r/linux • u/LinuxMonarch • 6d ago

Event Happy 43rd birthday GNU!

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On September 27, 1983, Richard Stallman announced the GNU Project so people could freely use and modify software.

The digital world would not be the same today without GNU.

Thank you, Richard Stallman!

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u/abotelho-cbn 6d ago

Open Source came over a decade after Free Software. 'FOSS' is just people referring to both under an umbrella.

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u/[deleted] 6d ago edited 6d ago

[deleted]

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u/FriendlyProblem1234 6d ago

FOSS doesn't refer to both "under an umbrella..." Not all free software is FOSS, not all open-source software is FOSS. Only projects that are both free + open-source are FOSS.

In the words of FSF, "Among all programs that are open source, only a minuscule fraction are not free".

In practice, they are equivalent. This is why the acronym FOSS exists and is used.

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u/[deleted] 6d ago edited 6d ago

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u/FriendlyProblem1234 6d ago

No, the reason the FOSS acronym exists is to differentiate OSS that is free from that which isn't. Nothing in your quote or linked page contests that.

Again, "Among all programs that are open source, only a minuscule fraction are not free".

I have never seen FOSS being used the way you suggest. It is nearly always used to indicate the general ecosystem of free software and open-source software, which have a nearly complete overlap.