1<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?> 2<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> 3<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /><title>Appendix��C.�� Free Software Needs Free Documentation</title><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.75.2" /><meta name="keywords" content=" ISO C++ , library " /><link rel="home" href="../spine.html" title="The GNU C++ Library Documentation" /><link rel="up" href="spine.html" title="The GNU C++ Library" /><link rel="prev" href="backwards.html" title="Backwards Compatibility" /><link rel="next" href="appendix_gpl.html" title="Appendix��D.�� GNU General Public License version 3" /></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">Appendix��C.�� 4 Free Software Needs Free Documentation 5 6</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="backwards.html">Prev</a>��</td><th width="60%" align="center">The GNU C++ Library</th><td width="20%" align="right">��<a accesskey="n" href="appendix_gpl.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr /></div><div class="appendix" title="Appendix��C.�� Free Software Needs Free Documentation"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a id="appendix.free"></a>Appendix��C.�� 7 Free Software Needs Free Documentation 8 <a id="id702684" class="indexterm"></a> 9</h2></div></div></div><p> 10The biggest deficiency in free operating systems is not in the 11software--it is the lack of good free manuals that we can include in 12these systems. Many of our most important programs do not come with 13full manuals. Documentation is an essential part of any software 14package; when an important free software package does not come with a 15free manual, that is a major gap. We have many such gaps today. 16</p><p> 17Once upon a time, many years ago, I thought I would learn Perl. I got 18a copy of a free manual, but I found it hard to read. When I asked 19Perl users about alternatives, they told me that there were better 20introductory manuals--but those were not free. 21</p><p> 22Why was this? The authors of the good manuals had written them for 23O'Reilly Associates, which published them with restrictive terms--no 24copying, no modification, source files not available--which exclude 25them from the free software community. 26</p><p> 27That wasn't the first time this sort of thing has happened, and (to 28our community's great loss) it was far from the last. Proprietary 29manual publishers have enticed a great many authors to restrict their 30manuals since then. Many times I have heard a GNU user eagerly tell 31me about a manual that he is writing, with which he expects to help 32the GNU project--and then had my hopes dashed, as he proceeded to 33explain that he had signed a contract with a publisher that would 34restrict it so that we cannot use it. 35</p><p> 36Given that writing good English is a rare skill among programmers, we 37can ill afford to lose manuals this way. 38</p><p> 39 Free documentation, like free software, is a matter of freedom, 40not price. The problem with these manuals was not that O'Reilly 41Associates charged a price for printed copies--that in itself is fine. 42(The Free Software Foundation <a class="ulink" href="http://www.gnu.org/doc/doc.html" target="_top">sells printed copies</a> of 43free GNU manuals, too.) But GNU manuals are available in source code 44form, while these manuals are available only on paper. GNU manuals 45come with permission to copy and modify; the Perl manuals do not. 46These restrictions are the problems. 47</p><p> 48The criterion for a free manual is pretty much the same as for free 49software: it is a matter of giving all users certain freedoms. 50Redistribution (including commercial redistribution) must be 51permitted, so that the manual can accompany every copy of the program, 52on-line or on paper. Permission for modification is crucial too. 53</p><p> 54As a general rule, I don't believe that it is essential for people to 55have permission to modify all sorts of articles and books. The issues 56for writings are not necessarily the same as those for software. For 57example, I don't think you or I are obliged to give permission to 58modify articles like this one, which describe our actions and our 59views. 60</p><p> 61But there is a particular reason why the freedom to modify is crucial 62for documentation for free software. When people exercise their right 63to modify the software, and add or change its features, if they are 64conscientious they will change the manual too--so they can provide 65accurate and usable documentation with the modified program. A manual 66which forbids programmers to be conscientious and finish the job, or 67more precisely requires them to write a new manual from scratch if 68they change the program, does not fill our community's needs. 69</p><p> 70While a blanket prohibition on modification is unacceptable, some 71kinds of limits on the method of modification pose no problem. For 72example, requirements to preserve the original author's copyright 73notice, the distribution terms, or the list of authors, are ok. It is 74also no problem to require modified versions to include notice that 75they were modified, even to have entire sections that may not be 76deleted or changed, as long as these sections deal with nontechnical 77topics. (Some GNU manuals have them.) 78</p><p> 79These kinds of restrictions are not a problem because, as a practical 80matter, they don't stop the conscientious programmer from adapting the 81manual to fit the modified program. In other words, they don't block 82the free software community from making full use of the manual. 83</p><p> 84However, it must be possible to modify all the <span class="emphasis"><em>technical</em></span> 85content of the manual, and then distribute the result in all the usual 86media, through all the usual channels; otherwise, the restrictions do 87block the community, the manual is not free, and so we need another 88manual. 89</p><p> 90Unfortunately, it is often hard to find someone to write another 91manual when a proprietary manual exists. The obstacle is that many 92users think that a proprietary manual is good enough--so they don't 93see the need to write a free manual. They do not see that the free 94operating system has a gap that needs filling. 95</p><p> 96Why do users think that proprietary manuals are good enough? Some 97have not considered the issue. I hope this article will do something 98to change that. 99</p><p> 100Other users consider proprietary manuals acceptable for the same 101reason so many people consider proprietary software acceptable: they 102judge in purely practical terms, not using freedom as a criterion. 103These people are entitled to their opinions, but since those opinions 104spring from values which do not include freedom, they are no guide for 105those of us who do value freedom. 106</p><p> 107Please spread the word about this issue. We continue to lose manuals 108to proprietary publishing. If we spread the word that proprietary 109manuals are not sufficient, perhaps the next person who wants to help 110GNU by writing documentation will realize, before it is too late, that 111he must above all make it free. 112</p><p> 113We can also encourage commercial publishers to sell free, copylefted 114manuals instead of proprietary ones. One way you can help this is to 115check the distribution terms of a manual before you buy it, and 116prefer copylefted manuals to non-copylefted ones. 117</p><p> 118[Note: We now maintain a <a class="ulink" href="http://www.fsf.org/licensing/doc/other-free-books.html" target="_top">web page 119that lists free books available from other publishers</a>]. 120</p><p>Copyright �� 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA</p><p>Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article are 121permitted worldwide, without royalty, in any medium, provided this 122notice is preserved.</p><p>Report any problems or suggestions to <code class="email"><<a class="email" href="mailto:webmaster@fsf.org">webmaster@fsf.org</a>></code>.</p></div><div class="navfooter"><hr /><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="backwards.html">Prev</a>��</td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="spine.html">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right">��<a accesskey="n" href="appendix_gpl.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">Backwards Compatibility��</td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="../spine.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top">��Appendix��D.�� 123 <acronym class="acronym">GNU</acronym> General Public License version 3 124 </td></tr></table></div></body></html> 125