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-@cindex free documentation
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-
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-The biggest deficiency in the free software community today is not in
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-the software---it is the lack of good free documentation that we can
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-include with the free software. Many of our most important
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-programs do not come with free reference manuals and free introductory
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-texts. Documentation is an essential part of any software package;
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-when an important free software package does not come with a free
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-manual and a free tutorial, that is a major gap. We have many such
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-gaps today.
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-
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-Consider Perl, for instance. The tutorial manuals that people
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-normally use are non-free. How did this come about? Because the
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-authors of those manuals published them with restrictive terms---no
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-copying, no modification, source files not available---which exclude
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-them from the free software world.
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-
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-That wasn't the first time this sort of thing happened, and it was far
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-from the last. Many times we have heard a GNU user eagerly describe a
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-manual that he is writing, his intended contribution to the community,
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-only to learn that he had ruined everything by signing a publication
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-contract to make it non-free.
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-
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-Free documentation, like free software, is a matter of freedom, not
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-price. The problem with the non-free manual is not that publishers
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-charge a price for printed copies---that in itself is fine. (The Free
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-Software Foundation sells printed copies of manuals, too.) The
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-problem is the restrictions on the use of the manual. Free manuals
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-are available in source code form, and give you permission to copy and
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-modify. Non-free manuals do not allow this.
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-
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-The criteria of freedom for a free manual are roughly the same as for
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-free software. Redistribution (including the normal kinds of
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-commercial redistribution) must be permitted, so that the manual can
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-accompany every copy of the program, both on-line and on paper.
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-
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-Permission for modification of the technical content is crucial too.
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-When people modify the software, adding or changing features, if they
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-are conscientious they will change the manual too---so they can
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-provide accurate and clear documentation for the modified program. A
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-manual that leaves you no choice but to write a new manual to document
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-a changed version of the program is not really available to our
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-community.
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-
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-Some kinds of limits on the way modification is handled are
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-acceptable. For example, requirements to preserve the original
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-author's copyright notice, the distribution terms, or the list of
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-authors, are ok. It is also no problem to require modified versions
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-to include notice that they were modified. Even entire sections that
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-may not be deleted or changed are acceptable, as long as they deal
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-with nontechnical topics (like this one). These kinds of restrictions
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-are acceptable because they don't obstruct the community's normal use
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-of the manual.
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-
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-However, it must be possible to modify all the @emph{technical}
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-content of the manual, and then distribute the result in all the usual
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-media, through all the usual channels. Otherwise, the restrictions
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-obstruct the use of the manual, it is not free, and we need another
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-manual to replace it.
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-
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-Please spread the word about this issue. Our community continues to
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-lose manuals to proprietary publishing. If we spread the word that
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-free software needs free reference manuals and free tutorials, perhaps
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-the next person who wants to contribute by writing documentation will
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-realize, before it is too late, that only free manuals contribute to
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-the free software community.
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-
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-If you are writing documentation, please insist on publishing it under
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-the GNU Free Documentation License or another free documentation
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-license. Remember that this decision requires your approval---you
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-don't have to let the publisher decide. Some commercial publishers
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-will use a free license if you insist, but they will not propose the
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-option; it is up to you to raise the issue and say firmly that this is
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-what you want. If the publisher you are dealing with refuses, please
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-try other publishers. If you're not sure whether a proposed license
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-is free, write to @email{licensing@@gnu.org}.
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-
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-You can encourage commercial publishers to sell more free, copylefted
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-manuals and tutorials by buying them, and particularly by buying
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-copies from the publishers that paid for their writing or for major
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-improvements. Meanwhile, try to avoid buying non-free documentation
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-at all. Check the distribution terms of a manual before you buy it,
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-and insist that whoever seeks your business must respect your freedom.
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-Check the history of the book, and try reward the publishers that have
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-paid or pay the authors to work on it.
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-
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-The Free Software Foundation maintains a list of free documentation
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-published by other publishers, at
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-@url{http://www.fsf.org/doc/other-free-books.html}.
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Alfred M. Szmidt