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1. Selling Free Software {#selling-free-software .chapter}
========================
1. 售卖自由软件
==============
Many people believe that the spirit of the GNU Project is that you
should not charge money for distributing copies of software, or that you
should charge as little as possible—just enough to cover the cost. This
is a misunderstanding.
很多人认为 GNU 工程的精神就是不该对软件发行的副本收费,或者应只收取很少的钱——只要是成本价即可。
Actually, we encourage people who redistribute free
software[(1)](#FOOT1) to charge as much as they wish or can. If a
license does not permit users to make copies and sell them, it is a
nonfree license. If this seems surprising to you, please read on.
事实上,我们鼓励重新发布自由软件[^1]的人尽可能多的收取他们想要的费用。如果这让你感到惊讶,请继续往下读。
The word “free” has two legitimate general meanings; it can refer either
to freedom or to price. When we speak of “free software”, we’re talking
about freedom, not price. (Think of “free speech”, not “free beer”.)
Specifically, it means that a user is free to run the program, change
the program, and redistribute the program with or without changes.
“free”这个词有两种合理通用的解释,它可以被解释为自由亦或是免费价格。当我们谈到“free software”时,我们所指的是自由,而不是价格。(可以理解为“言论自由”,而不是“免费啤酒”)。明确地讲,自由软件的意思就是任何用户可以自由的运行、修改和重新发布修改过或未修改的程序。
Free programs are sometimes distributed gratis, and sometimes for a
substantial price. Often the same program is available in both ways from
different places. The program is free regardless of the price, because
users have freedom in using it.
自由的程序有时是免费发布的,而有时则需要收费。有时同一个程序可以在不同的地方分别以这两种方式发布。无论其价格如何,这种程序都是自由的,因为用户在使用时是自由的。
Nonfree programs[(2)](#FOOT2) are usually sold for a high price, but
sometimes a store will give you a copy at no charge. That doesn’t make
it free software, though. Price or no price, the program is nonfree
because its users are denied freedom.
非自由程序[^2]通常以高价出售,但有时销售商会赠送你一份免费副本。尽管如此,也不能称之为自由软件。无论收费与否,这个程序都是不自由的,因为用户没有自由。
@firstcopyingnotice{{@footnoterule @smallskip For some views on the
ideas of selling exceptions to free software licenses, such as the GNU
GPL, see @pageref{Exceptions}. @medskip @footnoterule @smallskip
Copyright © 1996–1998, 2001, 2007, 2015 Free Software Foundation, Inc.\
{This essay was originally published on <http://gnu.org>, in 1996. This
version is part of @fsfsthreecite}
Since free software is not a matter of price, a low price doesn’t make
the software free, or even closer to free. So if you are redistributing
copies of free software, you might as well charge a substantial fee and
*make some money.* Redistributing free software is a good and legitimate
activity; if you do it, you might as well make a profit from it.
自由软件无关价格,所以低价并不意味着更多自由,或者更加接近自由。因此如果你重新发布自由软件的副本,你也可以收取基本的费用来**获得收益**。重新发布自由软件是一种很好而且合法的行为;如果你那样做,你同样也可能从中获利。
Free software is a community project, and everyone who depends on it
ought to look for ways to contribute to building the community. For a
distributor, the way to do this is to give a part of the profit to free
software development projects or to the Free Software Foundation. This
way you can advance the world of free software.
自由软件是一项社区工程,每个依赖社区的人都应该尽其可能为社区建设做出贡献。对一个发布者来说,这样做可以使一部分收益流向自由软件开发项目或者自由软件基金会。只有这样才能推动自由软件在世界的发展。
**Distributing free software is an opportunity to raise funds for
development. Don’t waste it!**
**发布自由软件是筹集资金的一个机会。不要浪费这个机会!**
In order to contribute funds, you need to have some extra. If you charge
too low a fee, you won’t have anything to spare to support development.
