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"Free software" is still a bad term - it's completely misunderstood by the public

Posted Dec 3, 2006 20:34 UTC (Sun) by dirtyepic (subscriber, #30178)
In reply to: "Free software" is still a bad term - it's completely misunderstood by the public by dwheeler
Parent article: What is open source?

Because "libre" doesn't mean anything to anyone who speaks English, and I actually misread Freed Software as Fried Software at first glance. It's difficult to tell the difference between "free" and "freed" when spoken anyways. What we need to do is start referring to Non-Free software as software In Captivity. ;)

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Posted Dec 3, 2006 20:37 UTC (Sun) by cantsin (subscriber, #4420) [Link]

In my experience, the term "non-proprietary software" is best understood by lay people, although it would be nicer to define it in other than negative terms.

"Free software" is still a bad term - it's completely misunderstood by the public

Posted Dec 4, 2006 6:39 UTC (Mon) by bronson (subscriber, #4806) [Link]

I don't think "captive software" will ever take off. Just look at the uptake of crackers vs. hackers... nobody uses "cracker."

I like "freedom software" suggested earlier. It's got that Patriot Act you'd-be-an-idiot-to-disagree-with-it ring to it. :)