free software
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.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Understand What free software is.
Freedoms
The four freedoms.
Freedoms
Freedoms.
- What are the four freedoms, and how do they define free software according to the free software movement? definition
- Is free software, open source or freeware meant? boundary
Licences
Licences.
Licences
Licences.
- How do copyleft and permissive licences such as the GPL, MIT and Apache licences differ? definition
- Which entry fits a specific licence? action
Use Using and contributing.
Choose
Choosing free software.
Choose
Choosing.
- Which free software projects meet this need, and how are they evaluated for maintenance and security? action
- Which entry fits a specific project? action
Contribute
Contributing.
Contribute
Contributing.
- How can someone contribute to free software projects and communities? action
- Which entry fits open source development? action
Comply Licensing and compliance.
Compliance
Compliance.
Compliance
Compliance.
- What obligations arise when distributing or modifying free software, in general terms? provenance
- Is legal advice needed from a professional? boundary
Business
Business and policy.
Business
Business.
- How do businesses and governments use free software, and what debates exist, with positions attributed? provenance
- Is the presentation neutral? boundary
Learn History and philosophy.
History
History.
History
History.
- How did the free software movement and the GNU project develop, and how did open source emerge? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Philosophy
Philosophy and debates.
Philosophy
Philosophy.
- What ethical and practical arguments surround free software, with positions attributed? provenance
- Which misconceptions arise? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Information and virtual systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- INF
- Domain
- INF.KNW
- Other names and narrower kinds
- 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
What it is Filled
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.
Why it exists Filled
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.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Four freedoms
- Source availability
- Copyleft option
- Ethical framing
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- 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.
Only with a human decision
- Relicensing or distributing combined software.
May
- Explain free software licences and the freedoms they grant.
- Check licence compatibility in code it is asked to review.
Moral aspects Filled
- Free software rests on respect for licences and authors.
- Users' freedoms depend on licences being honoured.
Who is affected
- Developers
- Users
- Communities
Owners Filled
Steward
The copyright holders of each program.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q1130645 - registry parent class
- Q5500964 - registry parent class
- Q56273712 - registry parent class
related
- open-source software - category
- freely redistributable software - category
- software bug - defects fixed collaboratively
- microcomputer - platforms running free software
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.free-software
- Wikidata: Q341 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q341)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Plane INF: no invented physical properties.
Recognition optional Filled
- 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 and actions required Filled
- explain freedoms and licences
- distinguish related terms
- describe projects
- support licence compliance
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Licence non-compliance
- Confusing free software with freeware
- Unmaintained projects
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- Free software licences and their definitions
- Copyright law underlying licensing
- Public sector open source policies
Context of use required Filled
- 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 Filled
- Wikidata item Q341: free software - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Free software - general description of the item
Open questions
- Should each licence be a separate entry?
- How should project repositories be linked?
- How should compliance guidance be linked?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q341/spec.json