The LiberaManifesto

v2.0.0.0-beta.1

libera: (Latin) free, independent, unrestricted.

A Manifesto for Open Source and Free Services

As developers and maintainers of Open Source Software and Free Services, we the Liberati felt it was time to share basic truths with the rest of the world. A world where hobbyists and businesses alike run on what we provide and what we have built. Too often, we fall victim to gross misconceptions. The Libera Manifesto intends to speak for those who provide something online for free.

This manifesto was published to expose a silent perspective – one which most Internet users cannot see outright. These are not absolute truths, merely concepts to which many “freebie” providers adhere and are compiled from.

Our Manifesto was not compiled to ostracize, single out, offend, or hurt anybody – if it truly upsets you, please read through it a few more times. DO NOT FEEL GUILTY – feel empowered.

– The Liberati

The Manifesto

Share the Manifesto

If you believe in this manifesto, join the rest of us Liberati by placing our badge on your site and/or project:

Markdown:

[![libera manifesto](https://img.shields.io/badge/libera-manifesto-lightgrey.svg)](https://liberamanifesto.com)

HTML:

<a href="https://liberamanifesto.com">
  <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/libera-manifesto-lightgrey.svg">
</a>

If you would like to make suggestions, or have comments, please open an issue on Github.

History of the Libera Manifesto

The original Libera Manifesto was conceived of and published by Chris Pirillo on Lockergnome.com way back when on March 31st, 2001. From the original site:

The Lockergnome Inspiration

I decided to start this list when I heard that SHYFONTS.COM closed due to the following reasons. I knew he wasn’t alone:

“I just wasn’t receiving that much support from my users. Everybody kept downloading all of the fonts, but never supported the site. I’d get almost 2,000 hits a day and no one would really click an ad or buy one of our shirts (only one person ever bought a shirt). What made it worse, with the traffic I received, hardly anybody ever sent me an email just to say ‘thanks.’ I just couldn’t afford to keep the site up anymore. It really sucks too, because I’ve spent a lot of time and effort on ShyFonts.”

We really don’t ask for that much.