Re: Why Mozilla Firefox is nonfree? (was: Vanilla Firefox recipe?)

[Dmitry Alexandrov <dag@gnui.org>]

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Christopher Lemmer Webber <cwebber@dustycloud.org> wrote:
> I'm not sure it's really accurate to categorize asking for a vanilla copy of firefox, which might not comply with the FSDG, as nonfree software.  The primary issue with Firefox that makes it qualify as "nonfree" is that the add-ons tool brings you to something that might guide a user towards nonfree software right?

Nope.  Firefox, as distributed by Mozilla, is simply not a free software.  Just reread the agreement with Mozilla [0] you are supposed to abide.  You are _not_ free even to redistribute _exact_ copies of it, let aside distributing modified ones:

| You may distribute unaltered copies of Mozilla Firefox and other Mozilla software from Mozilla.org without express permission from Mozilla as long as you comply with the following rules:
|
|    — You may not charge for the software. That means:
|        · Distribution may not be subject to any fee.
|        · Distribution may not be tied to purchasing a product or service.

There are many other points there, that alone enough to render it nonfree.  My favourite one:

|   — When distributing you must distribute the most recent version of Firefox and other Mozilla software.

[0] https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/foundation/trademarks/distribution-policy/

> Thus I think this isn't exactly correct framing, since firefox itself isn't nonfree?

As you see, it is.  You could build something very similar to Firefox from sources, of course, but it would not be Mozilla Firefox.  No much difference from Google Chrome in that regard.

But there is one difference, that is to credit of Google and that I would not underestimate — the free counterpart of their browser has a canonical name — Chromium.  While Mozillaʼs browser is anonymous and, unless are fine with adverting nonfree software, cannot be referred in any concise way; hence the whole zoo of rebrands: Icecat, Iceweasel, Fennec (F-Droid), Abrowser (Trisquel)...

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