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Reasons for Freedom Software / Open Source
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|description=Why Open Source / Freedom Software are essential for user security, privacy and freedom.
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[[File:Heckert gnu.big.png|150px|thumb|GNU logo.<br /> {{project_name_short}} is Freedom Software.]]
[[File:Osi standard logo 0.png|150px|thumb|OSI logo.<br /> {{project_name_short}} is Open Source.]]
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Why Open Source / Freedom Software are essential for user security, privacy and freedom. Security, Legal, Ethical and other Reasons. No Intentional User Freedom Restrictions.
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= Why Open Source =
One of the advantages of {{project_name_short}} is its Open Source nature. Being Open Source means that our source code is publicly available and accessible, allowing anyone to easily read it. Source code is the set of textual instructions written by programmers used to create a program.

What are some of the practical advantages?

{{#widget:Icon_Bullet_List
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|item=fa-solid fa-gift cs-green,Open Source software usually comes free of charge, providing a cost-effective solution.
|item=fa-solid fa-user-shield cs-green,Respects user privacy and freedom, establishing a trustful relationship between developers and users.
|item=fa-solid fa-check-double cs-green,Often exhibits higher stability and quality due to the collaborative nature of Open Source projects.
|item=fa-solid fa-unlock cs-green,Eliminates vendor lock-in, ensuring that the software can outlive its original authors.
|item=fa-solid fa-shield-alt cs-green,Protects users from mistreatment by developers, providing a safer user experience.
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Why is the openness of the source code significant? Here are two scenarios:

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|item=fa-solid fa-user cs-red,<b>A)</b> You're not a programmer: Source code? What's that? Unable to read or understand any of it? Does it seem irrelevant? Wrong. The availability of source code is beneficial, even if you're not a programmer. Other programmers' ability to work with the source code translates to numerous practical advantages for users.
|item=fa-solid fa-laptop-code cs-blue,<b>B)</b> You're a programmer: You have the liberty to study, modify, and even redistribute the source code under the respective licenses.
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Open Source means full transparency in the design, construction, and operation of software. This can lead to more security and more trustworthy software.

Proprietary software (non-freedom software) is the opposite of Open Source software. It often includes anti-features or may even function as malware, thereby mistreating the user. There are many reasons to [[Avoid_nonfreedom_software|Avoid Non-Freedom Software]].

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If you don't know what your computer is doing, your computer is controlling you. Not the other way around.
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= Why {{project_name_short}} is Freedom Software And Open Source =
'''Table:''' ''Why {{project_name_short}} is <u>Freedom Software</u> / <u>Open Source</u>''

{| class="wikitable"
|-

! scope="col"| '''Motivation'''
! scope="col"| '''Rationale'''
|-

! scope="row"| Security
| {{Freedom_Software_Security}}
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! scope="row"| Legal
| {{project_name_short}} is based on [https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.en.html Freedom Software]. A lot of Libre licensed software prohibits modification and distribution without sharing the modified source code.
|-

! scope="row"| Ethics
| {{project_name_short}} developers believe it is immoral to benefit from those [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software Free]/Freedom Software components and give back nothing. We stand on the shoulders of giants - {{project_name_short}} and many other Libre software projects are only made possible because people invested in writing code that is kept accessible for the public benefit.
|-

! scope="row"| Community
| It is rewarding and enjoyable to have all types of people [[Contribute|contributing]]. This works best in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Source Open Source] projects.
|-

! scope="row"| Impact
| When free in price, {{project_name_short}} can spread faster than commercial tools that cannot provide security by default/design.
|-

! scope="row"| Commerce
| Developers hope to make a living from {{project_name_short}} by selling additional services. ([[Plus Support]] | [[Premium Support]])
|-

! scope="row"| Career
| Our experience volunteering on this project improves our skill set and makes us more valuable employees.
|-

|}

{{Anchor|no_intentional_user_freedom_restrictions}}

= No Intentional User Freedom Restrictions =
In the spirit of Freedom Software, {{project_name_short}} does not intentionally restrict user freedoms. {{project_name_short}} documentation might discourage certain configurations, but ultimately the user is free to ignore such advice.

In their default state, programs developed under the {{project_name_short}} banner may afford additional protection against unsafe user configurations. For example, even if users wanted to do things which are known security risk and recommended against, but documentation might still be provided on how to disable this security mechanism. Simply put, the end user maintains ultimate control over the final {{project_name_short}} configuration best suited to their needs.

Since [[About#Based_on_Debian|{{project_name_short}} is based on Debian]] it is valid to state that {{project_name_short}} has adopted a specific Debian configuration. For this reason advanced Debian users can independently replicate the same technical implementation. Anything {{project_name_short}} has pre-configured can be re-/de-configured by the user without restriction. User customization is not prevented by technologies used inside {{project_name_short}}, nor is configuration of {{project_name_short}} intentionally obfuscated.

Simply put, the end user maintains ultimate control over the final {{project_name_short}} configuration that best suits their needs.

= Software Fork Friendly =
[[File:Pay-706798-640.jpg|150px|thumb|{{project_name_short}} is free of charge.]]

{{project_name_short}} policy is that the name of the project should ideally be a variable so it can be easily changed through a software fork.

For example, {{project_name_short}} wiki markup text does not write <code>{{project_name_short}}</code> literally. Instead it uses variables such as [[Template:project_name_long|<code>project_name_long</code>]] which contains variable content <code>{{project_name_short}}</code>. By changing the contents of that wiki template to a different textual string such as <code>MyForkedProject</code>, the name of the project would change wiki wide from <code>{{project_name_short}}</code> to <code>MyForkedProject</code>.

This is also the reason why many packages names developed under the {{project_name_short}} umbrella contain <code>dist</code> (which is a generic abbreviation meaning "distribution") instead of <code>{{project_name_short_lowercase}}-</code>. {{project_name_short}} source code such as package names avoid using the literal string {{project_name_short}} as much as possible. [[Reporting_Bugs#Contributions|Contributions]] towards that effort are welcome.

= See Also =
<div class="mininav">
* [[Reasons_for_Freedom_Software|Why Freedom Software / Open Source]]
* [[Avoid_nonfreedom_software|Avoid Non-Freedom Software]]
* [[Miscellaneous_Threats_to_User_Freedom|Miscellaneous Threats to User Freedom]]
* [[Policy_On_Nonfreedom_Software|{{project_name_short}} Policy on Non-Freedom Software]]
* [[Policy_of_Website_and_Chat|Policy of the {{project_name_short}} Website and Chat]]
* {{kicksecure_wiki
|wikipage=Dev/Open_Source_Business_Models
|text=Open Source Business Models
}}
</div>

[[Category:Documentation]]
[[Category:MultiWiki]]
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