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Richard Stallman and the Connotations of Language

Posted by Scott_Ruecker on · 2 comments
ITManagement; By Bruce Byfield
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Anyone looking for a summary of the free software movement's concerns needs only to look at Richard M. Stallman's essay "Some Confusing or Loaded Words and Phrases that are Worth Avoiding." Behind the modest title, the essay lists all the classic free software concerns, ranging from insisting on the term "GNU/Linux" for the operating system usually called Linux to efforts to emphasize the dangers of so-called Digital Rights Management and Trusted Computing.

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Comments (2)

Forget the article and read the RMS statement itself.

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#piracy

In two days the two luminaries of Linux/GNULinux have write-ups here! What a treat.
Well, I think the article is a good analysis of RMS' essay. It's important to understand how framing a debate shapes the debate itself. It helps for people to see why the various disagreements arise, and why, for example, people like myself reject the use of "commercial" to describe "non-Free". Many might write me off as a "religious fanatic" for choosing to do so, but Bruce has done an excellent job of helping his readers see that how we use words plays an important role in the general debate around Free Software.

But you are correct, the essay itself is worth a read. It was one of the essays I read early on that helped shape my own thinking.

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