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Teaching new users about freedom became more difficult in 1998, when a part of the community decided to stop using the term ``free software'' and say ``open-source software'' instead.
Some who favored this term aimed to avoid the confusion of ``free'' with ``gratis'' -- a valid goal. Others, however, aimed to set aside the spirit of principle that had motivated the free software movement and the GNU project, and to appeal instead to executives and business users, many of whom hold an ideology that places profit above freedom, above community, above principle. Thus, the rhetoric of ``Open Source'' focuses on the potential to make high quality, powerful software, but shuns the ideas of freedom, community, and principle.
The ``Linux'' magazines are a clear example of this -- they are filled with advertisements for proprietary software that works with GNU/Linux. When the next Motif or Qt appears, will these magazines warn programmers to stay away from it, or will they run ads for it?
The support of business can contribute to the community in many ways; all else being equal, it is useful. But winning their support by speaking even less about freedom and principle can be disastrous; it makes the previous imbalance between outreach and civics education even worse.
``Free software'' and ``Open Source'' describe the same category of software, more or less, but say different things about the software, and about values. The GNU Project continues to use the term ``free software,'' to express the idea that freedom, not just technology, is important.