As users’ communication and their lives are increasingly mediated by computers, their experience is increasingly controlled by their technology and, by extension, those who control it. Programmers might, for example, design software to spy on, work against, or create dependencies in, their users. The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits.Ī computer scientist, Stallman understood how programmers shape software in ways that influence how users of their code are able to act. The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor and.The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs.The freedom to run the program, for any purpose. Stallman published a “Free Software Definition” (FSD) that enumerated the essential rights of every user in regard to their software: In 1985, Richard Stallman founded the free software movement and published a manifesto asking computer users to join him in advocating for, building, and spreading software that would guarantee its users certain liberties (Stallman 2002).
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