annotate man/gnu.texi @ 48913:1a0e4f18a736

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author Richard M. Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
date Sat, 21 Dec 2002 18:19:13 +0000
parents 730f77edf073
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1 @c This is part of the Emacs manual.
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2 @c Copyright (C) 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1995 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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3 @ifclear justgnu
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4 @node Manifesto,, MS-DOS, Top
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5 @unnumbered The GNU Manifesto
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6 @end ifclear
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7 @ifset justgnu
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8 Copyright (C) 1985, 1993, 2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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9
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10 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
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11 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
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12 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
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13 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
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14 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
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15 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
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16 License'' in the Emacs manual.
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17
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18 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
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19 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
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20 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
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21
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22 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
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23 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
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24 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
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25 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
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26
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27 @node Top
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28 @top The GNU Manifesto
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29 @end ifset
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30
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31 @quotation
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32 The GNU Manifesto which appears below was written by Richard Stallman at
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33 the beginning of the GNU project, to ask for participation and support.
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34 For the first few years, it was updated in minor ways to account for
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35 developments, but now it seems best to leave it unchanged as most people
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36 have seen it.
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37
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38 Since that time, we have learned about certain common misunderstandings
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39 that different wording could help avoid. Footnotes added in 1993 help
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40 clarify these points.
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41
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42 For up-to-date information about the available GNU software, please see
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43 the latest issue of the GNU's Bulletin. The list is much too long to
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44 include here.
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45 @end quotation
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46
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47 @unnumberedsec What's GNU? Gnu's Not Unix!
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48
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49 GNU, which stands for Gnu's Not Unix, is the name for the complete
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50 Unix-compatible software system which I am writing so that I can give it
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51 away free to everyone who can use it.@footnote{The wording here was
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52 careless. The intention was that nobody would have to pay for
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53 @emph{permission} to use the GNU system. But the words don't make this
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54 clear, and people often interpret them as saying that copies of GNU
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55 should always be distributed at little or no charge. That was never the
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56 intent; later on, the manifesto mentions the possibility of companies
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57 providing the service of distribution for a profit. Subsequently I have
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58 learned to distinguish carefully between ``free'' in the sense of
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59 freedom and ``free'' in the sense of price. Free software is software
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60 that users have the freedom to distribute and change. Some users may
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61 obtain copies at no charge, while others pay to obtain copies---and if
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62 the funds help support improving the software, so much the better. The
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63 important thing is that everyone who has a copy has the freedom to
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64 cooperate with others in using it.} Several other volunteers are helping
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65 me. Contributions of time, money, programs and equipment are greatly
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66 needed.
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67
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68 So far we have an Emacs text editor with Lisp for writing editor commands,
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69 a source level debugger, a yacc-compatible parser generator, a linker, and
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70 around 35 utilities. A shell (command interpreter) is nearly completed. A
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71 new portable optimizing C compiler has compiled itself and may be released
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72 this year. An initial kernel exists but many more features are needed to
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73 emulate Unix. When the kernel and compiler are finished, it will be
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74 possible to distribute a GNU system suitable for program development. We
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75 will use @TeX{} as our text formatter, but an nroff is being worked on. We
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76 will use the free, portable X window system as well. After this we will
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77 add a portable Common Lisp, an Empire game, a spreadsheet, and hundreds of
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78 other things, plus on-line documentation. We hope to supply, eventually,
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79 everything useful that normally comes with a Unix system, and more.
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80
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81 GNU will be able to run Unix programs, but will not be identical to Unix.
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82 We will make all improvements that are convenient, based on our experience
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83 with other operating systems. In particular, we plan to have longer
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84 file names, file version numbers, a crashproof file system, file name
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85 completion perhaps, terminal-independent display support, and perhaps
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86 eventually a Lisp-based window system through which several Lisp programs
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87 and ordinary Unix programs can share a screen. Both C and Lisp will be
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88 available as system programming languages. We will try to support UUCP,
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89 MIT Chaosnet, and Internet protocols for communication.
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90
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91 GNU is aimed initially at machines in the 68000/16000 class with virtual
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92 memory, because they are the easiest machines to make it run on. The extra
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93 effort to make it run on smaller machines will be left to someone who wants
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94 to use it on them.
