8 August 2008

This is a blog item that needs to be converted to the new Bliki format

Richard Stallman talks about free software at the University of Auckland

Richard Stallman, (pseudonym "rms") is a software freedom activist, hacker (programmer) and software developer. In September 1983, he launched the GNU Project to create a free Unix-like operating system, and has been the project's lead architect and organiser. With the launch of the GNU Project, he started the free software movement and, in October 1985, set up the Free Software Foundation.

He pioneered the concept of copyleft and is the main author of several copyleft licenses including the GNU General Public License (GPL), the most widely used free software license. He wrote the original Emacs editor, the GNU Compiler Collection, and the GNU Debugger.

He's currently visiting New Zealand and is doing a series of lectures. Today the Organic Design team went to the University of Auckland to attend his lecture on free software and digital restrictions management. He explained that the copyright system we have in place today was designed in a time when only publishing companies could afford to print material and that it was never intended to impede the ability for individuals to share information amongst themselves. Further than this he states that to deliberately impede a society's ability to share information and knowledge is immoral and should not be tolerated by the people.

• Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Free Software Foundation
• GNU
• DefectiveByDesign.org
• Legal milestone for open source
• Interview with Kim Hill
• Videocast: Richard Stallman in New Zealand