this post was submitted on 19 Oct 2024
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I really don't understand the difference between free software and open source at tis point. It would make sense to me if this would make it nonfree, but I don't understand why is it not open source anymore. Isn't the open source definition a broader one than that of free software?
Open Source Software follows the Open Source Definition, while Free Software follows the Free Software Definition.
They have heavy overlap, one is not a subset of the other, and they are similarly restrictive, just shepherded by different groups. I'm sure there are licences that satisfy one but not the other, but they would have to be few and far between; just reading through each it's not obvious how one could satisfy only one definition.
Short and not completely true answer: Free Software and Open Source are the same thing, just with different reasoning behind them. Hence "FOSS" and "FLOSS" are also used, which combine both terms.
@ReversalHatchery @velox_vulnus
It violates "freedom 0" of the Free Software Definition too, so no difference there. This limitation on use makes is non-open-source AND non-free-software. https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.en.html#fs-definition
It's clear that it's not free software, because as the name suggests, that's about freedoms.
What is not really clear is that it's not open source. To me at least it means that the source is public, you can change it, use it, send in patches, etc, but possibly with some limitations.
If I give you a free beer, you have one beer. If I give you the recipe, you can make your own beer. You do have to make your own open source beer or you can hire someone to do it for you or perhaps take you through the steps a few times until you've got it. With luck there will be a community of open source beer brewers with whom you can interact and improve those recipes.
Free software is free until it isn't! The illicit drugs industry works in a similar way (the first hit is for free).
Never read something more wrong about the subject. I sounds like you don't actually know what Free Software refers to, and that it has nothing to do with the price.
Yeah the free beer thing is what I use to explain what the "free" doesn't mean. "Free as in freedom. Not free as in free beer."
And despite that, if was still newsworthy enough to be posted like 6 times in total 😅
I posted it to 8 communities because there are 8 communities I am aware of where this on-topic. Some people might be subscribed to only a subset of them. This is the natural consequence of the fediverse enabling us to have more than one community for discussing the same topic.
I suppose some instances cut others off as well (I see only 6 total) so you have a fair point
To my mind, the ideal would be that if you, as the person who wants to share some 'open-source' news, chose one community that you think is 'best' (based on what instance it's on, if the mods are real people and are active, participation levels, whatever you think really). And we, as subscribers, would do the same. This way, the 'good' communities would thrive, and the 'bad' ones would wither away. What happens at the minute, is that there's 8 communities for open source, and there'll always will be, because they aren't in competition with one another.
(this is mostly just a general point about cross-posting behaviour, it's not meant as a dig at you personally).
problem is I have no idea which of these communities is "best", I do not pay enough attention to things going on behind the scenes to have any knowledge of that.
Its a bit basic but so far I've just gone with the largest population. Usually I'm just after the most activity and that generally scales with population. It keeps things relatively simple.
There is some lemmy.world sure but also:
If a topic suits the philosophy of its lemmy instance its more likely to attract a healthy population. Then when I'm looking for a community on a topic it doesn't really matter which instance that community is on.
Thx looks like I am only in this one.