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95
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96 To avoid horrible confusion, please pronounce the `G' in the word `GNU'
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97 when it is the name of this project.
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98
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99 @unnumberedsec Why I Must Write GNU
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100
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101 I consider that the golden rule requires that if I like a program I must
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102 share it with other people who like it. Software sellers want to divide
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103 the users and conquer them, making each user agree not to share with
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104 others. I refuse to break solidarity with other users in this way. I
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105 cannot in good conscience sign a nondisclosure agreement or a software
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106 license agreement. For years I worked within the Artificial Intelligence
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107 Lab to resist such tendencies and other inhospitalities, but eventually
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108 they had gone too far: I could not remain in an institution where such
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109 things are done for me against my will.
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110
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111 So that I can continue to use computers without dishonor, I have decided to
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112 put together a sufficient body of free software so that I will be able to
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113 get along without any software that is not free. I have resigned from the
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114 AI lab to deny MIT any legal excuse to prevent me from giving GNU away.
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115
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116 @unnumberedsec Why GNU Will Be Compatible with Unix
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117
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118 Unix is not my ideal system, but it is not too bad. The essential features
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119 of Unix seem to be good ones, and I think I can fill in what Unix lacks
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120 without spoiling them. And a system compatible with Unix would be
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121 convenient for many other people to adopt.
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122
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123 @unnumberedsec How GNU Will Be Available
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124
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125 GNU is not in the public domain. Everyone will be permitted to modify and
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126 redistribute GNU, but no distributor will be allowed to restrict its
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127 further redistribution. That is to say, proprietary modifications will not
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128 be allowed. I want to make sure that all versions of GNU remain free.
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129
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130 @unnumberedsec Why Many Other Programmers Want to Help
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131
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132 I have found many other programmers who are excited about GNU and want to
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133 help.
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134
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135 Many programmers are unhappy about the commercialization of system
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136 software. It may enable them to make more money, but it requires them to
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137 feel in conflict with other programmers in general rather than feel as
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138 comrades. The fundamental act of friendship among programmers is the
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139 sharing of programs; marketing arrangements now typically used essentially
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140 forbid programmers to treat others as friends. The purchaser of software
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141 must choose between friendship and obeying the law. Naturally, many decide
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142 that friendship is more important. But those who believe in law often do
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143 not feel at ease with either choice. They become cynical and think that
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144 programming is just a way of making money.
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145
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146 By working on and using GNU rather than proprietary programs, we can be
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147 hospitable to everyone and obey the law. In addition, GNU serves as an
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148 example to inspire and a banner to rally others to join us in sharing.
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149 This can give us a feeling of harmony which is impossible if we use
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150 software that is not free. For about half the programmers I talk to, this
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151 is an important happiness that money cannot replace.
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152
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153 @unnumberedsec How You Can Contribute
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154
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155 I am asking computer manufacturers for donations of machines and money.
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156 I'm asking individuals for donations of programs and work.
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157
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158 One consequence you can expect if you donate machines is that GNU will run
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159 on them at an early date. The machines should be complete, ready to use
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160 systems, approved for use in a residential area, and not in need of
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161 sophisticated cooling or power.
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162
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163 I have found very many programmers eager to contribute part-time work for
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164 GNU. For most projects, such part-time distributed work would be very hard
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165 to coordinate; the independently-written parts would not work together.
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166 But for the particular task of replacing Unix, this problem is absent. A
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167 complete Unix system contains hundreds of utility programs, each of which
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168 is documented separately. Most interface specifications are fixed by Unix
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169 compatibility. If each contributor can write a compatible replacement for
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170 a single Unix utility, and make it work properly in place of the original
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171 on a Unix system, then these utilities will work right when put together.
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172 Even allowing for Murphy to create a few unexpected problems, assembling
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173 these components will be a feasible task. (The kernel will require closer
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174 communication and will be worked on by a small, tight group.)