为了捐献金钱,你需要收取一些额外的费用。如果你收费过低,那就不能为支持自由软件发展而储备资金。
### Will a Higher Distribution Price Hurt Some Users? {#will-a-higher-distribution-price-hurt-some-users .subheading}
### 过高的发行费用会伤害一些用户吗?
People sometimes worry that a high distribution fee will put free
software out of range for users who don’t have a lot of money. With
proprietary software, a high price does exactly that—but free software
is different.
有时人们担心过高的发行费用会使自由软件超出低收入用户的预算。对于专有软件,高昂的费用确实如此——但自由软件与之不同。
The difference is that free software naturally tends to spread around,
and there are many ways to get it.
不同之处在于自由软件天生就易于传播,可以通过多种方式来获取。
Software hoarders try their damnedest to stop you from running a
proprietary program without paying the standard price. If this price is
high, that does make it hard for some users to use the program.
在你没有支付标准价格之前,软件囤积者尽他们的最大努力阻止你使用专有软件。如果这个定价很高,会让一些用户很难使用这个软件。
With free software, users don’t *have* to pay the distribution fee in
order to use the software. They can copy the program from a friend who
has a copy, or with the help of a friend who has network access. Or
several users can join together, split the price of one CD-ROM, then
each in turn can install the software. A high CD-ROM price is not a
major obstacle when the software is free.
对于自由软件,用户没有必要为了使用软件而支付发行费用。可以从拥有一份副本的朋友那里复制程序,或者请能上网的朋友下载程序。亦或很多用户可以一起分摊费用买一张 CD-ROM,然后轮流安装软件。当软件自由时,高价的 CD-ROM 就不再是主要障碍。
### Will a Higher Distribution Price Discourage Use of Free Software? {#will-a-higher-distribution-price-discourage-use-of-free-software .subheading}
### 高昂的发行费用不利于自由软件的使用吗?
Another common concern is for the popularity of free software. People
think that a high price for distribution would reduce the number of
users, or that a low price is likely to encourage users.
另一个经常担心的问题是自由软件的传播。人们认为高昂的发行费用会减少用户数量,或者低廉的价格可能会鼓励用户去使用。
This is true for proprietary software—but free software is different.
With so many ways to get copies, the price of distribution service has
less effect on popularity.
对于专有软件确实是这样——但是自由软件与之不同。可以通过如此多的方式来获得软件副本,因此发行服务的费用对自由软件的普及影响很小。
In the long run, how many people use free software is determined mainly
by *how much free software can do,* and how easy it is to use. Many
users do not make freedom their priority; they may continue to use
proprietary software if free software can’t do all the jobs they want
done. Thus, if we want to increase the number of users in the long run,
we should above all *develop more free software.*
从长远来看,使用自由软件的用户数量主要取决于*自由软件可以做什么*,以及自由软件有多好用。如果自由软件不能做她们要做的所有工作,许多用户将继续使用专有软件。因此,如果我们想从长远上来增加自由软件的用户数量,我们的首要任务是*开发更多的自由软件*。
The most direct way to do this is by writing needed free
software[(3)](#FOOT3) or manuals[(4)](#FOOT4) yourself. But if you do
distribution rather than writing, the best way you can help is by
raising funds for others to write them.
最直接的方式就是写一些自己需要的自由软件[^3]或手册[^4]。不过如果你是发行方而不是编写软件,你提供帮助的最好方式就是提供资金给其他人来写自由软件和手册。
### The Term “Selling Software” Can Be Confusing Too {#the-term-selling-software-can-be-confusing-too .subheading}
### “售卖软件”这个说法也很迷惑
Strictly speaking, “selling” means trading goods for money. Selling a
copy of a free program is legitimate, and we encourage it.
严格来说,“售卖”是指通过货物交易来获取金钱。销售一份自由软件的副本是合法的,而且我们鼓励这种行为。
However, when people think of “selling software,”[(5)](#FOOT5) they
usually imagine doing it the way most companies do it: making the
software proprietary rather than free.
然而,当人们想到“售卖软件”时[^5],他们通常想象成大多数公司的做法:使软件专有化,而不是自由。
So unless you’re going to draw distinctions carefully, the way this
article does, we suggest it is better to avoid using the term “selling
software” and choose some other wording instead. For example, you could
say “distributing free software for a fee”—that is unambiguous.
