Why FLOSS ?

The term FLOSS is often used to bridge the ideological divide between the free software and open source software movements. The term FLOSS is useful for those who, for a variety of reasons, do not want to align themselves with one group and alienate the other. FLOSS can also be used as a neutral term when discussing free / open source software with those of differing ideological viewpoints.

Historically, FLOSS was first used as a project acronym by Rishab Aiyer Ghosh. In 2001 the European Commission (EC) used the phrase when they funded a study on the topic, and in July 2002 they further popularised the acronym by publishing both a FLOSS survey and study and a FLOSS workshop report. The EC chose FLOSS as an inclusive acronym that hopefully would not further antagonize the main participants in the naming controversy. Richard Stallman has acknowledged and recommended use of the phrase Free/Libre/Open Source Software by those who refuse to commit themselves explicitly to his philosophical approach.

Free Software

Free software, as defined by the Free Software Foundation, is software which can be used, copied, studied, modified and redistributed without restriction. Freedom from such restrictions is central to the concept, with the opposite of free software being proprietary software and not software which is sold for profit, commercial software. The usual way for software to be distributed as free software is for the software to be accompanied by a free software license (or be in the public domain), and the source code of the software to be made available (for a compiled language).

To help distinguish libre (freedom) software from gratis (zero price) software, Richard Stallman, founder of the free software movement, developed the following explanation: "Free software is a matter of liberty not price. To understand the concept, you should think of 'free' as in 'free speech', not as in 'free beer'". More specifically, free software means that computer users have the freedom to cooperate with whom they choose, and to control the software they use. The GNU Manifesto contains language that gives evidence of Stallman's initial confusion with the usage.

A brief history of free software

In 1960s and 1970s software was seen as an add-on supplied by mainframe vendors to make computers useful. Thus, programmers and developers frequently shared their software freely. This was especially common in large users groups, such as DECUS, the DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) Users Group.

In the Late 1970s and early 1980s companies began routinely imposing restrictions on programmers with software license agreements. Sometimes this was because companies were now making money from proprietary software or they were trying to keep hardware characteristics secret by hiding the source code. Other times it was because of the increasingly corporatised attitude in the growing and previously eclectic industry saw protecting source code and trade secrets as a norm even if it didn't provide any benefit to business.

In 1983 Richard Stallman launched the GNU project after becoming frustrated with the effects of the change in culture of the computer industry and users. One incident was when a printer wouldn't work but he couldn't hack the source code to fix the problem because it was withheld. Software development for the GNU operating system began in January 1984, and Free Software Foundation (FSF) was founded in October 1985. He introduced a free software definition and "copyleft", designed to ensure software freedom for all.

In a present day Free software is a huge international effort, producing software used by individuals, large organisations, and even entire countries. The economic advantages of the free software model, and, to a lesser extent, the ethical principles that it was founded upon are beginning to be recognised, even by mainstream media. Also, some other industries — that is, non-software industries — are beginning to recognise the value of free software's message too: scientists, for example, are looking towards more open development processes, and hardware such as microchips is beginning to be developed under Copyleft licenses (see the OpenCores project, for instance). The Creative Commons and Open Content movements have also been largely influenced by free software.

Freedoms

According to Stallman and the FSF, software licenses must have the following freedoms to qualify as being Free.

• Freedom 1. The freedom to run the program for any purpose.
• Freedom 2. The freedom to study and modify the program.
• Freedom 3. The freedom to copy the program so you can help your neighbor.
• Freedom 4. The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits.

Freedom 1 and 3 require source code access, because studying and modifying software without its source code is extremely difficult, highly inefficient, and sometimes impossible in practice. Access to annotated source code relieves these problems.

What is Open Source?

Open source is similar to free software. The biggest difference is that open source sees FLOSS as just a way of making better software, and doesn't value the freedom of the people.

In 1998, some free software developers figured that by keeping quiet about ethics and freedom, and talking only about the practical benefits of free software, they might be able to spread free software better, especially to businesses. The term "open source" is offered as a way of doing this.

What's better? Free or open source software?

This is up to you. If you believe freedom is most important, free software. If you believe superior software is most important, open source.

Benefits FLOSS

• Lower Total Costs of Ownership (TCO). Given minimal costs, it is no surprise that organizations are adopting FLOSS in large numbers. For example, schools in some of the poorest regions of Spain already provide one workstation for every two pupils.
• Eliminate dependence on software vendors. FLOSS users apparently place greatest value upon their freedom to choose the vendor who best meets their needs for software maintenance and support, instead of being dependent upon a single supplier and forced to either wait for desired improvements, or else pay for upgrades or new versions that they neither need nor want.
• Pedagogical benefits. The pedagogical benefits of FLOSS are harder to measure, but may be most important of all. FLOSS is developed by communities, for communities, in an open collaborative way, and is freely shared with others who embrace the concepts and accept the licence terms. Individuals of all ages and abilities can engage in FLOSS projects according to their own strengths and interests.
• Security. The main reason open source software can be more robust than proprietary systems if customers and developers can look at the code, they are more likely to find a bug and create a security patch. In a closed source model, customers must rely on the vendors to identify, diagnose and issue a patch, which can be a lengthy process.
• Quality. the highest ranking reasons for using free software on quality:
  • Higher stability
  • Better access protection
  • Higher performance
  • Better functionality