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1 | @c freemanuals.texi - blurb for free documentation. |
2 | @c This file is intended to be included within another document, | |
3 | @c hence no sectioning command or @node. | |
4 | ||
41713d4e AJ |
5 | @cindex free documentation |
6 | ||
7 | The biggest deficiency in the free software community today is not in | |
8 | the software---it is the lack of good free documentation that we can | |
9 | include with the free software. Many of our most important | |
10 | programs do not come with free reference manuals and free introductory | |
11 | texts. Documentation is an essential part of any software package; | |
12 | when an important free software package does not come with a free | |
13 | manual and a free tutorial, that is a major gap. We have many such | |
14 | gaps today. | |
15 | ||
16 | Consider Perl, for instance. The tutorial manuals that people | |
17 | normally use are non-free. How did this come about? Because the | |
18 | authors of those manuals published them with restrictive terms---no | |
19 | copying, no modification, source files not available---which exclude | |
20 | them from the free software world. | |
21 | ||
22 | That wasn't the first time this sort of thing happened, and it was far | |
23 | from the last. Many times we have heard a GNU user eagerly describe a | |
24 | manual that he is writing, his intended contribution to the community, | |
25 | only to learn that he had ruined everything by signing a publication | |
26 | contract to make it non-free. | |
27 | ||
28 | Free documentation, like free software, is a matter of freedom, not | |
29 | price. The problem with the non-free manual is not that publishers | |
30 | charge a price for printed copies---that in itself is fine. (The Free | |
31 | Software Foundation sells printed copies of manuals, too.) The | |
32 | problem is the restrictions on the use of the manual. Free manuals | |
33 | are available in source code form, and give you permission to copy and | |
34 | modify. Non-free manuals do not allow this. | |
35 | ||
36 | The criteria of freedom for a free manual are roughly the same as for | |
37 | free software. Redistribution (including the normal kinds of | |
38 | commercial redistribution) must be permitted, so that the manual can | |
39 | accompany every copy of the program, both on-line and on paper. | |
40 | ||
41 | Permission for modification of the technical content is crucial too. | |
42 | When people modify the software, adding or changing features, if they | |
43 | are conscientious they will change the manual too---so they can | |
44 | provide accurate and clear documentation for the modified program. A | |
45 | manual that leaves you no choice but to write a new manual to document | |
46 | a changed version of the program is not really available to our | |
47 | community. | |
48 | ||
49 | Some kinds of limits on the way modification is handled are | |
50 | acceptable. For example, requirements to preserve the original | |
51 | author's copyright notice, the distribution terms, or the list of | |
52 | authors, are ok. It is also no problem to require modified versions | |
53 | to include notice that they were modified. Even entire sections that | |
54 | may not be deleted or changed are acceptable, as long as they deal | |
55 | with nontechnical topics (like this one). These kinds of restrictions | |
56 | are acceptable because they don't obstruct the community's normal use | |
57 | of the manual. | |
58 | ||
59 | However, it must be possible to modify all the @emph{technical} | |
60 | content of the manual, and then distribute the result in all the usual | |
61 | media, through all the usual channels. Otherwise, the restrictions | |
62 | obstruct the use of the manual, it is not free, and we need another | |
63 | manual to replace it. | |
64 | ||
65 | Please spread the word about this issue. Our community continues to | |
66 | lose manuals to proprietary publishing. If we spread the word that | |
67 | free software needs free reference manuals and free tutorials, perhaps | |
68 | the next person who wants to contribute by writing documentation will | |
69 | realize, before it is too late, that only free manuals contribute to | |
70 | the free software community. | |
71 | ||
72 | If you are writing documentation, please insist on publishing it under | |
73 | the GNU Free Documentation License or another free documentation | |
74 | license. Remember that this decision requires your approval---you | |
75 | don't have to let the publisher decide. Some commercial publishers | |
76 | will use a free license if you insist, but they will not propose the | |
77 | option; it is up to you to raise the issue and say firmly that this is | |
78 | what you want. If the publisher you are dealing with refuses, please | |
79 | try other publishers. If you're not sure whether a proposed license | |
80 | is free, write to @email{licensing@@gnu.org}. | |
81 | ||
82 | You can encourage commercial publishers to sell more free, copylefted | |
83 | manuals and tutorials by buying them, and particularly by buying | |
84 | copies from the publishers that paid for their writing or for major | |
85 | improvements. Meanwhile, try to avoid buying non-free documentation | |
86 | at all. Check the distribution terms of a manual before you buy it, | |
87 | and insist that whoever seeks your business must respect your freedom. | |
88 | Check the history of the book, and try reward the publishers that have | |
89 | paid or pay the authors to work on it. | |
90 | ||
91 | The Free Software Foundation maintains a list of free documentation | |
92 | published by other publishers, at | |
5a82c748 | 93 | @url{https://www.fsf.org/doc/other-free-books.html}. |