Talk:free software

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Per above, seems to be software which is free. Of course free has more than one meaning, which is precisely why we document such usage at free#English. Mglovesfun (talk) 11:32, 18 October 2012 (UTC)Reply

If free software is deleted, all its antonyms and translations should also be deleted. Otherwise, all of them should remain. --Sae1962 (talk) 12:32, 18 October 2012 (UTC)Reply

I disagree, it's not wrong to make a decision on individual entries based on their merits. Mglovesfun (talk) 17:03, 18 October 2012 (UTC)Reply

Happy? --WikiTiki89 12:41, 18 October 2012 (UTC)Reply

Keep. I believe it's pretty much a set term. Matthias Buchmeier (talk) 13:13, 18 October 2012 (UTC)Reply

Strong keep. This is a stereotypical example of a SoP term with parts so ambiguous that it is commonly misunderstood. Free as in free software is rarely or never used as a predicate; people do not usually say "Linux is free" unless they mean it costs nothing. They say "Linux is free software". It seems like a set term; free only seems to have this meaning when combined with software, not usually otherwise. Beside that, I also don't think that the definitions we have at free quite cover it. Free software does not necessarily have few limitations; copyleft is quite a strong limitation. —CodeCat 13:33, 18 October 2012 (UTC)Reply

That problem with that argument is that free software could just as easily mean any of those other combinations. What makes this one special? --WikiTiki89 13:40, 18 October 2012 (UTC)Reply

It could mean any of those combinations, but there is only one (or two) that it actually does mean (i.e. is intended to mean by the speaker). The misunderstanding arises because context is not enough to distinguish the meanings of free in this case: the meaning most people intuitively understand it to mean (software that costs nothing) is not what speakers intend it to mean. Therefore, free software has to be understood idiomatically. —CodeCat 13:58, 18 October 2012 (UTC)Reply

I think the word software is enough to put you in the context of software (see the last definition of free). Also, it is true that in many cases you can't tell whether it means free of charge or free to do with as you please. This is because free software is ambiguous and not because there is a specific meaning that it has that you can only identify if you know the idiom. --WikiTiki89 14:32, 18 October 2012 (UTC)Reply

• Keep per Talk:free variable. The sense of "free" under discussion is exactly the one resulting from the phrase "free software"; it is one dedicated to "software". --Dan Polansky (talk) 19:30, 18 October 2012 (UTC)Reply
• Keep: This is a notion and should remain with its antonyms, translations, etc. as an entry. --Sae1962 (talk) 08:40, 19 October 2012 (UTC)Reply

  Do we have a policy on notions? I seem to find them very encyclopedic. --WikiTiki89 09:35, 21 October 2012 (UTC)Reply

• Keep. Have been convinced by arguments above, and a quick look at the Wikipedia article. Ƿidsiþ 12:09, 22 October 2012 (UTC)Reply
• Keep I'm thinking per empty space then? DAVilla 05:11, 4 November 2012 (UTC)Reply

• Kept all. —Ruakh_TALK 05:27, 2 February 2013 (UTC)Reply