Philosophy of the GNU Project

Our development of the GNU free software operating system is motivated by the philosophy of the free software movement. This page provides an introduction to that philosophy.

Free software is a matter of freedom: people should be free to use software in all the ways that are socially useful. Software differs from material objects—such as chairs, sandwiches, and gasoline—in that it can be copied and changed much more easily. These possibilities make software as useful as it is; we believe software users should be able to make use of them.

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Introduction

We also keep a list of Organizations that Work for Freedom in Computer Development and Electronic Communications.

The Free Software Foundation is the principal organizational sponsor of the GNU Operating System. Our mission is to preserve, protect and promote the freedom to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computer software, and to defend the rights of Free Software users. Support GNU and the FSF by buying manuals and gear, joining the FSF as an associate member or by making a donation, either directly to the FSF or via Flattr.

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