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"><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-NS Stylesheets V1.78.1" /><meta name="keywords" content="ISO C++, library" /><meta name="keywords" content="ISO C++, runtime, library" /><link rel="home" href="../index.html" title="The GNU C++ Library" /><link rel="up" href="appendix.html" title="Part IV. Appendices" /><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. 3 Free Software Needs Free Documentation 4 5</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="backwards.html">Prev</a> </td><th width="60%" align="center">Part IV. 6 Appendices 7</th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="appendix_gpl.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr /></div><div class="appendix"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h1 class="title"><a id="appendix.free"></a> 8 Free Software Needs Free Documentation 9 <a id="id-1.3.6.4.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a> 10</h1></div></div></div><p> 11The biggest deficiency in free operating systems is not in the 12software--it is the lack of good free manuals that we can include in 13these systems. Many of our most important programs do not come with 14full manuals. Documentation is an essential part of any software 15package; when an important free software package does not come with a 16free manual, that is a major gap. We have many such gaps today. 17</p><p> 18Once upon a time, many years ago, I thought I would learn Perl. I got 19a copy of a free manual, but I found it hard to read. When I asked 20Perl users about alternatives, they told me that there were better 21introductory manuals--but those were not free. 22</p><p> 23Why was this? The authors of the good manuals had written them for 24O'Reilly Associates, which published them with restrictive terms--no 25copying, no modification, source files not available--which exclude 26them from the free software community. 27</p><p> 28That wasn't the first time this sort of thing has happened, and (to 29our community's great loss) it was far from the last. Proprietary 30manual publishers have enticed a great many authors to restrict their 31manuals since then. Many times I have heard a GNU user eagerly tell 32me about a manual that he is writing, with which he expects to help 33the GNU project--and then had my hopes dashed, as he proceeded to 34explain that he had signed a contract with a publisher that would 35restrict it so that we cannot use it. 36</p><p> 37Given that writing good English is a rare skill among programmers, we 38can ill afford to lose manuals this way. 39</p><p> 40 Free documentation, like free software, is a matter of freedom, 41not price. The problem with these manuals was not that O'Reilly 42Associates charged a price for printed copies--that in itself is fine. 43(The Free Software Foundation <a class="link" href="http://www.gnu.org/doc/doc.html" target="_top">sells printed copies</a> of 44free GNU manuals, too.) But GNU manuals are available in source code 45form, while these manuals are available only on paper. GNU manuals 46come with permission to copy and modify; the Perl manuals do not. 47These restrictions are the problems. 48</p><p> 49The criterion for a free manual is pretty much the same as for free 50software: it is a matter of giving all users certain freedoms. 51Redistribution (including commercial redistribution) must be 52permitted, so that the manual can accompany every copy of the program, 53on-line or on paper. Permission for modification is crucial too. 54</p><p> 55As a general rule, I don't believe that it is essential for people to 56have permission to modify all sorts of articles and books. The issues 57for writings are not necessarily the same as those for software. For 58example, I don't think you or I are obliged to give permission to 59modify articles like this one, which describe our actions and our 60views. 61</p><p> 62But there is a particular reason why the freedom to modify is crucial 63for documentation for free software. When people exercise their right 64to modify the software, and add or change its features, if they are 65conscientious they will change the manual too--so they can provide 66accurate and usable documentation with the modified program. A manual 67which forbids programmers to be conscientious and finish the job, or 68more precisely requires them to write a new manual from scratch if 69they change the program, does not fill our community's needs. 70</p><p> 71While a blanket prohibition on modification is unacceptable, some 72kinds of limits on the method of modification pose no problem. For 73example, requirements to preserve the original author's copyright 74notice, the distribution terms, or the list of authors, are ok. It is 75also no problem to require modified versions to include notice that 76they were modified, even to have entire sections that may not be 77deleted or changed, as long as these sections deal with nontechnical 78topics. (Some GNU manuals have them.) 79</p><p> 80These kinds of restrictions are not a problem because, as a practical 81matter, they don't stop the conscientious programmer from adapting the 82manual to fit the modified program. In other words, they don't block 83the free software community from making full use of the manual. 84</p><p> 85However, it must be possible to modify all the <span class="emphasis"><em>technical</em></span> 86content of the manual, and then distribute the result in all the usual 87media, through all the usual channels; otherwise, the restrictions do 88block the community, the manual is not free, and so we need another 89manual. 90</p><p> 91Unfortunately, it is often hard to find someone to write another 92manual when a proprietary manual exists. The obstacle is that many 93users think that a proprietary manual is good enough--so they don't 94see the need to write a free manual. They do not see that the free 95operating system has a gap that needs filling. 96</p><p> 97Why do users think that proprietary manuals are good enough? Some 98have not considered the issue. I hope this article will do something 99to change that. 100</p><p> 101Other users consider proprietary manuals acceptable for the same 102reason so many people consider proprietary software acceptable: they 103judge in purely practical terms, not using freedom as a criterion. 104These people are entitled to their opinions, but since those opinions 105spring from values which do not include freedom, they are no guide for 106those of us who do value freedom. 107</p><p> 108Please spread the word about this issue. We continue to lose manuals 109to proprietary publishing. If we spread the word that proprietary 110manuals are not sufficient, perhaps the next person who wants to help 111GNU by writing documentation will realize, before it is too late, that 112he must above all make it free. 113</p><p> 114We can also encourage commercial publishers to sell free, copylefted 115manuals instead of proprietary ones. One way you can help this is to 116check the distribution terms of a manual before you buy it, and 117prefer copylefted manuals to non-copylefted ones. 118</p><p> 119[Note: We now maintain a <a class="link" href="http://www.fsf.org/licensing/doc/other-free-books.html" target="_top">web page 120that lists free books available from other publishers</a>]. 121</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 122permitted worldwide, without royalty, in any medium, provided this 123notice 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="appendix.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="../index.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> Appendix D. 124 <acronym class="acronym">GNU</acronym> General Public License version 3 125 </td></tr></table></div></body></html>