[Fsf-friends] Re: Please free Free Software from do(o)m

[Ramanraj K]

Krishna Pagadala wrote:

>Are the following ungramatical?
>1) "Freedom Rides"
>2) "Freedom Train"
>3) "Freedom Bus"
>All of the above were used in the civil rights
>movement USA.
>   Choice of words must convey a message, and if
>gramatical rules need to be broken, so be it.
>
If you treat Freedom as a Proper Adjective then it would mean that the 
software you use is a device for enforcing civil rights and nothing 
else.  One could rightfully use free software for making civil rights a 
reality, and further put it to good use in many, many other areas. 
 Please read my posting to this list titled "GNU Freedom could become 
the mother of all freedoms" in this regard. [available at:  
http://gnu.org.in/pipermail/fsf-friends/2003-September/001190.html ] If 
you ever write a lexical parser using flex, bison or any other free 
software, that could check constitutionality of code, then you could 
legitimately call it Freedom Software: A piece of code that makes your 
constitutional rights a reality.  A text editor that only edits what 
code you write, could be referred to only a free software and not as 
Freedom Software.

>>The free software movement has a long history now,
>>and it is inappropriate to invent new phrases for a 
>>well known and widely used  expression that clearly 
>>points to software released under the GPL and 
>>like free licenses.
>>    
>>
>
>  True, for the technical community who already know
>about GNU/FSF. But I want to be able to talk to people
>who have no clue about software, and freedom is the
>word that resonates most easily.
>
The free software movement greatly obliterates the line between 
technical community and general users, with the availability of source 
code, and free documentation, that could be understood by a mature 
student of High School, who can take the time and effort for it.  Using 
the right terminology from the start is very important and would make 
all the difference in taking the free software movement forward with 
more vigour and strength.

>  Also "free software" is only a part of the free
>software movement. I think the philosophy of FSM is
>more important.
>
Absolutely.  We share our thoughts here only because of our deep 
conviction about the truth and validity of the philosophy behind the 
free software movement.

>  I want people to be thinking in terms of freedoms
>lost when using closed software, and more importantly
>to think about the bigger issue of copyright. 
>
.. please use copyleft ;-)