Linux – The Penguin Marches On (McClanahan)

Open Source?

Do you use “open source software” or “free software?” Although there are different rules for free software licenses (four freedoms) and open source licenses (Open Source Definition), what is not apparent from those two sets of rules is:

1. Both terms refer to essentially the same set of licenses and software.
2. Each term implies different underlying values.

In other words, although the terms “free software” and “open source software” refer to essentially the same set of licenses, they arrive at that set via different routes. (The results aren’t perfectly identical, but the differences are unlikely to matter broadly.) And, even though the licenses are the same, a person’s choice of terminology may imply a different emphasis in values.

The concept of “free software” was developed by Richard Stallman in the 1980’s. The focus is on what the recipient of software is permitted to do with the software: Roughly, it means that the users have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change, and improve the software.

“Open source” focuses on the practical consequences enabled by these licenses, which is surprisingly effective collaboration on software development. Free software came first. Later, it became apparent that free software was leading to remarkable collaboration dynamics. In 1997, Eric Raymond’s seminal essay “The Cathedral and the Bazaar” focused attention on the implications that free software has for software development methodology.

In “Why Open Source Misses the Point of Free Software,” Stallman explains that the two terms describe almost the same category of software, but he asserts they stand for views based on fundamentally different values. Stallman’s view is that open source is a development methodology while free software is a social movement.

Different values? Yes. But not mutually exclusive. Rather than aligning with one or the other, many people find varying degrees of resonance with the values underlying each term.

Clearing the Confusion

What if someone wants to refer to this type of software without specifying underlying values? Awkwardly, there is no broadly accepted term that refers to the licenses or the software that’s neutral about the values implied by each term. In other words, we lack a third term that refers to that same software and same set of licenses, but doesn’t take sides with respect to why that software and those licenses are significant. It may be that “open source” was initially expected to be a neutral term; however, it has developed its own implied values.