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Comment by foiboitoi | Hacker News Reader

Why hasn't "Free as in Freedom" Software been shortened to just Freedom Software? Or Liberal or Liberty Software? This seems like a simple problem to solve honestly.

Given that this issue is still happening after decades... I think it deserves to be addressed.

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That's a great question. I've always been partial to "FSF certified" and "OSI certified". Put it right on the organizations that promote the definitions. And it gets those groups extra exposure when people look the terms up. Bonus: we could then pretend FOSS stands for "FSF/OSI Sanctioned Software".

They could even get trademarks on those terms, unlike the failed attempt to trademark "open source".

> I think it deserves to be addressed.

We've gotta get people to budge on this, and see things from the other side. Find a way to do that and I think you could achieve world peace =)

Hah world peace.

I'm curious to why people thought I deserved downvoting. I think it's a reasonable question. When ever I hear "Free Software" said to the layman, it's ALWAYS followed up by "free as in freedom." Then they describe what that "freedom" means to them.

It'd be easier to have just one step of clarification than multiple.

"Libre software" attempted to bring the distinction to the English term without using English, so English speakers never really used it.

It's the L in FLOSS.

I don't understand why they thought it was a good idea to resort to a foreign word to describe freedom. It might make sense in America but not the rest of the English speaking world. I think freedom & liberty are immediately comprehensible in the context of software.

I agree, it was just as obtuse as "free" when other words would have conveyed their intent better.

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