Digital Humanities Week 3 — Free Software

Free Software, Free Society by Richard M. Stallman

Stallman defines “Free Software” as software that provides users with the freedom to modify the software as they see fit. It is emphasised that “free” does not refer to a price of zero, or not getting paid, but rather “free” as in “free speech”, where it is limited in its control by others. Free Software provides users with control over the code, making it transparent so that anyone is free to do what they want to it.

Stallman likens this to a free society, where, while there are laws and regulations that control the residents of the society, these laws are also transparent and visible to the public, and not hidden. Stallman also mentions that the law only works well like that because it is “free”, and that those who are controlled by it are aware of what these regulations entail, what changes are made. If these regulations and changes to regulations were hidden, it would be difficult for this system to stand, without providing their residents with a sense of trust in the system.

While we always hear of Free Software, I have rarely thought of it in such a manner; how software and code affects the users and the society to this extent. In Two Bits, Kelty refers to Free Software as a culture, something that I would not have associated with software. However, it seems that the creation and the use of software are very closely tied to its users, and not just a separate entity that exists on its own that we make use of.

In light of this, I wonder if the software we use could reflect the cultures of our societies as well? If we think about the Apple iOS, Android or GNU/Linux, it would seem like a spectrum. How much control is let go in favour of giving the users freedom to use the code, or how much is held back for the sake of controlling the quality of their code? How do the users feel, experiencing these different levels of freedom? Most of us would probably not even notice how little control we are given, or how much control we really have.