In terms of software, free (in the case of free open source software) is used in the libre sense of the word. Free is speaking here of the software being open for anyone to view the code, change it without having to pay license fees and redistribute "freely". As Wikipedia puts it:
Free software or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with minimal restrictions only to ensure that further recipients can also do these things. In practice, for software to be distributed as free software, the human readable form of the program (the "source code") must be made available to the recipient along with a notice granting the above permissions. Such a notice is a "free software licence", or, in theory, could be a notice saying that the source code is released into the public domain.
Open source software exists for freedom of information, not freedom from having to pay. As the Wikipedia article goes on to discuss, often times open source software is free or very inexpensive but it does not have to be gratis (free of charge).
The free being used here is the same as "free enterprise", "free market", "free speech", "free press" and so on. Free enterprise and free market do not mean they cost nothing but that they allow people to make their own choices on how they want to conduct business. Free speech refers to people's ability to speak without fear of retribution, it does not mean that their speech costs nothing. People are paid quite often to give speeches, does that mean they do not have "free speech". No, because the free is not referring to cost, but to liberty.
In the same way, free software means that the software is available under general public license for others to use and distribute without having to pay a license fee. If you look at the definition of open source you will see that the first thing listed when defining open source is that the license on the open source software may not restrict anyone from selling or redistributing the software and no license fees or royalties may be imposed for anyone selling that software.
By setting up my themes the way I have, in no way have I violated the idea or intent of free open source software. I have put great thought into my decisions on how I want to structure this idea which is why I decided to offer a free (gratis) basic version that will have minimal support and will only contain the major components of the theme such as the toolbar, icons, tabs, and certain menus. Because I enjoy doing themes, I want to create the best themes possible which requires enormous amounts of time and energy. In order to do this, I started charging $0.99 to compensate not only the time needed to create and maintain the theme but to provide support via email and this blog to those who are having troubles.
I have spent the past 3 days answering close to 100 emails on how to download, install, and use the themes. I have also set up a user forum to provide a community support group of users who want to discuss issues relating to Firefox themes as well as provide answers to support questions for those who are having troubles.
While some of you have made your mind up that I have sold out and sought after greedy intentions, the opposite is true. I have taken my theme development to a new level of support to create and offer the best themes available which I believe will help out Firefox in the long run. Some developers may follow suit as some fear but that, in my opinion, will only improve Firefox. If people can earn a little money by offering themes for a small fee, better developers will start making better themes which will lead to a better offering of Firefox.
I may be wrong and the market may reject my idea but that is the beauty of free (libre) markets. I understand that no matter what I say, certain people will always hate what I am doing and do what they can to hurt me. My question is, what is the reason behind those feelings of anger and resentment and what is the purpose behind trying to stop me from what I have decided to do?
Regardless of what you feel or what you decide to do in response to my decision, my intent is to continue to make the best Firefox themes possible and get them to as many people as possible, whether it be my $0.99 version or my free (gratis) basic version available on AMO.