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175
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176 If I get donations of money, I may be able to hire a few people full or
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177 part time. The salary won't be high by programmers' standards, but I'm
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178 looking for people for whom building community spirit is as important as
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179 making money. I view this as a way of enabling dedicated people to devote
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180 their full energies to working on GNU by sparing them the need to make a
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181 living in another way.
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182
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183 @unnumberedsec Why All Computer Users Will Benefit
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184
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185 Once GNU is written, everyone will be able to obtain good system
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186 software free, just like air.@footnote{This is another place I failed to
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187 distinguish carefully between the two different meanings of ``free.''
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188 The statement as it stands is not false---you can get copies of GNU
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189 software at no charge, from your friends or over the net. But it does
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190 suggest the wrong idea.}
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191
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192 This means much more than just saving everyone the price of a Unix license.
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193 It means that much wasteful duplication of system programming effort will
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194 be avoided. This effort can go instead into advancing the state of the
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195 art.
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196
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197 Complete system sources will be available to everyone. As a result, a user
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198 who needs changes in the system will always be free to make them himself,
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199 or hire any available programmer or company to make them for him. Users
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200 will no longer be at the mercy of one programmer or company which owns the
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201 sources and is in sole position to make changes.
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202
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203 Schools will be able to provide a much more educational environment by
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204 encouraging all students to study and improve the system code. Harvard's
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205 computer lab used to have the policy that no program could be installed on
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206 the system if its sources were not on public display, and upheld it by
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207 actually refusing to install certain programs. I was very much inspired by
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208 this.
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209
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210 Finally, the overhead of considering who owns the system software and what
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211 one is or is not entitled to do with it will be lifted.
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212
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213 Arrangements to make people pay for using a program, including licensing of
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214 copies, always incur a tremendous cost to society through the cumbersome
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215 mechanisms necessary to figure out how much (that is, which programs) a
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216 person must pay for. And only a police state can force everyone to obey
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217 them. Consider a space station where air must be manufactured at great
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218 cost: charging each breather per liter of air may be fair, but wearing the
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219 metered gas mask all day and all night is intolerable even if everyone can
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220 afford to pay the air bill. And the TV cameras everywhere to see if you
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221 ever take the mask off are outrageous. It's better to support the air
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222 plant with a head tax and chuck the masks.
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223
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224 Copying all or parts of a program is as natural to a programmer as
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225 breathing, and as productive. It ought to be as free.
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226
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227 @unnumberedsec Some Easily Rebutted Objections to GNU's Goals
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228
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
229 @quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
230 ``Nobody will use it if it is free, because that means they can't rely
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
231 on any support.''
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
232
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
233 ``You have to charge for the program to pay for providing the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
234 support.''
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
235 @end quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
236
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
237 If people would rather pay for GNU plus service than get GNU free without
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
238 service, a company to provide just service to people who have obtained GNU
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
239 free ought to be profitable.@footnote{Several such companies now exist.}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
240
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
241 We must distinguish between support in the form of real programming work
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
242 and mere handholding. The former is something one cannot rely on from a
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
243 software vendor. If your problem is not shared by enough people, the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
244 vendor will tell you to get lost.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
245
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
246 If your business needs to be able to rely on support, the only way is to
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
247 have all the necessary sources and tools. Then you can hire any available
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
248 person to fix your problem; you are not at the mercy of any individual.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
249 With Unix, the price of sources puts this out of consideration for most
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
250 businesses. With GNU this will be easy. It is still possible for there to
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
251 be no available competent person, but this problem cannot be blamed on
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
252 distribution arrangements. GNU does not eliminate all the world's problems,
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
253 only some of them.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
254
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
255 Meanwhile, the users who know nothing about computers need handholding:
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
256 doing things for them which they could easily do themselves but don't know
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
257 how.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
258
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
259 Such services could be provided by companies that sell just hand-holding
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
260 and repair service. If it is true that users would rather spend money and
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
261 get a product with service, they will also be willing to buy the service
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
262 having got the product free. The service companies will compete in quality
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
263 and price; users will not be tied to any particular one. Meanwhile, those
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
264 of us who don't need the service should be able to use the program without
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
265 paying for the service.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
266
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
267 @quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
268 ``You cannot reach many people without advertising,
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
269 and you must charge for the program to support that.''
