Many users of the GNU/Linux system will not have heard the…

“Many users of the GNU/Linux system will not have heard the ideas of free software. They will not be aware that we have ideas, that a system exists because of ethical ideals, which were omitted from ideas associated with the term 'open source.'”

Richard Stallman

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote stresses that many GNU/Linux users are unaware of the ethical foundations of free software versus open source.

In simple terms: Users often miss the ethical ideas behind free software.

Key Takeaway

Educate users about free software ethics.

Themes

software freedom ethics awareness

Mood

thought‑provoking critical

Type

essay manifesto

When to use this quote

software development
education
policy making
community building

Key Concepts

philosophy open source community

Questions to Reflect On

Why do users overlook ethical aspects?
How can ethical ideas be better communicated?

A Different Perspective

Ethical ideals may clash with commercial interests.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet

More by Richard Stallman

All governments should be pressured to correct their abuses of human rights.

Richard Stallman

I consider that the Golden Rule requires that if I like a program I must share it with other people who like it. Software…

Richard Stallman

Think 'free speech,' not 'free beer.'

Richard Stallman

If you can find a host for me that has a friendly parrot, I will be very very glad… DON'T buy a parrot figuring…

Richard Stallman

Sharing is good, and with digital technology, sharing is easy.

Richard Stallman

In the US, you even lose legal rights if you store your data in a company's machines instead of your own. The police need…

Richard Stallman

EMACS could not have been reached by a process of careful design, because such processes arrive only at goals which are visible at the…

Richard Stallman

A hacker is someone who enjoys playful cleverness—not necessarily with computers. The programmers in the old MIT free software community of the 60s and…

Richard Stallman

When I launched the development of the GNU system, I explicitly said the purpose of developing this system is so we can use our…

Richard Stallman

Writing non-free software is not an ethically legitimate activity, so if people who do this run into trouble, that's good! All businesses based on…

Richard Stallman

In essence, Chrome OS is the GNU/Linux operating system. However, it is delivered without the usual applications, and rigged up to impede and discourage…

Richard Stallman

If in my lifetime the problem of non-free software is solved, I could perhaps relax and write software again. But I might instead try…

Richard Stallman

Now that corporations dominate society and write the laws, each advance or change in technology is an opening for them to further restrict or…

Richard Stallman

The idea of free software is that users of computing deserve freedom. They deserve in particular to have control over their computing. And proprietary…

Richard Stallman

Android is a major step towards an ethical, user-controlled, free-software portable phone, but there is a long way to go.

Richard Stallman

Explore all 117 Richard Stallman quotes

More Associated quotes

The theme of the party was Neverland Ranch, so guests were asked to come as anyone or anything associated with Michael Jackson. It was…

April Winchell

You know, entropy is associated thermodynamically, in systems involving heat, with disorder. And in an analogous way, information is associated with disorder, which seems…

James Gleick

The true principle of taxation is the benefit principle - those who benefit from a government service should pay for it. It's also known…

Mark Skousen

All we talk about is 'Islamic terrorism.' If the two words are associated for long enough it's obviously going to have an effect on…

Samantha Power

I do think that, for instance, we've been very lucky to have theatrical careers and be associated with Shakespeare which sometimes gives you a…

Kenneth Branagh

I want to not be associated with death or cancer, I don't want that life.

Phil Elverum

I was always involved in the arts from a young age. I started studying classical piano at age four as a student of the…

Monica Raymund

I can tell you, Obamacare, I have been stunned by the pratfalls associated with its implementation. I simply can't understand how a president that…

Mitt Romney

And for me, it's been, not only where I learned, but the people that I met there. Most of the people that I work…

Jon Secada

Most grain foods, whether we're talking about quinoa, amaranth, the very popular grains of the day - the reality is they still are associated…

David Perlmutter

I was raised a Catholic on both sides of the family. I went to a Catholic grade school and thought everybody in the country…

Lou Holtz

Perhaps some of the appeal of the dangerous-but-yummy paranormal anti-hero lies in his scorn for societal expectations. Yes, women have come a long way,…

Jeaniene Frost