David (version 10)

I'm David Fifield.

I live in Colorado, USA. I learned go in middle school from a friend of mine. I don't know my rank, but I consider myself a relatively poor player (probably about 20k).

If you wish, you can email me at david@bamsoftware.com.

Because I think it may be useful to leave it here for at least a little while longer, here's part of what I wrote in Messages to People Currently Present in the Library:

The terms " free software" and " open-source software" mean approximately the same thing; see http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html. The important thing to remember is that the "free" in "free software" means freedom, not price (free software is not necessarily non-commercial software; see http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/selling.html).

Nico: I have added the open-source license? page to link related programs. Feel free to discuss and add materiel there.

Is such a page appropriate at Sensei's Library? I hope I've made it clear that while free software is important to me, I think discussion of it on Sensei's Library should be limited to those few areas where it intersects with the game of go.

I can see that it would be useful to be able to link the terms "free" and "open-source" to it from pages that describe go-related computer programs. However, I don't think there's much we can put on it that doesn't simply duplicate information in the Free Software and Open Source Definitions.

Also, I am not entirely satisfied with the name of the page. I prefer the term "free software" over "open-source software" because the important thing is the freedom of users, not the openness of the source code. Another thing is that not all free and open-source software is licensed; software in the public domain is not copyrighted and therefore carries no license. I propose that if the existence of the page meets with general approval, that it be called Free Software? and have an alias called Open-Source Software?.

At the moment, I'm inclined to make the page a small one containing only a brief description of free and open-source software, links to the two definitions mentioned above and a list of people who are willing to explain the concepts behind the terms.

What do the other deshi have to say? Please leave your comments here.

Confused: For my part, I think Sensei's Library isn't the right place for a discussion about the different flavours of free software, specially when there are many more authoritative sites already available. Instead of reproducing them in an inferior manner, it's preferable to link to them directly.

David: A few weeks' observation lead me to agree. There seems to be no real need of these pages. Anyone who wants more information about free software may feel free to contact me directly.