Please review our new charter

[Noah Slater]

On Mon, Feb 02, 2009 at 04:09:33PM +0100, Bernhard Reiter wrote:
> "Open Source" is by design a different word for Free Software.
> http://web.archive.org/web/20060924132033/www.opensource.org/advocacy/faq.php
> "The Open Source Initiative is a marketing program for free software."
>
> Regarding software, both mean the same status,
> that the software user has all four freedoms.
> Software itself cannot be a group of people.

The FSFE concerns its self with a LOT more than just software. It is also
important to support developers, groups, events, promotion, education, and all
the other things which might further the core set of principals. In this
respect, supporting Open Source and supporting Free Software is an important
distinction to make. Don't conflate the two just because the byproduct is the
same. This organisation is concerned the whole ecosystem surrounding that.

> If you want to foster open development, why not say so?
> It spreads confusion to let people think "open source" and "free software"
> are different status attributed of software. Overall they are not.
> (Experts like Debian, FSF and OSI sometimes discuss details, but this does not
> change the situation that it is all the same by design.)

The FSFE is not planning to do this, from my reading. They are making a
statement that they wish to support Open Source and Free Software as separate
groups, which is a fantastic thing.

-- 
Noah Slater, http://tumbolia.org/nslater