{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.free-software","code":"thing-q341","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q341/","name":"free software","alternateNames":["Escornabot","Escornabot Ogaki","KDE Gear","GNU ELPA package","NonGNU ELPA package","Perl Compatible Regular Expressions 2","GNU package","GNU Emacs package","SkyTemple","GNU toolchain","UnxUtils","Biopragmatics Stack"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.2","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Information and virtual systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"INF","domain":["INF.KNW"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"Software distributed under licences that grant users the freedom to run, study, modify and redistribute it, with access to source code, as defined by the free software movement and embodied in licences such as the GNU General Public License, and produced by projects from the GNU system and desktop environments such as KDE to libraries such as PCRE2, package archives such as ELPA, and educational robots such as Escornabot; free software overlaps with open-source software but emphasises user freedom as an ethical principle.","purpose":"Let an agent explain free software and its four freedoms and licences, distinguish it from open-source and freeware, describe major projects and communities, and support choosing and complying with licences.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Four freedoms","Source availability","Copyleft option","Ethical framing"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What free software is.","layers":[{"id":"freedoms","name":"Freedoms","description":"The four freedoms.","findings":[{"id":"freedoms-finding","name":"Freedoms","description":"Freedoms.","questions":[{"text":"What are the four freedoms, and how do they define free software according to the free software movement?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is free software, open source or freeware meant?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"licences","name":"Licences","description":"Licences.","findings":[{"id":"licences-finding","name":"Licences","description":"Licences.","questions":[{"text":"How do copyleft and permissive licences such as the GPL, MIT and Apache licences differ?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific licence?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"use","name":"Use","description":"Using and contributing.","layers":[{"id":"choose","name":"Choose","description":"Choosing free software.","findings":[{"id":"choose-finding","name":"Choose","description":"Choosing.","questions":[{"text":"Which free software projects meet this need, and how are they evaluated for maintenance and security?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific project?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"contribute","name":"Contribute","description":"Contributing.","findings":[{"id":"contribute-finding","name":"Contribute","description":"Contributing.","questions":[{"text":"How can someone contribute to free software projects and communities?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which entry fits open source development?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"comply","name":"Comply","description":"Licensing and compliance.","layers":[{"id":"compliance","name":"Compliance","description":"Compliance.","findings":[{"id":"compliance-finding","name":"Compliance","description":"Compliance.","questions":[{"text":"What obligations arise when distributing or modifying free software, in general terms?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is legal advice needed from a professional?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"business","name":"Business","description":"Business and policy.","findings":[{"id":"business-finding","name":"Business","description":"Business.","questions":[{"text":"How do businesses and governments use free software, and what debates exist, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"learn","name":"Learn","description":"History and philosophy.","layers":[{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did the free software movement and the GNU project develop, and how did open source emerge?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"philosophy","name":"Philosophy","description":"Philosophy and debates.","findings":[{"id":"philosophy-finding","name":"Philosophy","description":"Philosophy.","questions":[{"text":"What ethical and practical arguments surround free software, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which misconceptions arise?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain free software licences and the freedoms they grant.","Check licence compatibility in code it is asked to review."],"mustNot":["Strip licence notices or attributions from free software.","Present free software as freeware or public domain.","Combine code under incompatible licences without flagging it.","Misrepresent the obligations of a copyleft licence."],"requiresHuman":["Relicensing or distributing combined software."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Free software rests on respect for licences and authors.","Users' freedoms depend on licences being honoured."],"affectedParties":["Developers","Users","Communities"]},"owners":{"steward":"The copyright holders of each program.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q1130645","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q5500964","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q56273712","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"open-source software","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"freely redistributable software","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"software bug","type":"related","note":"defects fixed collaboratively"},{"target":"microcomputer","type":"related","note":"platforms running free software"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.free-software","Wikidata: Q341 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q341)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Four freedoms with source code","Copyleft and permissive licences","Freeware is free of charge but not necessarily free to modify; open source emphasises development method","Not physical; software and licences."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain freedoms and licences","distinguish related terms","describe projects","support licence compliance"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Licence non-compliance","Confusing free software with freeware","Unmaintained projects"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Free software licences and their definitions","Copyright law underlying licensing","Public sector open source policies"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Software granting users freedom to use, study, modify and share.","copyleft free software such as GNU projects","permissively licensed free software","free desktop environments such as KDE","free software libraries and tools","free software in education and hardware projects"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q341: free software","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q341","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Free software","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should each licence be a separate entry?","How should project repositories be linked?","How should compliance guidance be linked?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q341/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q341/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T03:49:29Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:59+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane INF: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}