1: @appendix Free Software Needs Free Documentation
    2: @cindex free documentation
    3: 
    4: The biggest deficiency in the free software community today is not in
    5: the software---it is the lack of good free documentation that we can
    6: include with the free software.  Many of our most important
    7: programs do not come with free reference manuals and free introductory
    8: texts.  Documentation is an essential part of any software package;
    9: when an important free software package does not come with a free
   10: manual and a free tutorial, that is a major gap.  We have many such
   11: gaps today.
   12: 
   13: Consider Perl, for instance.  The tutorial manuals that people
   14: normally use are non-free.  How did this come about?  Because the
   15: authors of those manuals published them with restrictive terms---no
   16: copying, no modification, source files not available---which exclude
   17: them from the free software world.
   18: 
   19: That wasn't the first time this sort of thing happened, and it was far
   20: from the last.  Many times we have heard a GNU user eagerly describe a
   21: manual that he is writing, his intended contribution to the community,
   22: only to learn that he had ruined everything by signing a publication
   23: contract to make it non-free.
   24: 
   25: Free documentation, like free software, is a matter of freedom, not
   26: price.  The problem with the non-free manual is not that publishers
   27: charge a price for printed copies---that in itself is fine.  (The Free
   28: Software Foundation sells printed copies of manuals, too.)  The
   29: problem is the restrictions on the use of the manual.  Free manuals
   30: are available in source code form, and give you permission to copy and
   31: modify.  Non-free manuals do not allow this.
   32: 
   33: The criteria of freedom for a free manual are roughly the same as for
   34: free software.  Redistribution (including the normal kinds of
   35: commercial redistribution) must be permitted, so that the manual can
   36: accompany every copy of the program, both on-line and on paper.
   37: 
   38: Permission for modification of the technical content is crucial too.
   39: When people modify the software, adding or changing features, if they
   40: are conscientious they will change the manual too---so they can
   41: provide accurate and clear documentation for the modified program.  A
   42: manual that leaves you no choice but to write a new manual to document
   43: a changed version of the program is not really available to our
   44: community.
   45: 
   46: Some kinds of limits on the way modification is handled are
   47: acceptable.  For example, requirements to preserve the original
   48: author's copyright notice, the distribution terms, or the list of
   49: authors, are ok.  It is also no problem to require modified versions
   50: to include notice that they were modified.  Even entire sections that
   51: may not be deleted or changed are acceptable, as long as they deal
   52: with nontechnical topics (like this one).  These kinds of restrictions
   53: are acceptable because they don't obstruct the community's normal use
   54: of the manual.
   55: 
   56: However, it must be possible to modify all the @emph{technical}
   57: content of the manual, and then distribute the result in all the usual
   58: media, through all the usual channels.  Otherwise, the restrictions
   59: obstruct the use of the manual, it is not free, and we need another
   60: manual to replace it.
   61: 
   62: Please spread the word about this issue.  Our community continues to
   63: lose manuals to proprietary publishing.  If we spread the word that
   64: free software needs free reference manuals and free tutorials, perhaps
   65: the next person who wants to contribute by writing documentation will
   66: realize, before it is too late, that only free manuals contribute to
   67: the free software community.
   68: 
   69: If you are writing documentation, please insist on publishing it under
   70: the GNU Free Documentation License or another free documentation
   71: license.  Remember that this decision requires your approval---you
   72: don't have to let the publisher decide.  Some commercial publishers
   73: will use a free license if you insist, but they will not propose the
   74: option; it is up to you to raise the issue and say firmly that this is
   75: what you want.  If the publisher you are dealing with refuses, please
   76: try other publishers.  If you're not sure whether a proposed license
   77: is free, write to @email{licensing@@gnu.org}.
   78: 
   79: You can encourage commercial publishers to sell more free, copylefted
   80: manuals and tutorials by buying them, and particularly by buying
   81: copies from the publishers that paid for their writing or for major
   82: improvements.  Meanwhile, try to avoid buying non-free documentation
   83: at all.  Check the distribution terms of a manual before you buy it,
   84: and insist that whoever seeks your business must respect your freedom.
   85: Check the history of the book, and try reward the publishers that have
   86: paid or pay the authors to work on it.
   87: 
   88: The Free Software Foundation maintains a list of free documentation
   89: published by other publishers, at
   90: @url{http://www.fsf.org/doc/other-free-books.html}.