因此,除非你打算仔细分析甄别,正如这篇文章所言,我们建议最好避免使用“售卖软件”这个说法,而选用其他说法来代替。例如,你可以说“自由软件发行费用”——这样就不会有歧义了。
### High or Low Fees, and the GNU GPL {#high-or-low-fees-and-the-gnu-gpl .subheading}
### 收费的高低与 GNU GPL
Except for one special situation, the GNU General Public License (GNU
GPL) has no requirements about how much you can charge for distributing
a copy of free software. You can charge nothing, a penny, a dollar, or a
billion dollars. It’s up to you, and the marketplace, so don’t complain
to us if nobody wants to pay a billion dollars for a copy.
除非一种特殊情况,GN U通用公共许可证(GNU GPL)对于你发布自由软件时收取多少费用并没有要求。你可以免费,一美分,一美元,或者十亿美元。这完全取决于你和市场,所以如果没有人愿意花十亿美元买你的软件请不要向我们抱怨。
The one exception is in the case where binaries are distributed without
the corresponding complete source code. Those who do this are required
by the GNU GPL to provide source code on subsequent request. Without a
limit on the fee[(6)](#FOOT6) for the source code, they would be able
set a fee too large for anyone to pay—such as a billion dollars—and thus
pretend to release source code while in truth concealing it. So in this
case we have to limit the fee for source in order to ensure the user’s
freedom. In ordinary situations, however, there is no such justification
for limiting distribution fees, so we do not limit them.
唯一例外的情况是只发布二进制而没有相应完整的源代码。这样做的人,GNU GPL 会要求其为后期需求提供源代码。对于源代码没有价格上的限制[^6],他们可以确定一个没有人能支付得起的庞大数目——比如十亿美元——并且假装发布源代码,但本质是在隐藏源代码。因此,在这种情况下我们必须限制源码价格,以确保用户的自由。一般情况下,我们没有理由限制发行费用,所以我们不限制他们。
Sometimes companies whose activities cross the line stated in the GNU
GPL plead for permission, saying that they “won’t charge money for the
GNU software” or such like. That won’t get them anywhere with us. Free
software is about freedom, and enforcing the GPL is defending freedom.
When we defend users’ freedom, we are not distracted by side issues such
as how much of a distribution fee is charged. Freedom is the issue, the
whole issue, and the only issue.
有时公司的活动超出了GNU GPL所许可的范围,他们辩解说“没有对 GNU 软件收费”或者其他类似的理由。无论怎么样,他们都没有因此得逞。自由软件是关于自由的,并且遵循 GPL 就是捍卫自由。当我们维护用户自由时,我们没有因为思考需要收取多少发布费用而心烦意乱。自由才是问题所在,是全部的问题,也是唯一的问题。
### [(1)](#DOCF1)
@raggedright See @pageref{Definition} for the full definition of free
software. @end raggedright
[^1]: 参见[《自由软件定义》](free-sw.html)一文
### [(2)](#DOCF2)
@raggedright Also known as “proprietary software.” See @pageref{Category
Proprietary Software} for more on this category of software. @end
raggedright
[^2]: 也称为“专有软件”,参见《软件的分类》一文
### [(3)](#DOCF3)
@raggedright See the Savannah Task List, at
<http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/tasklist>. @end raggedright
[^3]: 参见 Savannah 任务列表 <http://savannah.gnu.org/projects/tasklist>
### [(4)](#DOCF4)
@raggedright See <http://gnu.org/doc/doc.html>. @end raggedright
[^4]: 参见 <http://gnu.org/doc/doc.html>
### [(5)](#DOCF5)
@raggedright See @pageref{Sell Software} for more on how the expression
“sell software” is ambiguous. @end raggedright
[^5]: 参考《售卖软件》一文了解为何“售卖软件”这个说法有歧义
### [(6)](#DOCF6)
@raggedright See section 6 of the GNU GPL (@pageref{GPL S6}). @end
raggedright
[^6]: 参见《GNU GPL》一文的第六段
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