Editing Free software (section)

=== {{anchor|Naming}}Naming and differences with open source ===

{{Main|Alternative terms for free software}}
Although both definitions refer to almost equivalent corpora of programs, the Free Software Foundation recommends using the term "free software" rather than "[[open-source software]]" (an alternative, yet similar, concept coined in 1998), because the goals and messaging are quite dissimilar. According to the Free Software Foundation, "Open source" and its associated campaign mostly focus on the technicalities of the [[Open-source model|public development model]] and marketing free software to businesses, while taking the ethical issue of user rights very lightly or even antagonistically.<ref name="misses-the-point" /> Stallman has also stated that considering the practical advantages of free software is like considering the practical advantages of not being handcuffed, in that it is not necessary for an individual to consider practical reasons in order to realize that being handcuffed is undesirable in itself.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/practical.html |title=The advantages of free software |author-link=Richard Stallman |first=Richard |last=Stallman |publisher=[[Free Software Foundation]] |date=2013-05-14 |access-date=2013-08-12}}</ref>

The FSF also notes that "Open Source" has exactly one specific meaning in common English, namely that "you can look at the source code." It states that while the term "Free Software" can lead to two different interpretations, at least one of them is consistent with the intended meaning unlike the term "Open Source".{{efn|[[Source-available software|Access to source code]] is a necessary but insufficient condition, according to both the Free Software and Open Source definitions.}} The loan adjective "[[wikt:libre|libre]]" is often used to avoid the ambiguity of the word "free" in the [[English language]], and the ambiguity with the older usage of "free software" as public-domain software.<ref name="infoworld1983" /> (''See [[Gratis versus libre]].'')