In 1998, some of the people in the free software community began using the term 'open source software' instead of 'free software' to describe what they do. The term 'open source' quickly became associated with a different approach, a different philosophy, different values, and even a different criterion for which licenses are acceptable. The Free Software movement and the Open Source movement are today separate movements with different views and goals, although we can and do work together on some practical projects. The fundamental difference between the two movements is in their values, their ways of looking at the world. For the Open Source movement, the issue of whether software should be open source is a practical question, not an ethical one. As one person put it, 'Open source is a development methodology; free software is a social movement.' For the Open Source movement, non-free software is a suboptimal solution. For the Free Software movement, non-free software is a social problem and free software is the solution.
More from Richard M. Stallman
While free software by any other name would give you the same freedom, it makes a big difference which name we use: different words convey different ideas.
Permalink to quote #48 Radical groups in the 1960s developed a reputation for factionalism: organizations split because of disagreements on details of strategy, and then treated each…
Permalink to quote #50 If you focus your mind on the freedom and community that you can build by staying firm, you will find the strength to do it. 'Stand for something, or you will …
Permalink to quote #47