In 1982, Richard M. Stallman launched the GNU project as part of the Free Software Foundation (FSF). FSF promotes the use of free software as they believe every user should have the freedom to decide what happens on their computer.
But to really be free, users need to have access to the source code that controls a program’s behavior. Many were skeptical of the idea – especially of the license model GNU used. Commercial players didn’t see what they had to gain. Bruce Perens, then project manager for Debian, realized something must be done to demonstrate the commercial value of free software.
A movement had grown around these new methods as their advantages over traditional development became undeniable. Together with Eric S. Raymond and others, Bruce dubbed the new concept open source and in 1998 the Open Source Initiative (OSI) was founded.
Today, the efforts of FSF and OSI coexist in harmony with the needs of businesses, creating a win-win situation. Both FSF and OSI have defined specific conditions for software to be classified as free and/or open.
· http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd
· http://www.fsf.org/licensing/essays/free-sw.html
You can learn more about FSF, OSI and their history at: http://www.opensource.org/history or at: http://www.fsf.org/licensing/essays/free-sw.html.
Suggested reading: Raymond, Eric S - Katedralen och basaren - ISBN:9789157803771 Stallman, Richard M & Lessig, Lawrence - Free Software, Free Society - Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman - ISBN:9781882114986