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<TITLE>The Free Software Definition - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF)</TITLE> |
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<H3>The Free Software Definition</H3> |
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<A HREF="/graphics/philosophicalgnu.html"><IMG SRC="/graphics/philosophical-gnu-sm.jpg" |
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[ |
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<A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.hr.html">Croatian</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.nl.html">Dutch</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.html">English</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.fr.html">French</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.gl.html">Galician</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.hu.html">Hungarian</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.id.html">Indonesian</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.it.html">Italian</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.ja.html">Japanese</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.ko.html">Korean</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.no.html">Norwegian</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.pl.html">Polish</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.pt.html">Portuguese</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.ru.html">Russian</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.es.html">Spanish</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.tr.html">Turkish</A> |
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] |
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<P> |
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|
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We maintain this free software definition to show clearly what must be |
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true about a particular software program for it to be considered |
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free software. |
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<P> |
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``Free software'' is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the |
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concept, you should think of ``free'' as in ``free speech,'' not as in |
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``free beer.'' |
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<P> |
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Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, |
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distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely, |
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it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software: |
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<P> |
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|
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<UL> |
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<LI>The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0). |
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<LI>The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs |
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(freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this. |
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<LI>The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor |
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(freedom 2). |
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<LI>The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements |
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to the public, so that the whole community benefits. |
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(freedom 3). Access to the source code is a precondition for this. |
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</UL> |
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<P> |
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A program is free software if users have all of these freedoms. |
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Thus, you should be free to redistribute copies, either with or |
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without modifications, either gratis or charging a fee for |
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distribution, to <A HREF="#exportcontrol">anyone anywhere</A>. Being |
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free to do these things means (among other things) that you do not |
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have to ask or pay for permission. |
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|
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<P> |
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You should also have the freedom to make modifications and use them |
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privately in your own work or play, without even mentioning that they |
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exist. If you do publish your changes, you should not be required to |
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notify anyone in particular, or in any particular way. |
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|
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<P> |
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The freedom to use a program means the freedom for any kind of person |
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or organization to use it on any kind of computer system, for any kind |
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of overall job, and without being required to communicate subsequently |
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with the developer or any other specific entity. |
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|
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<P> |
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The freedom to redistribute copies must include binary or executable |
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forms of the program, as well as source code, for both modified and |
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unmodified versions. It is ok if there is no way to produce a binary |
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or executable form (since some languages don't support that feature), |
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but you must have the freedom to redistribute such forms should you |
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find or develop a way to make them. |
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<P> |
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In order for the freedoms to make changes, and to publish improved |
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versions, to be meaningful, you must have access to the source code of |
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the program. Therefore, accessibility of source code is a necessary |
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condition for free software. |
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<P> |
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In order for these freedoms to be real, they must be irrevocable as |
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long as you do nothing wrong; if the developer of the software has the |
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power to revoke the license, without your doing anything to give |
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cause, the software is not free. |
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<P> |
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However, certain kinds of rules about the manner of distributing free |
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software are acceptable, when they don't conflict with the central |
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freedoms. For example, copyleft (very simply stated) is the rule that |
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when redistributing the program, you cannot add restrictions to deny |
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other people the central freedoms. This rule does not conflict with |
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the central freedoms; rather it protects them. |
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<P> |
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Thus, you may have paid money to get copies of GNU software, or you |
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may have obtained copies at no charge. But regardless of how you got |
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your copies, you always have the freedom to copy and change the |
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software, even to <A HREF="/philosophy/selling.html">sell copies</A>. |
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<P> |
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``Free software'' does not mean ``non-commercial''. A free program |
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must be available for commercial use, commercial development, and |
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commercial distribution. Commercial development of free software is |
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no longer unusual; such free commercial software is very important. |
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<P> |
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Rules about how to package a modified version are acceptable, if they |
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don't effectively block your freedom to release modified versions. |
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Rules that ``if you make the program available in this way, you must |
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make it available in that way also'' can be acceptable too, on the |
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same condition. (Note that such a rule still leaves you the choice of |
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whether to publish the program or not.) It is also acceptable for the |
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license to require that, if you have distributed a modified version |
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and a previous developer asks for a copy of it, you must send one. |
