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<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /><title>Appendix C. Free Software Needs Free Documentation</title><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets V1.75.2" /><meta name="keywords" content=" ISO C++ , library " /><link rel="home" href="../spine.html" title="The GNU C++ Library Documentation" /><link rel="up" href="spine.html" title="The GNU C++ Library" /><link rel="prev" href="backwards.html" title="Backwards Compatibility" /><link rel="next" href="appendix_gpl.html" title="Appendix D. GNU General Public License version 3" /></head><body><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="3" align="center">Appendix C.
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Free Software Needs Free Documentation
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</th></tr><tr><td width="20%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="backwards.html">Prev</a> </td><th width="60%" align="center">The GNU C++ Library</th><td width="20%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="appendix_gpl.html">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr /></div><div class="appendix" title="Appendix C. Free Software Needs Free Documentation"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title"><a id="appendix.free"></a>Appendix C.
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Free Software Needs Free Documentation
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<a id="id702684" class="indexterm"></a>
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</h2></div></div></div><p>
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The biggest deficiency in free operating systems is not in the
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software--it is the lack of good free manuals that we can include in
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these systems. Many of our most important programs do not come with
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full manuals. Documentation is an essential part of any software
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package; when an important free software package does not come with a
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free manual, that is a major gap. We have many such gaps today.
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</p><p>
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Once upon a time, many years ago, I thought I would learn Perl. I got
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a copy of a free manual, but I found it hard to read. When I asked
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Perl users about alternatives, they told me that there were better
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introductory manuals--but those were not free.
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</p><p>
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Why was this? The authors of the good manuals had written them for
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O'Reilly Associates, which published them with restrictive terms--no
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copying, no modification, source files not available--which exclude
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them from the free software community.
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</p><p>
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That wasn't the first time this sort of thing has happened, and (to
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our community's great loss) it was far from the last. Proprietary
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manual publishers have enticed a great many authors to restrict their
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manuals since then. Many times I have heard a GNU user eagerly tell
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me about a manual that he is writing, with which he expects to help
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the GNU project--and then had my hopes dashed, as he proceeded to
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explain that he had signed a contract with a publisher that would
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restrict it so that we cannot use it.
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</p><p>
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Given that writing good English is a rare skill among programmers, we
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can ill afford to lose manuals this way.
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</p><p>
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Free documentation, like free software, is a matter of freedom,
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not price. The problem with these manuals was not that O'Reilly
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Associates charged a price for printed copies--that in itself is fine.
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(The Free Software Foundation <a class="ulink" href="http://www.gnu.org/doc/doc.html" target="_top">sells printed copies</a> of
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free GNU manuals, too.) But GNU manuals are available in source code
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form, while these manuals are available only on paper. GNU manuals
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come with permission to copy and modify; the Perl manuals do not.
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These restrictions are the problems.
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</p><p>
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The criterion for a free manual is pretty much the same as for free
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software: it is a matter of giving all users certain freedoms.
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Redistribution (including commercial redistribution) must be
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permitted, so that the manual can accompany every copy of the program,
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on-line or on paper. Permission for modification is crucial too.
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</p><p>
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As a general rule, I don't believe that it is essential for people to
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have permission to modify all sorts of articles and books. The issues
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for writings are not necessarily the same as those for software. For
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example, I don't think you or I are obliged to give permission to
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modify articles like this one, which describe our actions and our
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views.
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</p><p>
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But there is a particular reason why the freedom to modify is crucial
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for documentation for free software. When people exercise their right
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to modify the software, and add or change its features, if they are
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conscientious they will change the manual too--so they can provide
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accurate and usable documentation with the modified program. A manual
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which forbids programmers to be conscientious and finish the job, or
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more precisely requires them to write a new manual from scratch if
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they change the program, does not fill our community's needs.
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</p><p>
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While a blanket prohibition on modification is unacceptable, some
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kinds of limits on the method of modification pose no problem. For
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example, requirements to preserve the original author's copyright
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notice, the distribution terms, or the list of authors, are ok. It is
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also no problem to require modified versions to include notice that
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they were modified, even to have entire sections that may not be
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deleted or changed, as long as these sections deal with nontechnical
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topics. (Some GNU manuals have them.)
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</p><p>
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These kinds of restrictions are not a problem because, as a practical
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matter, they don't stop the conscientious programmer from adapting the
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manual to fit the modified program. In other words, they don't block
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the free software community from making full use of the manual.
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</p><p>
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However, it must be possible to modify all the <span class="emphasis"><em>technical</em></span>
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content of the manual, and then distribute the result in all the usual
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media, through all the usual channels; otherwise, the restrictions do
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block the community, the manual is not free, and so we need another
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manual.
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</p><p>
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Unfortunately, it is often hard to find someone to write another
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manual when a proprietary manual exists. The obstacle is that many
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users think that a proprietary manual is good enough--so they don't
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see the need to write a free manual. They do not see that the free
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operating system has a gap that needs filling.
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</p><p>
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Why do users think that proprietary manuals are good enough? Some
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have not considered the issue. I hope this article will do something
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to change that.
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</p><p>
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Other users consider proprietary manuals acceptable for the same
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reason so many people consider proprietary software acceptable: they
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judge in purely practical terms, not using freedom as a criterion.
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These people are entitled to their opinions, but since those opinions
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spring from values which do not include freedom, they are no guide for
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those of us who do value freedom.
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</p><p>
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Please spread the word about this issue. We continue to lose manuals
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to proprietary publishing. If we spread the word that proprietary
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manuals are not sufficient, perhaps the next person who wants to help
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GNU by writing documentation will realize, before it is too late, that
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he must above all make it free.
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</p><p>
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We can also encourage commercial publishers to sell free, copylefted
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manuals instead of proprietary ones. One way you can help this is to
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check the distribution terms of a manual before you buy it, and
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prefer copylefted manuals to non-copylefted ones.
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</p><p>
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[Note: We now maintain a <a class="ulink" href="http://www.fsf.org/licensing/doc/other-free-books.html" target="_top">web page
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that lists free books available from other publishers</a>].
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</p><p>Copyright © 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA</p><p>Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article are
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permitted worldwide, without royalty, in any medium, provided this
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notice is preserved.</p><p>Report any problems or suggestions to <code class="email"><<a class="email" href="mailto:webmaster@fsf.org">webmaster@fsf.org</a>></code>.</p></div><div class="navfooter"><hr /><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="backwards.html">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="spine.html">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="appendix_gpl.html">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">Backwards Compatibility </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="../spine.html">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> Appendix D.
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<acronym class="acronym">GNU</acronym> General Public License version 3
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</td></tr></table></div></body></html>
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