Z:gnu-www-ja-who-does-that-server-really-serve--a9ca82-Google Docs shows how complex/en

Google Docs shows how complex the evaluation of a single service can become. It invites people to edit a document by running a large nonfree JavaScript program, clearly wrong. However, it offers an API for uploading and downloading documents in standard formats. A free software editor can do so through this API. This usage scenario is not SaaSS, because it uses Google Docs as a mere repository. Showing all your data to a company is bad, but that is a matter of privacy, not SaaSS; depending on a service for access to your data is bad, but that is a matter of risk, not SaaSS. On the other hand, using the service for converting document formats is SaaSS, because it's something you could have done by running a suitable program (free, one hopes) in your own computer.