freemanuals.texi 4.7 KB

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