CPSC225/Notes/GnuManifesto

The GNU Manifesto is an explanation of the GNU Project as written by its founder, Richard Stallman. It explains the nature of the project, its goals, and the ideals and economic reasoning behind it.

The current version of the manifesto was completed in 1993, but most of it dates back to the original version written in 1984.

The GNU Project

 * GNU: "GNU's Not Unix", pronounced as written
 * "free software"
 * no charge for source or object code
 * modifiable by users
 * made with donated work, funds & hardware
 * expected to threaten commercial software's market dominance
 * Unix variant + software for it
 * why Unix:
 * decent OS
 * runs much existing software
 * easy to manage development
 * differs from Unix spec where useful
 * software includes window manager, office programs, games etc.
 * for PCs with 68000 CPU, but porting encouraged

Ideology

 * Main principle: solidarity
 * users share favorite software
 * programmers collaborate not compete
 * trade secrets in software industry prevent this
 * solution: free modification & distribution
 * GNU license bans commercialization
 * comes from Stallman's experience in AI research
 * disillusioned with (academic not commercial) competition
 * resigned to make GNU when couldn't fix working environment

Resources

 * volunteer labor
 * large group with time/distance constraints
 * organization of Unix simplifies this
 * many small well-defined utilities
 * easy to:
 * divide labor
 * make parts compatible
 * small paid development team if funds allow
 * hardware manufacturers donate machines, money
 * home-usable machines only (cost, size, energy needs etc.)
 * payoff: donated hardware gets GNU support sooner

Benefits to Users

 * no-cost software
 * right to modify
 * improved usefulness
 * learning experience
 * efficient software production (= more/better product)
 * less profit-chasing, more R&D
 * widespread code reuse

Economics
This section of the manifesto is phrased as a list of possible economic objections to free software, each followed by Stallman's rebuttal. The main ideas from his defense of the free software movement are as follows.


 * paid support makes free software profitable
 * tech support, distribution, publications, etc.
 * market growth:
 * profit attracts businesses
 * customer service & PR attract users
 * incentives for programmers:
 * pride/enjoyment in work
 * mutual help
 * conscience
 * income
 * tech support
 * custom orders from:
 * user groups
 * makers of hardware needing support
 * donations
 * tax on hardware?
 * not allowed: intellectual property rights
 * invented, not natural, right
 * historically given for reasons not applying to software
 * incentives to business:
 * profit, user base from paid support
 * noncompetition
 * business security
 * hard to win in OS market anyway--high overhead
 * less expense fighting competitors (ads, lawyers etc.)
 * economic model = "post-scarcity world"
 * in future, better work efficiency leaves excess man-hours for major voluntary work
 * free software most feasible in this economy
 * free software promotes this economy by making production efficient