost. This is a misunderstanding. -

-

- Actually, we encourage people who redistribute free software -to charge as much as they wish or can. If this seems surprising to -you, please read on. -

-

- The word “free” has two legitimate general meanings; it can refer -either to freedom or to price. When we speak of “free software,” -we’re talking about freedom, not price. (Think of “free speech,” -not “free beer.”) Specifically, it means that a user is free to run -the program, change the program, and redistribute the program with or -without changes. -

-

- Free programs are sometimes distributed gratis, and sometimes for a -substantial price. Often the same program is available in both ways -from different places. The program is free regardless of the price, -because users have freedom in using it. -

-

- Nonfree programs are usually sold for a high price, but sometimes a store will give you a copy at no charge. That doesn’t make it free software, though. Price or no price, the program is nonfree because users don’t have freedom. -

-

- Since free software is not a matter of price, a low price doesn’t make -the software -free, or even closer to free. So if you are redistributing copies of free -software, you might as well charge a substantial fee and - - make -some money. - - Redistributing free software is a good and -legitimate activity; if you do it, you might as well make a profit -from it. -

- - - - -

- Free software is a community project, and everyone who depends on it -ought to look for ways to contribute to building the community. For a -distributor, the way to do this is to give a part of the profit to free software development projects or to the - - - - - - - Free Software Foundation. This way you can -advance the world of free software. -

-

- - Distributing free software is an opportunity to raise funds for development. Don’t waste it! - -

-

- In order to contribute funds, you need to have some extra. If you -charge too low a fee, you won’t have anything to spare to support -development. -

- - -

- Will a Higher Distribution Price Hurt Some Users? -

-

- People sometimes worry that a high distribution fee will put free -software out of range for users who don’t have a lot of money. With -proprietary software, a high price does exactly that—but free software -is different. -

-

- The difference is that free software naturally tends to spread around, -and there are many ways to get it. -

-

- Software hoarders try their damnedest to stop you from running a -proprietary program without paying the standard price. If this price -is high, that does make it hard for some users to use the program. -

-

- With free software, users don’t - - have - - to pay the -distribution fee in order to use the software. They can copy the -program from a friend who has a copy, or with the help of a friend who -has network access. Or several users can join together, split the -price of one CD-ROM, then each in turn can install the software. A high -CD-ROM price is not a major obstacle when the software is free. -

- - -

- Will a Higher Distribution Price Discourage Use of Free Software? -

- - -

- Another common concern is for the popularity of free software. People -think that a high price for distribution would reduce the number of -users, or that a low price is likely to encourage users. -

-

- This is true for proprietary software—but free software is -different. With so many ways to get copies, the price of distribution -service has less effect on popularity. -

- - -

- In the long run, how many people use free software is determined -mainly by - - how much free software can do, - - and how easy it -is to use. Many users do not make freedom their priority; they -may continue to use proprietary software if -free software can’t do all the jobs they want done. Thus, if we want -to increase the number of users in the long run, we should above all - - develop more free software. - -

- - - - -

- The most direct way to do this is by writing needed -free software or manuals yourself. But if you do -distribution rather than writing, the best way you can help is by - - - raising funds for others to write them. -

- - -

- The Term “Selling Software” Can Be Confusing Too -

-

- Strictly speaking, “selling” means trading goods for -money. Selling a copy of a free program is legitimate, and we -encourage it. -

-

- However, when people think of “selling software,” -they usually imagine doing it the way most companies do it: making the -software proprietary rather than free. -

-

- So unless you’re going to draw distinctions carefully, the way this -article does, we suggest it is better to avoid using the term -“selling software” and choose some other wording instead. -For example, you could say “distributing free software for a -fee”—that is unambiguous. -

- - -

- High or Low Fees, and the GNU GPL -

- - -

- Except for one special situation, the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL) -has no requirements about how much you can charge for distributing a -copy of free software. You can charge nothing, a penny, a dollar, or -a billion dollars. It’s up to you, and the marketplace, so don’t -complain to us if nobody wants to pay a billion dollars for a -copy. -

-

- The one exception is in the case where binaries are distributed -without the corresponding complete source code. Those who do this are -required by the GNU GPL to provide source code on subsequent request. -Without a limit on the fee for the source code, they would be able set -a fee too large for anyone to pay—such as a billion -dollars—and thus pretend to release source code while in truth -concealing it. So in this case we have to limit the fee for source in order -to ensure the user’s freedom. In ordinary situations, however, there -is no such justification for limiting distribution fees, so we do not -limit them. -

-

- Sometimes companies whose activities cross the line stated in the GNU -GPL plead for permission, saying that they “won’t charge -money for the GNU software” or such like. That won’t get them anywhere -with us. Free software is about freedom, and enforcing the GPL is -defending freedom. When we defend users’ freedom, we are not -distracted by side issues such as how much of a distribution fee is -charged. Freedom is the issue, the whole issue, and the only issue. - - - - -

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