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0 pointsbenj1116y ago0 comments

When you say free software, you have to clarify, 'free as in freedom, not as in beer', libre doesn't have that double meaning.

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klez6y ago

Libre doesn't have a meaning at all, in English, so you'll have to explain that as well. In other languages that I know there is no such problem because the two meanings of "free" are clearly disambiguated by two different words.

ttsda6y ago

The point is: with 'free', people might think they know what it means (it doesn't cost any money), 'libre' is context-specific.

chrisseaton6y ago

In English 'libre' does mean free, but it means free as in 'free will'. It's not the same meaning as 'libre' in other languages. So it is confusing.

https://www.oed.com/viewdictionaryentry/Entry/107929

benj111OP6y ago

I don't have my OED to hand to check, I'd be surprised if it wasn't in there though. I had come across the word prior to my introduction to free software, I'd come across gratis also.

klez6y ago

Not that it disproves you, but the only reference I could find in the online version is "vers libre", meaning "free verse", of course. I don't have a paper version to check, and I'm not a native speaker, so I'll have to trust you on this one :)

vimslayer6y ago

Offtopic, but I've been wondering where people are getting all this free beer from? Where I come from beer is quite expensive.

chrisseaton6y ago

The problem is many people in the free software community enjoy confusing their audience and then take delight in pointing out their clever wordplay.

No reasonable person would decide that the best way to cut through a complicated overlap of a technical discussion a moral issue with many subtleties was with a pun, of all things.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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klez6y ago

ttsda6y ago

The point is: with 'free', people might think they know what it means (it doesn't cost any money), 'libre' is context-specific.

chrisseaton6y ago

In English 'libre' does mean free, but it means free as in 'free will'. It's not the same meaning as 'libre' in other languages. So it is confusing.

https://www.oed.com/viewdictionaryentry/Entry/107929

benj111OP6y ago

I don't have my OED to hand to check, I'd be surprised if it wasn't in there though. I had come across the word prior to my introduction to free software, I'd come across gratis also.

klez6y ago

vimslayer6y ago

Offtopic, but I've been wondering where people are getting all this free beer from? Where I come from beer is quite expensive.

chrisseaton6y ago

The problem is many people in the free software community enjoy confusing their audience and then take delight in pointing out their clever wordplay.

No reasonable person would decide that the best way to cut through a complicated overlap of a technical discussion a moral issue with many subtleties was with a pun, of all things.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse