Welcome to the Free Software Supporter, the Free Software
Foundation's (FSF) monthly news digest and action update -- being read
by you and 231,349 other activists.
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The FSF can only continue to be the cornerstone of a more just digital society with your support
From November 12
Free software makes up the building blocks to so many things and is an
important tool for building and sustaining a free society. You can use
free software to build programs that work for you, combine things as
you wish, and share these building blocks with others. In a free
society and with technology being all over, everyone should have these
essential freedoms. This is why the Free Software Foundation (FSF) has
published and promoted free software licenses since 1985, sponsors the
GNU System, and campaigns for free software adoption everywhere.
Powered by member dues and donations, the FSF can only continue to be
a core pillar of software freedom with your support. Build a better
world with us -- join the thousands of free software enthusiasts who
support us financially with individual contributions averaging USD
$46.22.
The FSF can only continue to be the cornerstone of a more just digital
society with the support of the community. Share this message
using the hashtag #CornerstoneOfAFreeSociety on social media
networks.
Want to read this newsletter translated into another language? Scroll
to the end to read the Supporter in French and Spanish.
Enter the FSF Anniversary Logo Contest
From November 5
For our fortieth anniversary, we would like to source the anniversary
logo design directly from a free software supporter. Everyone is
welcome to submit a design (or even multiple designs), no matter your
previous experience in design, as long as it adheres to the
requirements. The winning design will be chosen by the community and
ultimately immortalized in the history of the FSF. It will be
displayed on the FSF homepage, printed on all of the celebration
printed materials, and possibly even stamped on some merchandise. To
enter a design(s) into the contest, please review the requirements and
suggestions below before submitting your design by January 1, 2025.
Free software is vital for the public and state-run infrastructure of a free society
From November 27
No government should rip freedom from the hands of its people, forcing
them to give up their freedom to run, study, modify, and share
software. When it comes to government infrastructure, citizens often
have no options: they have to use it. Therefore, government
infrastructure should always respect its user's freedom! Read about
negative and positive examples of a government beholden to proprietary software
and of efforts to implement free software in governments.
FSF Ethical Tech Giving Guide: Remember to give freedom
From November 26
All year long, but especially during the last two months of the
year, ads and media that celebrate the use of freedom-violating
software are fed to us by greedy corporations. No matter which
holiday(s), if any, you celebrate, the spirit of cherishing our
loved ones is very strong right now. Unfortunately, so is the
messaging that many of us encounter on a daily basis that you
have to buy the newest tech gifts (most of which are not
freedom-respecting) if you want to show your friends and family
that you love them. If you want to participate in ethical tech
gift-giving, we're here to help.
Call for volunteers: Help us with the GNU Press shop
From November 25
People around the world are eagerly waiting to receive their GNU Press
shop orders, and we need a little help sending everything out. Would
you be willing to donate some of your time to supporting the FSF's
work while chatting and enjoying snacks with other free software
supporters? This will be the first time that we have organized a
volunteering event since going remote at the end of August 2024, and
we miss seeing your lovely faces! If you are in the Boston area in
December and have a spare hour or two, reach out to
[email protected] to let us know when you can drop by.
Winter holidays are coming: Time for a free software tale
From November 19
The ShoeTool fairy tale is about Wendell the Elf, a shoemaker who
thought he bought a machine to help him make shoes, only to find out
that the machine proprietor heavily restricts what kind of shoes
Wendell may make with the machine he just bought. These kinds of
restrictions that are found on most if not all proprietary software
limit real-world user freedom, creativity, and opportunity, not just
fictional shoemaking. Watch the fairy tale of Wendell the Elf and the
ShoeTool to remind yourself why you shouldn't let your tools tell you
how to use them and share this holiday fairy tale with your loved
ones.
The FSF shop is open! Winter is nearly here and what better way
to ring in winter than with some new free software gear? We have
a lot of fun merchandise up for grabs for every taste and every
budget. Purchases from the GNU Press shop are not only fun to
receive in the mail, but they're also great for upgrading skills
and sharing software freedom far and wide. Peruse our extensive
selection and order yourself or some loved ones a little treat to
brighten up those chilly days! To have a good chance of receiving
your order by December 24, be sure to place your order before
December 15 (if you have a US mailing address) or December
5 (if you have an international mailing address).
