User talk:Zazpot/Don't call non-free software "free"
 | This page was nominated for deletion on 18 February 2016. The result of the discussion was userfy. |
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editThe matter of when it is appropriate to use the English word "free" to describe a piece of software, and which word or phrase to use instead if it is not appropriate, has been a topic of discussion both within the Wikipedia community and outside it for many years.
The English-speaking world as a whole has not, sadly, reached consensus about this matter, but some sub-communities within that huge mass of people appear to have succeeded, so I am optimistic that the Wikipedia community may become another such sub-community.
That is not to say that the Wikipedia community will necessarily adopt the same consensus as any other sub-community has done. The important thing is that it should reach consensus on guidance that yields unambiguous and accessible prose, so that this guidance can assist new or confused editors thereafter.