Talk:freeware

This term is probably older than Usenet but here's the earliest post I can find on Google Groups:
 * freeware: net.micro.pc - 15 Feb 1983 by INFO-PC@USC-ISIB:
 * freewares: comp.sys.sun - 2 Apr 1988 by William LeFebvre:

RFV discussion: August 2011–February 2012
Rfv-sense "free software". If we ignore this challenged sense, then freeware is "Complete and functional software that does not require payment or other compensation (and) may be a proprietary license with no access to the source code", while free software is either 1. "Software that can be freely copied, redistributed and modified, including source code; software that is libre" or 2. "Any software that is free of charge, such as freeware." The challenged sense is evidently saying that freeware can be sense 1 of free software (i.e. open and modifiable); I dispute this (even if freeware can coincidentally also be open and modifiable, that's not what it means); please cite. Equinox ◑ 19:29, 14 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Fully agreed. A frequent confusion at most. See top warning on Free software: "Not to be confused with freeware or open-source software". Free software adepts have been struggling for a long time to make the difference clear to everyone. — Xavier, 00:26, 16 September 2011 (UTC)
 * RFV-failed. - -sche (discuss) 06:10, 4 February 2012 (UTC)