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
270
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
271 ``It's no use advertising a program people can get free.''
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
272 @end quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
273
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
274 There are various forms of free or very cheap publicity that can be used to
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
275 inform numbers of computer users about something like GNU. But it may be
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
276 true that one can reach more microcomputer users with advertising. If this
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
277 is really so, a business which advertises the service of copying and
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
278 mailing GNU for a fee ought to be successful enough to pay for its
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
279 advertising and more. This way, only the users who benefit from the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
280 advertising pay for it.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
281
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
282 On the other hand, if many people get GNU from their friends, and such
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
283 companies don't succeed, this will show that advertising was not really
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
284 necessary to spread GNU. Why is it that free market advocates don't
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
285 want to let the free market decide this?@footnote{The Free Software
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
286 Foundation raises most of its funds from a distribution service,
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
287 although it is a charity rather than a company. If @emph{no one}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
288 chooses to obtain copies by ordering from the FSF, it will be unable
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
289 to do its work. But this does not mean that proprietary restrictions
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
290 are justified to force every user to pay. If a small fraction of all
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
291 the users order copies from the FSF, that is sufficient to keep the FSF
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
292 afloat. So we ask users to choose to support us in this way. Have you
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
293 done your part?}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
294
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
295 @quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
296 ``My company needs a proprietary operating system
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
297 to get a competitive edge.''
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
298 @end quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
299
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
300 GNU will remove operating system software from the realm of competition.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
301 You will not be able to get an edge in this area, but neither will your
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
302 competitors be able to get an edge over you. You and they will compete in
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
303 other areas, while benefiting mutually in this one. If your business is
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
304 selling an operating system, you will not like GNU, but that's tough on
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
305 you. If your business is something else, GNU can save you from being
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
306 pushed into the expensive business of selling operating systems.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
307
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
308 I would like to see GNU development supported by gifts from many
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
309 manufacturers and users, reducing the cost to each.@footnote{A group of
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
310 computer companies recently pooled funds to support maintenance of the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
311 GNU C Compiler.}
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
312
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
313 @quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
314 ``Don't programmers deserve a reward for their creativity?''
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
315 @end quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
316
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
317 If anything deserves a reward, it is social contribution. Creativity can
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
318 be a social contribution, but only in so far as society is free to use the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
319 results. If programmers deserve to be rewarded for creating innovative
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
320 programs, by the same token they deserve to be punished if they restrict
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
321 the use of these programs.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
322
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
323 @quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
324 ``Shouldn't a programmer be able to ask for a reward for his creativity?''
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
325 @end quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
326
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
327 There is nothing wrong with wanting pay for work, or seeking to maximize
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
328 one's income, as long as one does not use means that are destructive. But
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
329 the means customary in the field of software today are based on
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
330 destruction.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
331
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
332 Extracting money from users of a program by restricting their use of it is
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
333 destructive because the restrictions reduce the amount and the ways that
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
334 the program can be used. This reduces the amount of wealth that humanity
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
335 derives from the program. When there is a deliberate choice to restrict,
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
336 the harmful consequences are deliberate destruction.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
337
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
338 The reason a good citizen does not use such destructive means to become
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
339 wealthier is that, if everyone did so, we would all become poorer from the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
340 mutual destructiveness. This is Kantian ethics; or, the Golden Rule.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
341 Since I do not like the consequences that result if everyone hoards
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
342 information, I am required to consider it wrong for one to do so.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
343 Specifically, the desire to be rewarded for one's creativity does not
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
344 justify depriving the world in general of all or part of that creativity.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
345
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
346 @quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
347 ``Won't programmers starve?''
