No it wasn't "obsolete and virtually unused" - at least, not in the UK. I knew what libre meant back when I was a youngster, long before I'd ever heard of the F

No it wasn't "obsolete and virtually unused" - at least, not in the UK. I knew what libre meant back when I was a youngster, long before I'd ever heard of the FSF. I suspect the vast majority of literate English speakers could tell you what libre meant and wouldn't think of it having any connection with software at all. It's an English word borrowed from the French, not computer jargon.