| 1 |
<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" --> |
| 2 |
<!-- Parent-Version: 1.96 --> |
| 3 |
<!-- This page is derived from /server/standards/boilerplate.html --> |
| 4 |
<!--#set var="TAGS" value="essays upholding action" --> |
| 5 |
<!--#set var="DISABLE_TOP_ADDENDUM" value="yes" --> |
| 6 |
<title>Beware of Contradictory “Support” |
| 7 |
- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title> |
| 8 |
<!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/contradictory-support.translist" --> |
| 9 |
<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" --> |
| 10 |
<!--#include virtual="/philosophy/ph-breadcrumb.html" --> |
| 11 |
<!--GNUN: OUT-OF-DATE NOTICE--> |
| 12 |
<!--#include virtual="/server/top-addendum.html" --> |
| 13 |
<div class="article reduced-width"> |
| 14 |
|
| 15 |
<h2>Beware of Contradictory “Support”</h2> |
| 16 |
|
| 17 |
<address class="byline">by Richard Stallman</address> |
| 18 |
|
| 19 |
<p>There are organizations that proclaim support for free software or |
| 20 |
the GNU Project, and teach classes in use of nonfree software.</p> |
| 21 |
|
| 22 |
<p>It's possible that they do some <em>other</em> things that really |
| 23 |
support free software, but those classes certainly don't. On the |
| 24 |
contrary, they work directly against the free software movement by |
| 25 |
promoting the use of the nonfree software. That increases the |
| 26 |
magnitude of the practical problem it is our mission to correct.</p> |
| 27 |
|
| 28 |
<p>Even worse, that grants nonfree software legitimacy. The basic |
| 29 |
point of the free software movement is that nonfree software is <a |
| 30 |
href="/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html">unjust</a> |
| 31 |
and should not exist. That's why we need a movement to <em>replace |
| 32 |
and eliminate</em> it. Teaching how to use it asserts that it isn't |
| 33 |
a problem; that opposes the free software movement at the deepest |
| 34 |
level.</p> |
| 35 |
|
| 36 |
<p>Of course, people have the right to state that view, but they |
| 37 |
shouldn't pretend that it constitutes support for our cause.</p> |
| 38 |
|
| 39 |
<p>Even more outrageously, some of those organizations claim that |
| 40 |
their courses in using nonfree software are connected with or even |
| 41 |
certified by the GNU Project or the Free Software Foundation. |
| 42 |
Needless to say, we would never certify such a course, nor recommend |
| 43 |
it, nor have anything to do with it, nor even talk about it except |
| 44 |
with condemnation.</p> |
| 45 |
|
| 46 |
<p>Teaching use of nonfree programs works against free software; |
| 47 |
teaching it in association with the name GNU or the term “free |
| 48 |
software” causes confusion about what we stand for.</p> |
| 49 |
|
| 50 |
<p>If you encounter such an organization, please explain these points |
| 51 |
to the people who work on it: that such courses go directly against |
| 52 |
the principles of the free software movement. Explain to them why, if |
| 53 |
they want to help the free software cause, they need to teach people to |
| 54 |
choose free software, not legitimize nonfree software.</p> |
| 55 |
|
| 56 |
<p>If they ask you to participate in those courses, as a student or |
| 57 |
teacher, that gives you an opportunity |
| 58 |
to <a href="/philosophy/saying-no-even-once.html"> say no</a> for a |
| 59 |
change.</p> |
| 60 |
</div> |
| 61 |
|
| 62 |
</div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above --> |
| 63 |
<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" --> |
| 64 |
<div id="footer" role="contentinfo"> |
| 65 |
<div class="unprintable"> |
| 66 |
|
| 67 |
<p>Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to |
| 68 |
<a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><gnu@gnu.org></a>. |
| 69 |
There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a> |
| 70 |
the FSF. Broken links and other corrections or suggestions can be sent |
| 71 |
to <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><webmasters@gnu.org></a>.</p> |
| 72 |
|
| 73 |
<p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph, |
| 74 |
replace it with the translation of these two: |
| 75 |
|
| 76 |
We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality |
| 77 |
translations. However, we are not exempt from imperfection. |
| 78 |
Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard |
| 79 |
to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org"> |
| 80 |
<web-translators@gnu.org></a>.</p> |
| 81 |
|
| 82 |
<p>For information on coordinating and contributing translations of |
| 83 |
our web pages, see <a |
| 84 |
href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations |
| 85 |
README</a>. --> |
| 86 |
Please see the <a |
| 87 |
href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations |
| 88 |
README</a> for information on coordinating and contributing translations |
| 89 |
of this article.</p> |
| 90 |
</div> |
| 91 |
|
| 92 |
<!-- Regarding copyright, in general, standalone pages (as opposed to |
| 93 |
files generated as part of manuals) on the GNU web server should |
| 94 |
be under CC BY-ND 4.0. Please do NOT change or remove this |
| 95 |
without talking with the webmasters or licensing team first. |
| 96 |
Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the |
| 97 |
document. For web pages, it is ok to list just the latest year the |
| 98 |
document was modified, or published. |
| 99 |
|
| 100 |
If you wish to list earlier years, that is ok too. |
| 101 |
Either "2001, 2002, 2003" or "2001-2003" are ok for specifying |
| 102 |
years, as long as each year in the range is in fact a copyrightable |
| 103 |
year, i.e., a year in which the document was published (including |
| 104 |
being publicly visible on the web or in a revision control system). |
| 105 |
|
| 106 |
There is more detail about copyright years in the GNU Maintainers |
| 107 |
Information document, www.gnu.org/prep/maintain. --> |
| 108 |
|
| 109 |
<p>Copyright © 2016, 2020, 2021 Richard Stallman</p> |
| 110 |
|
| 111 |
<p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license" |
| 112 |
href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">Creative |
| 113 |
Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.</p> |
| 114 |
|
| 115 |
<!--#include virtual="/server/bottom-notes.html" --> |
| 116 |
|
| 117 |
<p class="unprintable">Updated: |
| 118 |
<!-- timestamp start --> |
| 119 |
$Date: 2021/09/02 08:42:02 $ |
| 120 |
<!-- timestamp end --> |
| 121 |
</p> |
| 122 |
</div> |
| 123 |
</div><!-- for class="inner", starts in the banner include --> |
| 124 |
</body> |
| 125 |
</html> |