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
348 @end quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
349
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
350 I could answer that nobody is forced to be a programmer. Most of us cannot
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
351 manage to get any money for standing on the street and making faces. But
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
352 we are not, as a result, condemned to spend our lives standing on the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
353 street making faces, and starving. We do something else.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
354
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
355 But that is the wrong answer because it accepts the questioner's implicit
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
356 assumption: that without ownership of software, programmers cannot possibly
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
357 be paid a cent. Supposedly it is all or nothing.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
358
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
359 The real reason programmers will not starve is that it will still be
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
360 possible for them to get paid for programming; just not paid as much as
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
361 now.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
362
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
363 Restricting copying is not the only basis for business in software. It is
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
364 the most common basis because it brings in the most money. If it were
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
365 prohibited, or rejected by the customer, software business would move to
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
366 other bases of organization which are now used less often. There are
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
367 always numerous ways to organize any kind of business.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
368
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
369 Probably programming will not be as lucrative on the new basis as it is
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
370 now. But that is not an argument against the change. It is not considered
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
371 an injustice that sales clerks make the salaries that they now do. If
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
372 programmers made the same, that would not be an injustice either. (In
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
373 practice they would still make considerably more than that.)
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
374
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
375 @quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
376 ``Don't people have a right to control how their creativity is used?''
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
377 @end quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
378
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
379 ``Control over the use of one's ideas'' really constitutes control over
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
380 other people's lives; and it is usually used to make their lives more
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
381 difficult.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
382
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
383 People who have studied the issue of intellectual property rights carefully
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
384 (such as lawyers) say that there is no intrinsic right to intellectual
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
385 property. The kinds of supposed intellectual property rights that the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
386 government recognizes were created by specific acts of legislation for
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
387 specific purposes.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
388
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
389 For example, the patent system was established to encourage inventors to
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
390 disclose the details of their inventions. Its purpose was to help society
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
391 rather than to help inventors. At the time, the life span of 17 years for
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
392 a patent was short compared with the rate of advance of the state of the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
393 art. Since patents are an issue only among manufacturers, for whom the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
394 cost and effort of a license agreement are small compared with setting up
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
395 production, the patents often do not do much harm. They do not obstruct
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
396 most individuals who use patented products.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
397
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
398 The idea of copyright did not exist in ancient times, when authors
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
399 frequently copied other authors at length in works of non-fiction. This
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
400 practice was useful, and is the only way many authors' works have survived
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
401 even in part. The copyright system was created expressly for the purpose
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
402 of encouraging authorship. In the domain for which it was
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
403 invented---books, which could be copied economically only on a printing
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
404 press---it did little harm, and did not obstruct most of the individuals
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
405 who read the books.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
406
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
407 All intellectual property rights are just licenses granted by society
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
408 because it was thought, rightly or wrongly, that society as a whole would
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
409 benefit by granting them. But in any particular situation, we have to ask:
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
410 are we really better off granting such license? What kind of act are we
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
411 licensing a person to do?
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
412
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
413 The case of programs today is very different from that of books a hundred
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
414 years ago. The fact that the easiest way to copy a program is from one
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
415 neighbor to another, the fact that a program has both source code and
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
416 object code which are distinct, and the fact that a program is used rather
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
417 than read and enjoyed, combine to create a situation in which a person who
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
418 enforces a copyright is harming society as a whole both materially and
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
419 spiritually; in which a person should not do so regardless of whether the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
420 law enables him to.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
421
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
422 @quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
423 ``Competition makes things get done better.''
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
424 @end quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
425
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
426 The paradigm of competition is a race: by rewarding the winner, we
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
427 encourage everyone to run faster. When capitalism really works this way,
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
428 it does a good job; but its defenders are wrong in assuming it always works
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
429 this way. If the runners forget why the reward is offered and become
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
430 intent on winning, no matter how, they may find other strategies---such as,
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
431 attacking other runners. If the runners get into a fist fight, they will
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
432 all finish late.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
433
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
434 Proprietary and secret software is the moral equivalent of runners in a
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
435 fist fight. Sad to say, the only referee we've got does not seem to
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
436 object to fights; he just regulates them (``For every ten yards you run,
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
437 you can fire one shot''). He really ought to break them up, and penalize
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
438 runners for even trying to fight.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
439
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
440 @quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
441 ``Won't everyone stop programming without a monetary incentive?''
