Founder, Stacy Reed: I made FOSSwiki because I needed a place to keep track of my favorite freeware applications. I've been an advocate for free and open source software for many years and I thought this would be a great resource for friends and family to find it all in one place.

FOSSwiki expanded quickly and many people began showing interest in editing the wiki so I made the password public on January 12th, 2007. Now everyone can add their favorite free software to FOSSwiki! Keep reading; the rules for editing and the password are posted below.

Wow, that's quite a list! Are you sure it's all free?

All of the software listed in the FOSSwiki is free for you to download and use. Some software is strictly for personal use only, some software is free for all to use and distribute, and some is Open Source. Please make sure you read all of the information provided by the developer on their website.

What is Open Source?

OpenSource.org states that the distribution terms of open-source software must comply with the following criteria (see site for more specifics):

1. Free Redistribution
2. The program must include source code
3. The license must allow modifications and derived works, and must allow them to be distributed under the same terms
4. Integrity of The Author's Source Code
5. No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups
6. No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor
7. The rights attached to the program must apply to all to whom the program is redistributed
8. License Must Not Be Specific to a Product
9. License Must Not Restrict Other Software
10. License Must Be Technology-Neutral

What is the GNU Public License?

The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) is a free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU project (a project to create a complete free software operating system).

You can learn more about the GNU Public License and the Free Software Foundation here.

How do developers make money from free software?

There are many ways developers can make money even though their software is free. Most developers accept donations from those who appreciate their software. Some authors release free software that compliments other shareware programs they've written in the hopes that they will enjoy the freeware and buy their other products. Sometimes, a developer will offer 2 or more versions of their software, for instance, a free version and a shareware professional version, in which case, the pro version would have more features. Some authors include ads in thier software or on thier homepages to generate revenue. All of the software listed on FOSSwiki is ad-free.

Can I contribute?

Absolutely! As you can see, most of the software listed here is for Windows OS. I'd love to see the list grow to include more free Mac, PDA and Linux programs. If you'd like to help with this endeavor, keep reading!

Can I help make changes and updates by administrating the FOSSwiki?

Sure thing! FOSSwiki can now be edited by everyone!

But before you leap right in, you should know a thing or two about wiki style <-- Go on, click that link if you're a wiki-newb. Now, while no one is looking! You'll be editing the FOSSwiki code in no time because it's super-simple!

When you click the Edit button at the top of the page, you will be prompted for a password. The password is Freewarerocks

Once you are logged in, you'll be able to edit listings, add your own listings, remove broken links, update information, etc. However, there are a few guidelines:

• Do not make a new category heading unless you are willing to place at least two or three titles under it.
• Always make sure to indicate the compatible OS
• Do not remove your competitor's software. C'mon, play fair.
• Do your best to make new content look uniform with previously posted content.

Told you there were only a few rules. The rest is common sense. If you find the wiki is being abused, please report it.

How do I get my free software or online service listed in the FOSSwiki?

If you are a developer and you would like to add your software or Web 2.0 site to the FOSSwiki but are too lazy to do it yourself, please feel free to email Stacy with "FOSSwiki Submission" in the subject line. Make sure you include the name of your product, a link to your homepage, and a brief description of its features.

Other ways you can help:

• Report a broken link or incorrect information

From time to time, a business goes under or a site changes domain names. Sometimes developers decide to charge for software that was once free. If you detect an error in the information presented here or discover a broken link, please send me an email.

• Donate

Donations can be made in the form of upgrade subscriptions. There will be a special page to thank all of the contributers. Upgrading will allow us to have better backup utilities, stats and site information, as well as saying goodbye to the ads.

• Word of Mouth

If you like FOSSwiki, please do more than bookmark it, SHARE IT! :) Please add FOSSwiki to Digg, del.icio.us, Furl, Stumble Upon or whichever bookmarking/social networking site you frequent to help spread the word.

• Overhaul

I'd like to make a big change on the front page. Rather than only linking to the FOSSwiki listing page for each software, I'd also like to add a link directly to the developers website so that the user doesn't have to go through that extra step if they'd prefer not to. This will take some time as there are already hundreds of listings on the site. If you'd like to help with this project, maybe we could get it done as a team in half the time.

• Link Exchange

If you are the owner of a free and resourceful site with a similar theme, let's swap links! After you've posted a link to FOSSwiki on your site, you can post your own link under the heading "Links" in the Sidebar. Please note, we reserve the right to remove any links that are unsuitable.

 Create your own free wiki!Support Community Add to Del.ici.ous Add to Digg Add to Reddit Add to fUrl Add to SpurlPublic, not yet premium Privacy Policy RSS