Richard Stallman's Impact On The Free Software Movement

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Richard Stallman is a free software movement activist and a computer programmer. He regularly campaigns in favor of giving users the ability to modify, study, and use software in whatever way the user desires. This is not about not putting price tags on software, rather the free use of owned software regardless of what the user paid for it. Stallman is credited with the creation of some projects and foundations which have been very important in the free software movement. Stallman has lead the charge in favor of free software for many years, since the nineteen eighty’s in fact. Richard Stallman’s impact on the free software movement has been great and he was and still is arguably the most important face of the free software movement. Richard …show more content…

After a leg injury stopped him from dancing, he lost his passion for physics. After one year as a graduate student, he shifted his focus to computers. Stallman stayed at MIT as an employee rather than a student for over ten years. (2.) Towards the end of his time there, he announced a huge project, the GNU operating system. “I am going to write a complete Unix-compatible software system called GNU (for Gnu's Not Unix), and give it away free to everyone who can use it (3).” This quote comes from Stallman’s announcement letter of GNU. According to his announcement letter, GNU was intended to run Unix programs without being identical to Unix. This is why Stallman wanted to write GNU: “I consider that the golden rule requires that if I like a program I must share it with other people who like it. I cannot in good conscience sign a nondisclosure agreement or a software license agreement. So that I can continue to use computers without violating my principles, I have decided to put together a sufficient body of free software so that I will be able to get along without any software that is not free (3).” Clearly, Stallman was very passionate about free software at this time, this passion has not died out and has only expanded his career. The GNU announcement is credited with launching the free software

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