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ToC

Institutional Independence

Libre software communities are (legally through licensing if through practice) institutionally independent. Institutionally affiliated projects (Debian and SPI Inc./RedHat Linux and RedHat Inc., etc.) can (and have been) forked.

Results:

  • Libre software ethics are cultivated and critiqued outside the auspices of institutional pressures (these include pressures from financing, public relations, and institutional affiliations).

Counterexample:

  • Academic research and academics' relationship to tenure, promotional, and appearance pressures, and departmental and institutional goals and focuses.