[GNUz] What did the FSF ever do for us?

[Timothy Musson]

Timothy Musson wrote:
> Rik Tindall wrote:
> > Wanting to draw a line under this (FOSS/FLOSS debate/divergence), to get 
> > onto something more useful, I promised these closing points..

> I'll try to make this my last post in this thread, too.

Argh! Why did I have to say that?! :^)

> > From what I've read 'FLOSS' was picked up as an intentional extension 
> > of the OSS (brand) attack on Free Software's brand (to demarcate "Free" 
> > as _limited_ to "Libre" in meaning, in the way that Don sought to push 
> > the issue too), to advance Europe's leverage in the US-dominated field. 
> > So it's a choice of whether or not you want to join that attack on the 
> > specific Free Software brand, or take the time to explain that Free 
> > Software _includes_ the libre meaning, in every way, already, without 
> > the need to modify the Free Software brand.
[...]
> > The 'FLOSS' campaign is an injunction to delimit "Free" usage, and you, 
> > nor anyone, have no legal right to intercede in Free Software branding 
> > in this way, as I see it.

>From a transcript of an RMS interview:

  "There are many people, who, for instance, want to study our
  community, or write about our community, and want to avoid taking sides
  between the Free Software movement and the Open Source movement. Often
  they have heard primarily of the Open Source movement, and they think
  that we all support it. So, I point out to them that, in fact, our
  community was created by the Free Software movement. but then they often
  say that they are not addressing that particular disagreement, and that
  they would like to mention both movements without taking a side.
  So I recommend the term Free/Libre Open Source Software as a way they
  can mention both movements and give equal weight to both. And they
  abbreviate FLOSS once they have said what it stands for. So I think
  that's a ... If you don't want to take a side between the two movements,
  then yes, by all means, use that term. Cause what I hope you will do is
  take the side of the free software movement. But not everybody has
  to. The term is legitimate."

  http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/audio/rms-interview-edinburgh-040527.txt


An example of RMS using the term FLOSS himself:

  "What is Sun's new contribution to the FLOSS community?"

  http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/sun-in-night-time.html


(Again, I'm not saying you ought to use the term FLOSS if you don't like
it. Just repeating - with backup from the horse's mouth this time - that
FLOSS is a perfectly acceptable term.)

Tim
-- 
trmusson@ihug.co.nz
http://www.russsoc.org.nz/