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|
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<P> |
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In the GNU project, we use <A HREF="/copyleft/copyleft.html"> |
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``copyleft''</A> to protect these freedoms legally for everyone. But |
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<A HREF="/philosophy/categories.html#Non-CopyleftedFreeSoftware"> |
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non-copylefted free software</A> also exists. We believe there are |
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important reasons why <A HREF="/philosophy/pragmatic.html"> it is |
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better to use copyleft</A>, but if your program is non-copylefted free |
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software, we can still use it. |
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|
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<P> |
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See <A HREF="/philosophy/categories.html">Categories of Free Software |
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(18k characters)</A> |
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for a description of how ``free software,'' ``copylefted software'' and |
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other categories of software relate to each other. |
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|
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<P> |
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Sometimes government <A NAME="exportcontrol">export control |
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regulations</A> and trade sanctions can constrain your freedom to |
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distribute copies of programs internationally. Software developers do |
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not have the power to eliminate or override these restrictions, but |
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what they can and must do is refuse to impose them as conditions of |
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use of the program. In this way, the restrictions will not affect |
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activities and people outside the jurisdictions of these governments. |
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<P> |
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When talking about free software, it is best to avoid using terms like |
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``give away'' or ``for free'', because those terms imply that the |
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issue is about price, not freedom. Some common terms such as |
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``piracy'' embody opinions we hope you won't endorse. See <A |
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HREF="/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html">Confusing Words and Phrases |
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that are Worth Avoiding</A> for a discussion of these terms. |
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We also have a list of <A HREF="/philosophy/fs-translations.html">translations |
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of "free software"</A> into various languages. |
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<P> |
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Finally, note that criteria such as those stated in this free software |
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definition require careful thought for their interpretation. To |
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decide whether a specific software license qualifies as a free |
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software license, we judge it based on these criteria to determine |
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whether it fits their spirit as well as the precise words. If a |
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license includes unconscionable restrictions, we reject it, even if we |
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did not anticipate the issue in these criteria. Sometimes a license |
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requirement raises an issue that calls for extensive thought, |
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including discussions with a lawyer, before we can decide if the |
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requirement is acceptable. When we reach a conclusion about a new |
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issue, we often update these criteria to make it easier to see why |
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certain licenses do or don't qualify. |
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<P> |
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|
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If you are interested in whether a specific license qualifies as a |
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free software license, see our <A |
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HREF="/licenses/license-list.html">list of licenses</A>. If the |
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license you are concerned with is not listed there, you can ask us |
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about it by sending us email at <A |
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HREF="mailto:licensing@gnu.org"><licensing@gnu.org></A>. |
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<HR> |
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|
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<H4><A HREF="/philosophy/philosophy.html">Other Texts to Read</A></H4> |
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<P> |
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Another group has started using the term "open source" to mean |
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something close (but not identical) to "free software". We prefer the |
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term "free software" because, once you have heard it refers to freedom |
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rather than price, <A HREF="free-software-for-freedom.html">it calls |
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to mind freedom</A>. |
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|
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<HR> |
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[ |
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<!-- Please keep this list alphabetical --> |
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<!-- PLEASE UPDATE THE LIST AT THE BOTTOM (OR TOP) OF THE PAGE TOO! --> |
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<A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.hr.html">Croatian</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.nl.html">Dutch</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.html">English</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.fr.html">French</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.gl.html">Galician</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.hu.html">Hungarian</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.id.html">Indonesian</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.it.html">Italian</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.ja.html">Japanese</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.ko.html">Korean</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.no.html">Norwegian</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.pl.html">Polish</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.pt.html">Portuguese</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.ru.html">Russian</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.es.html">Spanish</A> |
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| <A HREF="/philosophy/free-sw.tr.html">Turkish</A> |
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] |
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<P> |
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Return to <A HREF="/home.html">GNU's home page</A>. |
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<P> |
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|
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Please send FSF & GNU inquiries & questions to |
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|
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<A HREF="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><EM>gnu@gnu.org</EM></A>. |
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There are also <A HREF="/home.html#ContactInfo">other ways to |
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contact</A> the FSF. |
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<P> |
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|
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Please send comments on these web pages to |
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|
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<A HREF="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org"><EM>webmasters@gnu.org</EM></A>, |
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send other questions to |
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<A HREF="mailto:gnu@gnu.org"><EM>gnu@gnu.org</EM></A>. |
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<P> |
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Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 Free Software Foundation, Inc., |
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59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111, USA |
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<P> |
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Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is |
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permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved. |
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<P> |
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Updated: |
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<!-- timestamp start --> |
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$Date: 2001/10/17 08:05:44 $ $Author: rms46 $ |
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<!-- timestamp end --> |
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