easejs/whyfreejs.html

<div class="headline">
  <h3>The Importance of<br />JavaScript that Respects<br />Your Freedoms</h3>

  <blockquote class="quote info3">
    It occurred to me that when we announce ease.js it would be a good occasion to
    post something about the importance of making JavaScript code free.
    &mdash;<a href="http://stallman.org" class="subtle">Richard Stallman</a>
  </blockquote>
</div>

<p>
  GNU ease.js provides a set of unmatched and desirable features under a <a
  href="https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/pragmatic.html">copyleft</a> license,
  which encourages developers to release their own code under a compatible <a
  href="https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html">free software</a> license.
  But not everyone may understand why this decision&mdash;and the urging of free
  (as in freedom) JavaScript&mdash;are so fundamentally vital to the future of a
  free and cooperative Internet that is accessible to <em>everyone</em>,
  regardless of whether they exclusively use free software.
</p>

<p>
  <strong>We need your help to protect the fundamental freedoms of Internet
  users.</strong> This brief essay is an appeal to developers to develop free
  software for the Web; it is heavily influenced by Richard Stallman's article
  <a href="https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/javascript-trap.html">The JavaScript
  Trap</a>&mdash;which you should also read&mdash;and has been written with his
  input. If you already write free JavaScript, then thank you.
</p>

<div class="essay">
  <p>
    <span class="firsts">Web pages increasingly include JavaScript code, which
    raises the same ethical concerns as software written in any other
    language:</span> Non-free JavaScript can rob you of your right to study,
    modify, and share the software that you are running.  Unlike traditional
    software, JavaScript usually enters your machine without prompting and often
    without your knowledge&mdash;the simple act of visiting a web page may
    install and execute a non-free program within your web browser.
  </p>

  <p>
    JavaScript provides an often frictionless cross-platform distribution
    mechanism that can be exploited without your permission; this amplifies
    the effects of some of the most insidious anti-features, such as spying
    on your activities and tracking your movements.  If a web page executes
    non-free code, how are you able to audit it (or have someone else do so
    on your behalf) to ensure that it is not malicious?  Further, how are
    you or others able to modify the software to remove the malicious code?
    (Unfortunately, the latter can be complicated even with free JavaScript,
    but it can be done.)
  </p>

  <p>
    But non-malicious programs sometimes need changes too.  You deserve
    control over all software that runs on your computer; why should you
    sacrifice this freedom simply because JavaScript creates the illusion
    of remote execution?
  </p>

  <p>
    How many web sites have you visited today that download JavaScript
    onto your computer?  How many of them respect your freedoms?  I chose
    to license ease.js under the GPLv3+ because I believe that non-free
    JavaScript should be eliminated, not enabled.  Please help to spread
    the word and join me in writing free JavaScript; without it, we will
    have an Internet that is locked away from free software users; this is
    not the spirit in which the Internet was created.
  </p>

  <p class="sign">
    <a href="http://mikegerwitz.com/">Mike Gerwitz</a>
    <br />
    Author of GNU ease.js
  </p>

  <dl class="links">
    <dt class="imp">To join in on the FSF's Free JavaScript campaign:</dt>
    <dd>
      <a href="https://fsf.org/campaigns/freejs">
        https://fsf.org/campaigns/freejs
      </a>
    </dd>

    <dt>More information on the JavaScript trap is available here:</dt>
    <dd>
      <a href="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/javascript-trap.html">
        https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/javascript-trap.html
      </a>
    </dd>

    <dt>More information on free software and its freedoms:</dt>
    <dd>
      <a href="https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html">
        https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
      </a>
    </dd>
  </dl>

  <p class="imgattr">
    <a href="http://www.gnu.org/graphics/anothertypinggnu.html">
      Another Typing GNU Hacker
    </a>
  </p>
</div>