this post was submitted on 12 May 2025
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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My primary OS is Windows (I use it for work) and I have Linux as my second OS. If I upgrade my linux distro to the paid version so I can have more features, will Windows be okay? Thanks I'm a newb

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[–] TMP_NKcYUEoM7kXg4qYe@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

Stallman's usual take is "Yeah sure you can sell it, as long as you respect the 4 freedoms.". So I don't think selling Free Software is against the spirit of FOSS. The issue is rather that the Free Software is against the spirit of selling because realistically you can sell it to one entity which can then just make 7 billion copies of said software. At that point it's no longer financially viable to sell it for you.

I also think that the majority of people creating Free Software would be fine with someone else selling it. Remember how much permissive-licensed software is out there. If authors really cared, they would have licensed the software under GPL, but instead they even allow it to be used with commercial licensing. Obviously I'm not taking away your opinion, but I don't think your opinion represents the majority of FOSS.