101 Reasons to use FOSS

There are definitely a lot of reasons why we use FOSS / Systems, that's why we are creating this list to help spreading the words to the mass public. It's always an on-going list please feel free to add yours. If you find good source / reference article of benefits explaining some points, please help to link to the relevant points as well.

Freedom matters! (freedom to create, share, invent, collaborate, learn and modify)
Free of cost (not always but you always have choice) why?
Lots of choice, not only what to use but also how to use it
No vendor lock in
FOSS encourages open standards (odt, png ..)
Fewer viruses (for GNU/Linux systems)
It's the best way to avoid piracy
Everybody can try and play
Promotes transparency and accountability, you (can) know what you are installing and using
Free software gives you back control over your computer
Lots of community support, you can even get to talk to the people who developed the software
Cross-platform
Foster real innovation and creativity
Promotes honesty as there are lots of honest quality referees
Fights monopoly
Promotes free market competition and creates lots of business opportunities
Keen competition helping to keep things move forward
It doesn't belong to any company, it belongs to us
Brings together people from all over the world
The most powerful way to build software as anybody can join in
Has passionate communities full of passionate people
Rewards skill, ingenuity and willingness to learn
An outcome of cooperation and collaboration
It succeeds on its own merits – even marketing cannot save crappy software
It doesn't exclude anybody and its door is always open
Lots of free tutorials you to learn from
It accommodates everybody, from beginner to expert, from children to elder
It promotes knowledge sharing and allows everybody to learn from each other
It encourages easy customization, as we don't believe one product suits everybody
It doesn't sacrifice quality as there is no deadline – developers keep working until their product is perfect
NASA uses FOSS as it allows them to do things on a massive scale at little cost
You are free to localize it and share it with your country (esp. for those countries that companies believe they are not profitable for sales)
GNU/Linux systems are famous for reliability and stability
Governments choose FOSS for its high level of security
Eye candy e.g. 3D Desktop - Compiz Fusion
Derivative works allow people to package software so that it interacts more seamlessly
Provides cheap and accessible platforms to prototype new ideas
Reduces the gap between software "producers" and "consumers"
A great learning platform for students.
It can stop 95% of computer users from being called 'pirates'.
Open standards benefit everyone.
Knowledge is meant to be shared.
Weave your own code.
No Windows, no Gates. Just open doors to a free world.
Some things are simply beyond profit-alone approaches.
Not prone to virii, crashes, instability.
The corporate world uses it. Big time.
It's there everywhere in, the internet infrastructure space.
If you have no language solutions for your computers, you can create it.
It doesn't encourage the culture of dependency and helplessness.
The sharing culture promotes learning.
It creates a meritocracy, where racism, class, geography have no place.
Promotes amazing diversity in global computing, like no corporate can.
Promotes affordable computing, specially critical in the Third World.
Doesn't place legal computing power beyond the reach of the bulk of the planet.

100. The best things in life are Free.

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