>>2023651I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you call "free programs ... such as GIMP" are actually programs whose source code is available under the GPLv3 license. The GPLv3 license really is a license, and GIMP is available under it, but it is just the name of a license that applies to it. GPLv3 is a license that guarantees specific freedoms, freedoms that apply to, yet also in a sense bind the licensee. This specificity is an essential part of the license, freeing the user to modify, share, and so on, but compelling them to distribute derivatives under the same terms. The whole cascading inheritance schema of share and share alike restricts the user's ability to redistribute derivatives under another type of license.
Many people do not understand the difference between free as in bird, and free as in beer, which they both call "free". The ambiguous use of the term doesn't help people understand. These users often think that Richard Stallman supports software licenses that contain no meaningful restrictions at all.
