Freedom!

In the software community, (especially the free software community) there has been great amounts of talk about what is free software. GNU and Richard Stallman has a definition, and so has our "common sense"... what is free? Well, it costs nothing, but according to GNU it doesn't *have to be without cost*. For them the true freedom is to be able to do what you want, and add and edit what you want with the software (for this case I'll add knowledge to it).

I never quite understood it. Why would anyone ever stand in the way of this type of freedom? I still don't know why people would stand in the way... but what I do understand now, is why Richard Stallman is so fanatical about being given the freedom.

I've been trying to push a freedom of knowledge base... and some people (who are responsible for documenting systems etc.) cannot seem to fathom that wiki-based knowledge is
1) empowering for those who use it (they can teach themselves stuff they never had access to),
2) grows at exponential rates
3) self regulating
4) for the good of all
5) multiplayer notepad. (I love that)... though it was first cliched for IRC.

They think that the knowledge won't be audited, and that people will start to follow the wrong principals. But if the wiki is active enough, and they (who are people who can authorize is) are active on it, the knowledge will continue to be passed on, and on and on.

And if someone inhibits those awesome features of a wiki, then I feel the need to passionately fight for the right of freedom too.