Libre Software

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"Libre 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.

In particular, four freedoms define Free Software:

The freedom to run the program, for any purpose.

Placing restrictions on the use of Free Software, such as time ("30 days trial period", "license expires January 1st, 2004") purpose ("permission granted for research and non-commercial use", "may not be used for benchmarking") or geographic area ("must not be used in country X") makes a program non-free.

The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs.

Placing legal or practical restrictions on the comprehension or modification of a program, such as mandatory purchase of special licenses, signing of a Non-Disclosure-Agreement (NDA) or - for programming languages that have multiple forms or representation - making the preferred human way of comprehending and editing a program ("source code") inaccessible also makes it proprietary (non-free). Without the freedom to modify a program, people will remain at the mercy of a single vendor.

The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor.

Software can be copied/distributed at virtually no cost. If you are not allowed to give a program to a person in need, that makes a program non-free. This can be done for a charge, if you so choose.

The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits.

Not everyone is an equally good programmer in all fields. Some people don't know how to program at all. This freedom allows those who do not have the time or skills to solve a problem to indirectly access the freedom to modify. This can be done for a charge.

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A New Kind of Instant Messaging (tox.chat)

submitted 3 years ago by Zerush@lemmy.ml to c/libre_software@lemmy.ml

14 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Whether it's corporations or governments, digital surveillance today is widespread. Tox is easy-to-use software that connects you with friends and family without anyone else listening in. While other big-name services require you to pay for features, Tox is P2P, completely free and comes without advertising — forever.

Instant messaging Chat instantly across the globe with Tox's secure messages.

Voice Keep in touch with friends and family using Tox's completely free and encrypted voice calls.

Video Catch up face to face, over Tox's secure video calls.

Screen sharing Share your desktop with your friends with Tox's screen sharing.

File sharing Trade files, with no artificial limits or caps.

Groups Chat, call, and share video and files with the whole gang in Tox's group chats.

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[–] ninchuka@lemmy.ml 4 points 3 years ago (1 children)

tox isnt close to being new its been around for years

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 years ago (3 children)

Yes, it is certainly not new, but most alternatives are discontinued or being replaced by proprietary alternatives and/or often paid ones. Tox is one of the few that continues to develop actively, for this reason I have thought of posting it for those who do not know it. Besides, it is still a good and valid app.

[–] jedrax@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 years ago

New to me! Thanks for sharing. That person just wants to argue semantics.

[–] linkpop@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 years ago (1 children)

XMPP and Matrix are very much still in development.

[–] sexy_peach@feddit.de 1 points 3 years ago (1 children)

They don't have onion routing etc though, so they are a somewhat different class of messenger. They work through Tor, but typically aren't used that way.

[–] linkpop@lemmy.ml 2 points 3 years ago (1 children)

Yes, various clients support Tor and can even use servers that are hosted as hidden services: https://gist.github.com/dllud/a46d4a555e31dfeff6ad41dcf20729ac

[–] sexy_peach@feddit.de 0 points 3 years ago

That's pretty cool, ngl

[–] jedrax@lemmy.ml 0 points 3 years ago

New to me! Thanks for sharing. That person just wants to argue semantics.