Is GNOME Open Source(tm) Software?

The short answer is yes. The GPL and LGPL used for GNOME are explicitly listed as examples for the "Open Source" definition. However, we try to avoid using the term Open Source to describe GNOME, since not only does the term deliberately hide the freedom inherent in Free Software, but the term is being used for software which is not Free.

The term was developed to try to bring Free Software to businesses who didn't want to hear about Freedom. Personally, I have found that most businesses like to hear about freedom. The freedom to customize their software to their needs, the freedom to change software developers without changing their software, the freedom to give copies of their software to their clients and subcontractors, these are all freedoms that Free Software offers, and proprietary software usually doesn't, that make good business sense. For more on the distinction between Open Source and Free Software, see the article by Richard M. Stallman at http://gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html.