Welcome to the Free Software Supporter, the Free Software
Foundation's (FSF) monthly news digest and action update -- being read
by you and 232,350 other activists.
Free software, free society, free education!
From November 8
We can only learn in freedom if the software we use is free. Your
donation helps us bring free software to schools, universities, and
every learner around the world, thereby protecting not only each
learner's freedom, but also educating everybody on the importance of
free software. What better way is there to learn about free software
than by using it? Free software in education is vital for a free
society. Together, we can build a future in which everyone will be
able to learn in freedom and will know their rights as a user.
Please consider supporting our work by making a donation, becoming an
associate member, or gifting an associate membership to a loved
one. You will help us reach our goal of collecting USD 375,000 by
December 31 and thereby support us in bringing free software to every
learner around the world.
Plus, if you start an annual associate membership or contribute $140
or more as a donation we'll send you an exclusive drawstring bag to
show off your support for user rights.
Want to read this newsletter translated into another language? Scroll
to the end to read the Supporter in French, Spanish, or Portuguese.
EmacsConf joins Free Software Foundation fiscal sponsorship program
From November 30
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) announced on November 30, 2023 that
EmacsConf will join the Working Together for Free Software Fund. The one
and only conference dedicated to the joy of Emacs is joining just before their
event on December 2 and 3, 2023.
Worldwide community of activists protest OverDrive and others forcing DRM upon libraries
From November 28
The FSF is hosting its International Day Against DRM (IDAD) again this
year, taking aim at companies that force Digital Restrictions
Management (DRM) upon libraries. This year's IDAD campaign draws
attention to the ways libraries, and by extension, their patrons, are
mistreated by corporations like OverDrive, makers of the "Libby" app
that have a near monopolistic control over digital lending in the
United States. Services like OverDrive and Follet Destiny mandate
"controlled digital lending" schemes, imposing artificial scarcity on
a digital good. They also require monthly or annual fees in order to
have the privilege of having a book or piece of media in
circulation. Should the library struggle with paying its licensing
fees, like the New York Public Library, then its "access" is
"rescinded." IDAD will take place digitally and worldwide on December
8, 2023.
This year's FSF Giving Guide is here: Make freedom your gift! This
is the fourteenth year the Free Software Foundation (FSF) has
published its Ethical Tech Giving Guide as a way to help people make
better informed decisions when finding gifts for friends and family.
No matter how you celebrate this year, we hope that the holidays will
prove a fruitful time for you to educate the people you care about on
the importance of free software. No matter if or how you'll be buying
gifts this year, always keep in mind that retaining your freedom is
the greatest gift of all.
Protecting free software against confusing additional restrictions
From November 14
While we are pleased when people use GNU licenses to distribute and
license software, we condemn the use of unauthorized, confusing
derivatives of the licenses. In this article, we explain how users are
protected against restrictive terms introduced by people using GNU
licenses' terms in drafting their own, new licenses.
Calling for volunteers: Help FSF staff with the GNU Press shop, which is open until December 15
From November 16
The GNU Press shop is open for the holidays until December 15. If you
are planning to buy something from the GNU Press Shop, now is the
chance. And right now, we have a special offer. Order a stuffed baby
gnu, one of our most sought-after items, and receive a special gift
with your order: a FSF or unique floating GNU pin. Our favorite baby
gnu is small, soft, poised, and eager to migrate onto your computer
desk or bookshelf.
And if you are in the area and able to join us in the office, we are
asking for assistance in packing, labeling, and sending GNU Press shop
orders. We're organizing multiple volunteer days, with the hours of
14:00 to 21:00 (2:00 PM to 9:00 PM) EST each day. Food and drinks will
be provided. Please let us know which times and dates would work for
you from the following: Tuesday, December 12; and Friday, December 15,
2023.
Also note that the December 15 date coincides with our upcoming Free
Software Community Meetup, so if you want to come in that day and do
both, you can!
