free software
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Summary
free software is a software category[1]. It ranks in the top 3% of software category entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (10,211 views/month).[2]
Key Facts
- Movement: free software movement[3]
- Subclass of: freely redistributable software[4], source-available software[5], open-source software[6]
- Part of: open source movement[7]
- Commons category: Free software[8]
- Said to be the same as: open-source software[9], free and open-source software[10]
- Opposite of: proprietary software[11]
- Topic's main category: Category:Free software[12]
- Topic's main Wikimedia portal: Portal:Free software[13]
- Facet of: computer program[14]
- Has characteristic: four freedoms[15]
- Different from: freeware[16], freely redistributable software[17], open-source software[18], free software license[19]
- History of topic: history of free and open-source software[20]
- Hashtag: freesoftware[21]
- Wikidata SPARQL query equivalent: ?item wdt:P275/wdt:P31/wdt:P279* wd:Q3943414[22]
- P6009: 7305[23]
- Social media followers: 24,965[24], 11,000[25]
Body
Works and Contributions
Things named for free software include it movement[26], a social movement[27]; freenode[28], an IRC network[29], founded in 1994[30]; Libera.Chat[31], an IRC network[32], in Sweden[33], founded in 2021[34]; Software Freedom Day[35], a holiday[36], founded in 2004[37]; Free Software Directory[38], a MediaWiki wiki[39]; Lingua Libre[40], a web application[41], founded in 2015[42]; Open and Free Technology Community[43], an IRC network[44], founded in 2001[45]; and Free Software Street[46], a street[47], in Spain[48], founded in 2010[49].
Why It Matters
free software has Wikipedia articles in 30 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[50] It is known by 62 alternative names across languages and contexts.[51]
Entities named for it include it movement[26], a social movement[27]; freenode[28], an IRC network[29], founded in 1994[30]; Libera.Chat[31], an IRC network[32], in Sweden[33], founded in 2021[34]; Software Freedom Day[35], a holiday[36], founded in 2004[37]; Free Software Directory[38], a MediaWiki wiki[39]; and Lingua Libre[40], a web application[41], founded in 2015[42].