I guess that is fair, or arguably fair. What would be a better name for it? "Free software" is similarly loaded ("free software is like free beer, software you don't pay for", "open source is like open house, you can get in the source"). Maybe "libre software"? "Permissive software"? The full "FOSS" or "FLOSS" acronyms?
Should we stick to specific license names e.g. "GPL software" or "MIT software"? That's probably the safest as those usually include an actually recognized trademark.
> “Free software” means software that respects users' freedom and community. Roughly, it means that the users have the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. Thus, “free software” is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of “free” as in “free speech,” not as in “free beer.” We sometimes call it “libre software,” borrowing the French or Spanish word for “free” as in freedom, to show we do not mean the software is gratis.
Yes they do, just like the OSI is clear on what open source is. But those terms don't explicitly mean that, which is why there is disagreement, especially if the groups supporting them fall into disrepute. I am asking what better name we can find for this, one that is self-evident rather than one that is only made unambiguous by the active work of either OSI or FSF.
No, we really can't, because this is a political issue rather than an issue of logic. The term "freeware" had an unambiguous definition before the FSF came along and decided to co-opt the term for its personal crusade, just like "open source" had an unambiguous definition[1] before the OSI came along to co-opt it in an effort to sell "free software" to businesses. You could adopt a new term tomorrow and people would still come along and try to co-opt it. How do I know? Because when people tried to co-opt Freeware, the term Shareware was adopted, and people came along to try to co-opt that. Likewise, when Freeware was co-opted as "Free Software", the OSI came along to bastardize it and repackage it as "open source" (co-opting and existing term).
You cannot coin your way out of being co-opted by bad actors.
I don't know if naming is a political issue, it is a social one. If I call my software "MIT licensed", there is no ambiguity, and no politics in the meaning (though the act of picking a license can be political I guess).
It is political in the sense that the acceptance of definitions is a matter of politics, not logic. If you call your software "MIT licensed" there can very well be ambiguity by virtue of muddying the situation and getting enough people to agree that your definition is correct such that uninvolved third parties have no idea who is right. This is the present situation with "open source", where the OSI has inserted itself as an arbiter of what is and is not open source, much as the FSF has inserted itself s an arbiter of what is and is not free software. Ultimately, whether you accept their definitions or pre-existing definitions does not boil down to logic, but whose politics you align with, and hence whose definition has greater utility for you such that you want to adopt and propagate it.
Actually FOSS (just as OSS) _only_ respects the freedom of the licencee. Any ethical restrictions that are not part of the legal environment (like export control) make open source "unfree" as uncompromised openness is a precondition. IMHO opinion freedom stops there where it restricts the freedom of someone else.
I think FSF is in parts neoliberal and should engage more in an ethical discussion. Just claiming to be free of ideology is ideology itself...
(Edit: made clear that it is not only a FOSS but also OSI "problem")
Oh, I like freedomware. Though it is not immediately obvious what kinds of freedom; I can imagine Commons Clause software being called freedomware as well.
Yes, it turns out to invite confusion when you try defining "freedom" by the circumscription of an accident of Cold War era history and object to other people reading the word as if it were English.
If you care what the OSI thinks, then say 'OSI Approved Licensed Code' - you can already use that, and it's already protected by their registered trademark.
Should we stick to specific license names e.g. "GPL software" or "MIT software"? That's probably the safest as those usually include an actually recognized trademark.