Dogcows Code - chaz/tar/blob - doc/freemanuals.texi

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