prompter: How does Free and Open Source Software differ from Closed Source software? Please explain to me why (or if) it is important for society.

assistant: Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) is software that is freely available to use, and also has the source code freely available and licensed to use or modify.
By contrast, closed-source software is often proprietary, and often has the code hidden from its users.

The free in FOSS means both *libre*, meaning free in the same sense as "free speech", and *gratis*, meaning free in the same sense as "free pizza." The Free Software Foundation has the "Four Essential Freedoms of Free Software," four criteria used to distinguish whether a piece of software can be considered FOSS:

 - The freedom to run the software as one wishes, for any purposes
 - The freedom to study and modify the software, including being able to see the source code
 - The freedom to distribute copies of the original software freely
 - The freedom to distribute *modified* versions of the original software, so that the wider community can benefit from the changes

Closed-source or Proprietary software has its own advantages, being able to charge for a product creates more incentive for creating and researching new software. However, FOSS has advantages in cost, security, privacy and user control.

In the long run, FOSS code can be modified for more use cases by more people for a longer period of time, where closed source software will eventually stop being maintained once the developers stop development for any number of reasons. FOSS therefore becomes comparatively more beneficial to society over time. The most prominent example of these benefits of longevity and adaptability is the Linux kernel, which over the last thirty years has gone from a simple personal computer operating system to becoming the heart of most servers and all Android smartphones.

prompter: Do you have any real examples of Open source software being used in a professional setting?

assistant: Yes, there are many examples of open source software being used in professional settings. Here are a few:

1. **Linux**: Linux is a popular open source operating system that is widely used in professional settings. It is used by many companies, including IBM, Google, and Amazon, to power their servers and run their applications.

2. **Apache**: Apache is a popular open source web server software that is used by many companies to serve web pages and applications. It is used by companies like Yahoo, Netflix, and LinkedIn.

3. **MySQL**: MySQL is an open source database management system that is used by many companies to manage their data. It is used by companies like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

4. **WordPress**: WordPress is an open source content management system that is used by many companies to build and manage their websites. It is used by companies like The New Yorker, TechCrunch, and Sony Music.

5. **Firefox**: Firefox is an open source web browser that is used by many professionals for browsing the web. It is used by individuals and companies alike, including IBM and Cisco.

These are just a few examples of the many open source software products that are used in professional settings.

assistant: Yes, there are many examples of open-source software being used in professional settings. Here are a few examples:

1. Linux Operating System: Linux is a popular open-source operating system that is widely used in professional settings. Many companies and organizations use Linux to run their servers, web applications, and other IT infrastructure.

2. Apache Web Server: Apache is an open-source web server that is widely used in professional settings. It is estimated that Apache is used to host around 40% of all websites on the internet.

3. MySQL Database: MySQL is an open-source database management system that is widely used in professional settings. Many websites, applications, and other software systems use MySQL to store and manage data.

4. Mozilla Firefox Web Browser: Mozilla Firefox is a popular open-source web browser that is widely used in professional settings. Many organizations use Firefox as their default web browser due to its speed, security, and customizable features.

5. WordPress Content Management System: WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS) that is widely used in professional settings to create and manage websites. It is estimated that around 40% of all websites on the internet use WordPress as their CMS.

These are just a few examples of the many open-source software tools and systems that are widely used in professional settings.

assistant: An example of open-source software being used in a professional setting would be the Linux operating system on the server that is currently running me, Open Assistant.

assistant: Free and Open Source (FOSS) software is released under the premise that it is truly free, in the sense that it is both free-of-charge to use and that the source code is freely available to view, modify, and compile. This means that the likelihood of any hidden malicious or unwanted behaviour is drastically reduced, since it is trivially easy to detect and remove such unwanted behaviour. Open-source projects are often maintained by groups of volunteers in their spare time, which means that the project is unlikely to be discontinued, as long as there is interest in it. On top of this, open-source software is often "forked", or cloned into other software, which allows for improvements to be made separately or for the software to be used as a template for other software. For example, a lot of popular web browsers, such as Opera, Vivaldi, Microsoft Edge, and Google Chrome are forks of the Chromium web browser, which is open-source. Firefox also has several clones, such as Kiwi Browser and LibreWolf. 

Unlike open-source software, the source code of proprietary software is not available to the user. This means that hidden functionality such as telemetry and malware could be hidden inside the program. However, this allows for the developers to sell the software. (Although, there is some open-source software that is not free-of-charge).

The difference between open-source and proprietary software is an important distinction to make, since the two philosophies are fundamentally different and seek to achieve different goals. However, the most popular software in the world is still proprietary software, although some open-source projects dominate specific niche use-cases, such as Linux in servers.

prompter: How significant is open-source to our society?