[ubuntu-uk] ubuntu-uk Digest, Vol 67, Issue 30

[Mark Harrison]

> I do not actually agree with this, for the record.  I think that the
> Linux commitment to Free Open Source Software (not sure what the 'L'
> stands for in Mark's acronym)


From: Alan Bell <alan.bell at theopenlearningcentre.com>

> Subject: Re: [ubuntu-uk] New Linux website - Feedback? [was: ubuntu-uk
>        Digest, Vol 67, Issue 28]
> To: ubuntu-uk at lists.ubuntu.com
> Message-ID: <4CE55475.6080409 at theopenlearningcentre.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> On 18/11/10 16:16, Sean Miller wrote:
> >
> > I do not actually agree with this, for the record.  I think that the
> > Linux commitment to Free Open Source Software (not sure what the 'L'
> > stands for in Mark's acronym)
> it stands for Libre meaning freedom as opposed to the other sort of free
> which is means cheaper than cheap. That is the important meaning of
> Free, just in English the two meanings are expressed with one word,
> which is a bit unfortunate. The Liberty side of Free is what it is all
> about and that is where you will find the real business value of the
> software we are talking about.


FLOSS was a term coined specifically to AVOID taking sides in the "Free"
(Stallman) vs. "OpenSource" (Raymond) battle that seemed to dominate the
movement in the 1990s (which is, after all, when I started using Linux.)

The L stands for:

- Libre (French/Spanish)
- Livre (Portuguese)
- Libero (Italian)

The F stands for:

- Free (English)
- Frei (German)

It's only English, by the way, that has the ambiguity problem with a single
word - free - meaning either "no charge" or "unrestricted", depending on who
you ask.

If pushed to decide between Free and OpenSource, I prefer OpenSource,
because I find the arguments of Raymond (and to a lesser extent, Lessig)
more compelling than Stallman... and I CERTAINLY stand with Linus on the
question of which version of the GPL is most appropriate :-)

However, 99 times out of 100, I would rather NOT get drawn into discussions
about "the meaning of free" and rather talk about "What Ubuntu can do for
you..." As such, I find Shuttleworth refreshing, and Ubuntu is, accordingly
a good O/S for me for many, many, reasons.

Mark
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