3 ms·
"Free as in speech, not beer" is about what meaning to avoid: the "free" refers to freedom (free speech is about freedom), not price.
by badsectoracula 8y ago
"Free as in speech, not beer" is about what meaning to avoid: the "free" refers to freedom (free speech is about freedom), not price.
- jodrellblank 8y agoAt the time, I could see that - "it's not zero cost", but couldn't see what else (relevant) remained once you took that away. How is a kernel or a text editor like speech? Of course speech costs no money? Why is a webserver or a compiler like arguments about shouting fire in a crowded theatre? Free speech is about the person speaking and their interaction with wider society, free software is about the person listening and their interaction with the speaker and with the speech itself. It's mismatched.
- badsectoracula 8y agoYou focus too much on the "speech" part, it isn't like zero cost software is compared to beer. The "free as in speech" is used to disambiguate between the "price vs freedom" use of "free", not to put any connotation between software and speech. "Free as in speech, not beer" is really a short way to say "when we use the word 'free' here, we do it with the meaning that is used in the phrase 'free speech' as opposed to the meaning used in the phrase 'free beer'".