<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" --> <!-- Parent-Version:1.771.96 --> <!-- This page is derived from /server/standards/boilerplate.html --> <!--#set var="TAGS" value="essays aboutfs free-open" --> <!--#set var="DISABLE_TOP_ADDENDUM" value="yes" --> <title>Letter to the Editor of Dr. Dobb's Journal - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> <!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/drdobbs-letter.translist" --> <!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" --> <!--#include virtual="/philosophy/ph-breadcrumb.html" --> <!--GNUN: OUT-OF-DATE NOTICE--> <!--#include virtual="/server/top-addendum.html" --> <div class="article reduced-width"> <h2>Letter to the Editor of Dr. Dobb's Journal</h2> <div class="thin"></div> <p> Dear Editor, </p> <p> I am sure you don't realize how ironic it is to associate me and Tim O'Reilly with “opensource”.source.” </p> <p> If the House Un-American Activities Committee asked me, “Are you now or have you ever been a supporter of the open source movement,” I could proudly and cheerfully say no. I've been campaigning since 1984 for <em>free software</em>—free as in freedom. (See the GNU Manifesto, Dr. Dobb's Journal, Sept. 1985.) </p> <p> Free software means, roughly, that you are free to study what it does, free to change it, free to redistribute it, and free to publish improved versions. (See <a href="/philosophy/free-sw.html">http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html</a> for more details.) You deserve these freedoms; everyone deserves them. I wrote the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL), the target of <a href="/philosophy/gpl-american-way.html">Microsoft's greatest ire</a>, to defend these freedoms for all users, in the spirit of the free software movement. </p> <p> Years later, in 1998, another group began operating under the term “opensource”.source.” They have contributed to the free software community in practical ways, but they stand for very different views. They studiously avoid the issues of freedom and principle that we raise in the free software movement; they cite only short-term practical benefits as the reasons for what they do. </p> <p> Their stated definition for the term “open source” is somewhat broader than free software, and thus includes my work. But describing the GNU GPL as an “open source license,” as Microsoft did, is more than half misleading. The GNU GPL embodies the firm philosophy of the free software movement; it doesn't come from the open source movement. I am not a supporter of the open source movement, and never have been. </p> <p> Tim O'Reilly, by contrast, is a pillar of the open source movement, at least to hear him tell it. However, if you look at actions rather than words, most of the manuals published by O'Reilly Associates do not qualify as open source, let alone as free. The handful of free titles are exceptions. He could easily excuse himself to <abbr title="House Un-American Activities Committee">HUAC</abbr>—“Yes, I talked about open source, but I didn't really do much of it.” </p> <p> If O'Reilly moves to selling free-as-in-freedom books in the future, he could become a true supporter of the free software movement, or at least the open source movement. [Later in 2001, O'Reilly Associates published a couple of additional free books. We are grateful for this contribution to the free software community, and we look forward to more of the same.] </p> <p> With the recent founding of FSF-Europe, and the coming inauguration of FSF-India, the free software movement is going stronger than ever. Please don't lump us in with the other movement in our community. </p> <p> Sincerely, </p><p> Richard Stallman President,<address> —<br /> Richard Stallman<br /> President,<br /> Free SoftwareFoundation </p>Foundation</address> </div> </div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above --> <!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" --> <divid="footer">id="footer" role="contentinfo"> <div class="unprintable"> <p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to <a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><gnu@gnu.org></a>. There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a> the FSF. Broken links and other corrections or suggestions can be sent to <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>.</p> <p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph, replace it with the translation of these two: We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality translations. However, we are not exempt from imperfection. Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org"> <web-translators@gnu.org></a>.</p> <p>For information on coordinating andsubmittingcontributing translations of our web pages, see <a href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations README</a>. --> Please see the <a href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations README</a> for information on coordinating andsubmittingcontributing translations of this article.</p> </div> <!-- Regarding copyright, in general, standalone pages (as opposed to files generated as part of manuals) on the GNU web server should be under CC BY-ND3.0 US.4.0. Please do NOT change or remove this without talking with the webmasters or licensing team first. Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the document. For web pages, it is ok to list just the latest year the document was modified, or published. If you wish to list earlier years, that is ok too. 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