FSF Free Software Community Meetup on December 15, 2023
We are inviting you to the first ever FSF Free Software Community
Meetup on Friday, December 15, 2023, from 18:45 to 21:00 (6:45 PM to
9:00 PM) EST.
This is the perfect opportunity to meet other free software
supporters, hangout with Free Software Foundation (FSF) staff, swap
stories, and discuss free software topics while grazing like a gnu on
some snacks. If you support free software and are in the Boston area
during this time, you're invited. Feel free to bring friends and
family members along. We'll start with a Freedom Trail walk and, once
we return, we'll warm up in the office with hot chocolate and snacks.
Now's your chance to submit your session and nominations
From November 15
The window for submitting your session proposals for next year's
LibrePlanet and nominations for this year's Free Software Awards is
now closed, but registration and sponsoring remain open. Please
consider registering for LibrePlanet as a participant and supporting
the event as a sponsor or exhibitor.
Software that supports your body should always respect your freedom
From November 3
It's up to us, advocates of free software, to inform the people around
us of the issues with proprietary software in medical aids. Let's
encourage our friends, parents, and grandparents to ask their doctor
about the software in their medical devices and to choose and insist
upon free software over proprietary software. You could start by
sharing this article with the people who are near and dear to you.
You paid $1,000 for an iPhone, but Apple still controls it
From November 12 by Tripp Mickle, Ella Koeze, and Brian X. Chen
People who purchase an iPhone find themselves asking a question whose
importance only becomes obvious once the time comes to service the
phone: Who controls my device? This is due to a devious practice
called parts pairing, which employs (proprietary) software to check
the device, detects installed hardware, and decides whether or not it
will continue working purely based on the hardware's origin
(i.e. whether or not Apple is getting a cut). This practice has been
reported before and is cataloged on the GNU website's DRM malware
page,
but the authors' research in this article has found that this
malpractice has been on the rise over the years.
Tip for viewing articles on The New York Times website: Use
LibreJS
to avoid its nonfree JS as well as its nagging popup.
Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory
Tens of thousands of people visit directory.fsf.org each month to
discover free software. Each entry in the Directory contains a wealth
of useful information, from basic category and descriptions to version
control, IRC channels, documentation, and licensing. The Free Software
Directory has been a great resource to software users over the past
decade, but it needs your help staying up-to-date with new and
exciting free software projects.
To help, join our weekly IRC meetings on Fridays. Meetings take place
in the #fsf channel on Libera.Chat, and usually include a handful of
regulars as well as newcomers. Libera.Chat is accessible from any IRC
client -- Everyone's welcome!
The next meeting is Friday, December 8 from 12:00 to 15:00 EST (17:00
to 20:00 UTC). Details here:
LibrePlanet featured resource: Birds of a Feather at LibrePlanet 2024
Every month on the LibrePlanet
wiki, we highlight one
resource that is interesting and useful -- often one that could use
your help.
For this month, we are highlighting Birds of a Feather at LibrePlanet
2024, which has proposals for, and provides information about, Birds
of a Feather sessions at the upcoming LibrePlanet conference. You are
invited to add your own proposal, as well as to share this important
resource.
To download: nearly all GNU software is available most reliably from
https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/. Optionally, you may find faster download
speeds at a mirror located geographically closer to you by choosing
from the list of mirrors published at
https://www.gnu.org/prep/ftp.html, or you may use
https://ftpmirror.gnu.org/ to be automatically redirected to a
(hopefully) nearby and up-to-date mirror.
We appreciate everyone who donates to the Free Software Foundation,
and we'd like to give special recognition to the folks who have
donated $500 or more in the last month.
Contributions from thousands of individual associate members enable
the FSF's work. You can contribute by joining at
https://my.fsf.org/join. If you're already a member, you can help
refer new members (and earn some rewards) by adding a line with your
member number to your email signature like:
Do you read and write Portuguese and English? The FSF is looking
for translators for the Free Software Supporter. Please send an
email to [email protected] with your interest and a list of your
experience and qualifications.
