3. Free/Libre and Open Source Software

Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) practices provide both practical tools and methodologies through which ideas and invention can circulate and expand. For those working outside any corporate environment free tools of all kinds are essential to achieving objectives and are an opportunity to feed back into the informal struc-tures that provide support. Biella Coleman's introduction to FLOSS and our glossary and examples tell you more about how Open Source software and methods are being applied for social and cultural purposes. Outside the realm of technology, many other initiatives also experiment with principles of 'open' and 'free' (that is "free as in free speech, not free as in free beer" as Free Software spokesperson Richard Stallman has famously said), seeking to create self-directed contexts for the crea-tion and circulation of non-proprietary knowledge. We write about Copenhagen Free University as one example.