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
442 @end quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
443
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
444 Actually, many people will program with absolutely no monetary incentive.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
445 Programming has an irresistible fascination for some people, usually the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
446 people who are best at it. There is no shortage of professional musicians
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
447 who keep at it even though they have no hope of making a living that way.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
448
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
449 But really this question, though commonly asked, is not appropriate to the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
450 situation. Pay for programmers will not disappear, only become less. So
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
451 the right question is, will anyone program with a reduced monetary
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
452 incentive? My experience shows that they will.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
453
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
454 For more than ten years, many of the world's best programmers worked at the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
455 Artificial Intelligence Lab for far less money than they could have had
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
456 anywhere else. They got many kinds of non-monetary rewards: fame and
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
457 appreciation, for example. And creativity is also fun, a reward in itself.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
458
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
459 Then most of them left when offered a chance to do the same interesting
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
460 work for a lot of money.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
461
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
462 What the facts show is that people will program for reasons other than
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
463 riches; but if given a chance to make a lot of money as well, they will
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
464 come to expect and demand it. Low-paying organizations do poorly in
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
465 competition with high-paying ones, but they do not have to do badly if the
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
466 high-paying ones are banned.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
467
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
468 @quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
469 ``We need the programmers desperately. If they demand that we
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
470 stop helping our neighbors, we have to obey.''
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
471 @end quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
472
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
473 You're never so desperate that you have to obey this sort of demand.
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
474 Remember: millions for defense, but not a cent for tribute!
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
475
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
476 @quotation
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
diff changeset
477 ``Programmers need to make a living somehow.''
Dave Love <fx@gnu.org>
parents:
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478 @end quotation
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479
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480 In the short run, this is true. However, there are plenty of ways that
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481 programmers could make a living without selling the right to use a program.
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482 This way is customary now because it brings programmers and businessmen the
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483 most money, not because it is the only way to make a living. It is easy to
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484 find other ways if you want to find them. Here are a number of examples.
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485
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486 A manufacturer introducing a new computer will pay for the porting of
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487 operating systems onto the new hardware.
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488
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489 The sale of teaching, hand-holding and maintenance services could also
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490 employ programmers.
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491
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492 People with new ideas could distribute programs as freeware, asking for
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493 donations from satisfied users, or selling hand-holding services. I have
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494 met people who are already working this way successfully.
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495
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496 Users with related needs can form users' groups, and pay dues. A group
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497 would contract with programming companies to write programs that the
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498 group's members would like to use.
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499
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500 All sorts of development can be funded with a Software Tax:
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501
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502 @quotation
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503 Suppose everyone who buys a computer has to pay x percent of
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504 the price as a software tax. The government gives this to
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505 an agency like the NSF to spend on software development.
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506
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507 But if the computer buyer makes a donation to software development
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508 himself, he can take a credit against the tax. He can donate to
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509 the project of his own choosing---often, chosen because he hopes to
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510 use the results when it is done. He can take a credit for any amount
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511 of donation up to the total tax he had to pay.
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512
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513 The total tax rate could be decided by a vote of the payers of
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514 the tax, weighted according to the amount they will be taxed on.
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515
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516 The consequences:
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517
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518 @itemize @bullet
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519 @item
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520 The computer-using community supports software development.
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521 @item
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522 This community decides what level of support is needed.
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523 @item
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524 Users who care which projects their share is spent on
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525 can choose this for themselves.
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526 @end itemize
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527 @end quotation
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528
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529 In the long run, making programs free is a step toward the post-scarcity
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530 world, where nobody will have to work very hard just to make a living.
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531 People will be free to devote themselves to activities that are fun, such
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532 as programming, after spending the necessary ten hours a week on required
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533 tasks such as legislation, family counseling, robot repair and asteroid
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534 prospecting. There will be no need to be able to make a living from
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535 programming.
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536
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537 We have already greatly reduced the amount of work that the whole society
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538 must do for its actual productivity, but only a little of this has
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539 translated itself into leisure for workers because much nonproductive
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540 activity is required to accompany productive activity. The main causes of
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541 this are bureaucracy and isometric struggles against competition. Free
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542 software will greatly reduce these drains in the area of software
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543 production. We must do this, in order for technical gains in productivity
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544 to translate into less work for us.