Posted by: Taran Rampersad
on January 10, 2004 03:36 AM
Free Software (Free with a capital "F" as defined by the FSF) obviously refers to something more specific than Open Source Software (Open Source with a capital "O" and "S" as defined by the Open Source Initiative).
I am happy that you can make the distinction.
For example, the BSD license would fall under the definition of Open Source, but not under the definition of Free.
FYI, this is true of the <A HREF="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/bsd-license.php" TITLE="opensource.org">original BSD license</a opensource.org>. Perhaps you are unfamiliar with the <A HREF="http://www.xfree86.org/3.3.6/COPYRIGHT2.html#5" TITLE="xfree86.org">modified BSD license</a xfree86.org>? It is listed as a <A HREF="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#TOCGPLCompatibleLicenses" TITLE="gnu.org">GPL-Compatible, Free Software License</a gnu.org>.
In general, when I am discussing pragmatic issues, such as software usability and the ability to change the code, I refer to the term of Open Source to cover a wider scope of software.
When I want to discuss the philosophy of software and intellectual property rights, then I will use the term Free Software in its proper meaning.
So you agree that Open Source and Free Software have different meanings, yet you believe that Open Source is a subset of Free Software? Certainly, there are common goals, but distinguishing between the two as you have said may confuse people, and you'll spend a lot of time explaining it. I know this first hand.
I would have to say that Open Source is not as intellectually usable as Free Software, with the original BSD license as an example. The more freedoms that are absent, the less intellectually usable something is.
Yes, in your original post you were talking about that software usability - but that software usability is only there because of the intellectual usability that was there before, which existed because of the Freedoms of Free Software. And that's the point.
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Re:Usability versus Freedom
Posted by: Taran Rampersad on January 10, 2004 03:36 AMFree Software (Free with a capital "F" as defined by the FSF) obviously refers to something more specific than Open Source Software (Open Source with a capital "O" and "S" as defined by the Open Source Initiative).
I am happy that you can make the distinction.
For example, the BSD license would fall under the definition of Open Source, but not under the definition of Free.
FYI, this is true of the <A HREF="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/bsd-license.php" TITLE="opensource.org">original BSD license</a opensource.org>. Perhaps you are unfamiliar with the <A HREF="http://www.xfree86.org/3.3.6/COPYRIGHT2.html#5" TITLE="xfree86.org">modified BSD license</a xfree86.org>? It is listed as a <A HREF="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#TOCGPLCompatibleLicenses" TITLE="gnu.org">GPL-Compatible, Free Software License</a gnu.org>.
In general, when I am discussing pragmatic issues, such as software usability and the ability to change the code, I refer to the term of Open Source to cover a wider scope of software.
When I want to discuss the philosophy of software and intellectual property rights, then I will use the term Free Software in its proper meaning.
So you agree that Open Source and Free Software have different meanings, yet you believe that Open Source is a subset of Free Software? Certainly, there are common goals, but distinguishing between the two as you have said may confuse people, and you'll spend a lot of time explaining it. I know this first hand.
I would have to say that Open Source is not as intellectually usable as Free Software, with the original BSD license as an example. The more freedoms that are absent, the less intellectually usable something is.
Yes, in your original post you were talking about that software usability - but that software usability is only there because of the intellectual usability that was there before, which existed because of the Freedoms of Free Software. And that's the point.
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