TAKE ACTION: Block the PERA and PREVAIL Act - A major step back for software freedom
From November 13
The US Senate will vote on two bills that, if passed, will
entrench software patents even further in the United States. The
Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA) seeks to "clear the
legal landscape" surrounding patents, but will effectively make
obtaining software patents even easier than before. Meanwhile,
the Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American
Innovation Leadership (PREVAIL) Act, would severely limit how the
public can challenge wrongly granted patents at the patent
office. We cannot afford to let this bill pass without a
fight. Software freedom is at risk, and we need your voice now
more than ever. Both the vote on the PERA Act and the PREVAIL Act
have been delayed, so there is now a little more time to take
action and prevent them from moving forward. Call your Senators
before it's too late!
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) turns forty on October 4, 2025 and
we will end our thirties on a high note! Since our founding in 1985,
we laid out many stepping stones on the road to software freedom, and
we're eager to continue building the road ahead. We will celebrate our
fortieth in the spirit of bringing the international free software
community together, discussing what we can do next to make the world
freer, and celebrating how far we've come. We're aiming for a libre
planet! Sounds familiar? Instead of hosting one LibrePlanet conference
in 2025, we're planning a jam-packed anniversary year, filled with
several new and exciting activities. We hope you'll join us for the
festivities!
Landlord screening tool will stop scoring low-income tenants after discrimination suit
From November 20 by Emma Roth
Until recently, SafeRent, an application used by landlords for
evaluating prospective tenants, was compiling scores that were not
transparent to either landlords or prospective tenants, even
reportedly using information not related to rental history. For many
people seeking housing, especially renters, there is often very little
choice or accessible workarounds to using proprietary software to
apply for housing. Not only does the widespread use of these kinds of
programs infringe upon user freedom, it may even be used to
discriminate against prospective tenants, such as what may have been
happening with SafeRent scores. No matter what role you fill in the
housing industry, we strongly encourage you to advocate for the use of
free software in housing practices whenever possible.
When your device breaks, whether by an accident or because it has been
well-used, it is often expensive and frustrating to attempt to repair
it. Costly and tiresome repair processes are not the default, but a
purposeful choice by the proprietor to take your freedom and money.
You should be able and allowed to change and repair your device and
software as needed, instead of being forced to buy expensive parts
packages and/or rely on the manufacturer to repair it. Unfortunately,
the inability to repair a device or understand how it works is just
one of many ways that our user freedoms are infringed upon, as you can
learn more about in the Electronic Frontier Foundation's new Digital
Rights Bytes series.
Vim developer Bram Moolenaar posthumously receives the European SFS Award
From November 8 by the Free Software Foundation Europe
Earlier this month, the Free Software Foundation Europe and Linux User
Group Bolzano-Bozen posthumously awarded Bram Moolenaar, developer of
the VIM text editor, with the European SFS Award at SFSCon 2024.
While Moolenaar is best known for his work developing VIM, a
screen-based text editor released in 1991 used by developers
worldwide, he is also recognized for his efforts to promote free
software education. Notably, he participated in many technical
projects, wrote a programming language, advocated for free software in
his work place, and more. Read more about Bram Moolenaar's extensive
impact on free software development and education.
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!
LibrePlanet featured resource: Group: Free Software in Government
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 Group: Free Software in
Government, which provides information about government efforts to
adopt, debate, and even simply discuss free software. It is also a
place to share appeal letters or text aimed at persuading government
officials and/or representatives, as well as any other information or
links to other mailing lists and groups involved in promoting free
software in government. You are invited to adopt, spread and improve
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.
Assigning your copyright to the Free Software Foundation helps us
defend the GNU GPL and keep software free. The following individuals
have assigned their copyright to the FSF (and allowed public
appreciation) in the past month:
Justin Fields (GNU Emacs)
Divya Ranjan Pattanaik (GNU Emacs)
John Devin (GNU gawk)
Yao Zi (GCC)
Collin Funk (GNU findutils)
Want to see your name on this list? Contribute to GNU and assign your
copyright to the FSF.
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.
