They are open source based startups. They call themselves open source projects.
They probably do that because they support the open source philosophy. By saying "open source" they encourage others to think that way too. Conversely, the way to encourage others to think about free/libre software and freedom is by saying "free software". Others will say what they wish; we should say "free" and "libre". If people from open source software projects want to join us at a GNOME event to learn more about GNOME, we should welcome them. Of course. We welcome those people's participation, whether it be using GNOME, learning about GNOME, promoting GNOME, or contributing to GNOME. We accept support from those companies too. But we do have to take care to avoid a possible way things can go wrong: that they might influence the discussion around GNOME such that GNOME too seems to be aligned with "open source". It is easy to avoid this; it just requires that we pay attention. Thus, I remind people to pay attention. -- Dr Richard Stallman President, Free Software Foundation 51 Franklin St Boston MA 02110 USA www.fsf.org www.gnu.org Skype: No way! That's nonfree (freedom-denying) software. Use Ekiga or an ordinary phone call _______________________________________________ foundation-list mailing list foundation-list@gnome.org https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-list