| blob | 98153ec41f7208d2737780f2afdc2e15dd4d8320 |
2 <head>
8 </head>
9 <body>
11 <p>
15 <hr><br>
16 </div>
21 General Public License
22 (GPL). The GPL gives you the freedom to copy or adapt a licensed
23 program--but every person getting a copy also gets with it the
24 freedom to modify that copy (which means that they must get access to
25 the source code), and the freedom to distribute further copies.
26 Typical software companies use copyrights to limit your freedoms; the
27 Free Software Foundation uses the GPL to preserve these freedoms.
29 <p>Fundamentally, the General Public License is a license which says that
30 you have these freedoms and that you cannot take these freedoms away
31 from anyone else.
35 <p>The biggest deficiency in the free software community today is not in
36 the software--it is the lack of good free documentation that we can
37 include with the free software. Many of our most important
38 programs do not come with free reference manuals and free introductory
39 texts. Documentation is an essential part of any software package;
40 when an important free software package does not come with a free
41 manual and a free tutorial, that is a major gap. We have many such
42 gaps today.
44 <p>Consider Perl, for instance. The tutorial manuals that people
45 normally use are non-free. How did this come about? Because the
46 authors of those manuals published them with restrictive terms--no
47 copying, no modification, source files not available--which exclude
48 them from the free software world.
50 <p>That wasn't the first time this sort of thing happened, and it was far
51 from the last. Many times we have heard a GNU user eagerly describe a
52 manual that he is writing, his intended contribution to the community,
53 only to learn that he had ruined everything by signing a publication
54 contract to make it non-free.
56 <p>Free documentation, like free software, is a matter of freedom, not
57 price. The problem with the non-free manual is not that publishers
58 charge a price for printed copies--that in itself is fine. (The Free
59 Software Foundation sells printed copies of manuals, too.) The
60 problem is the restrictions on the use of the manual. Free manuals
61 are available in source code form, and give you permission to copy and
62 modify. Non-free manuals do not allow this.
64 <p>The criteria of freedom for a free manual are roughly the same as for
65 free software. Redistribution (including the normal kinds of
66 commercial redistribution) must be permitted, so that the manual can
67 accompany every copy of the program, both on-line and on paper.
69 <p>Permission for modification of the technical content is crucial too.
70 When people modify the software, adding or changing features, if they
71 are conscientious they will change the manual too--so they can
72 provide accurate and clear documentation for the modified program. A
73 manual that leaves you no choice but to write a new manual to document
74 a changed version of the program is not really available to our
75 community.
77 <p>Some kinds of limits on the way modification is handled are
78 acceptable. For example, requirements to preserve the original
79 author's copyright notice, the distribution terms, or the list of
80 authors, are ok. It is also no problem to require modified versions
81 to include notice that they were modified. Even entire sections that
82 may not be deleted or changed are acceptable, as long as they deal
83 with nontechnical topics (like this one). These kinds of restrictions
84 are acceptable because they don't obstruct the community's normal use
85 of the manual.
88 content of the manual, and then distribute the result in all the usual
89 media, through all the usual channels. Otherwise, the restrictions
90 obstruct the use of the manual, it is not free, and we need another
91 manual to replace it.
93 <p>Please spread the word about this issue. Our community continues to
94 lose manuals to proprietary publishing. If we spread the word that
95 free software needs free reference manuals and free tutorials, perhaps
96 the next person who wants to contribute by writing documentation will
97 realize, before it is too late, that only free manuals contribute to
98 the free software community.
100 <p>If you are writing documentation, please insist on publishing it under
101 the GNU Free Documentation License or another free documentation
102 license. Remember that this decision requires your approval--you
103 don't have to let the publisher decide. Some commercial publishers
104 will use a free license if you insist, but they will not propose the
105 option; it is up to you to raise the issue and say firmly that this is
106 what you want. If the publisher you are dealing with refuses, please
107 try other publishers. If you're not sure whether a proposed license
110 <p>You can encourage commercial publishers to sell more free, copylefted
111 manuals and tutorials by buying them, and particularly by buying
112 copies from the publishers that paid for their writing or for major
113 improvements. Meanwhile, try to avoid buying non-free documentation
114 at all. Check the distribution terms of a manual before you buy it,
115 and insist that whoever seeks your business must respect your freedom.
116 Check the history of the book, and try to reward the publishers that
117 have paid or pay the authors to work on it.
119 <p>The Free Software Foundation maintains a list of free documentation
120 published by other publishers, at
123 </body></html>