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Dear Free Software Supporter,
Last month, as part of our year of celebrating [forty years since the
FSF's founding][1], we kicked off our member spotlight series with
long-term FSF supporter and [GNU Taler][2] developer [Iván Ávalos][3].
Today, we turn the associate member spotlight on John Kastner.
[1]: [link removed]
[2]: [link removed]
[3]: [link removed]án-ávalos
John is a free software supporter with years of experience in software
development. He has a substantial managerial background and experience
in all levels of direct involvement, from requirements to research to
design, development, implementation, and delivery, and has personally
written hundreds of thousands of lines of code and produced over 25
professional publications. John has been an associate member since
2018 and is based in California.
#### John, how did you come to free software and when?
> Emacs, and the entire GNU toolset. I first started using TECO around
> 1974 and easily transitioned to Emacs and variants like Zmacs, and
> have stayed with Emacs ever since. I currently use Emacs to edit,
> read/send mail, handle my calendar, and a lot more. I even use Emacs
> as my shell utility with sesquicolon.
#### What are some FSF campaigns you like?
> Any encouragements to support free software and hardware are
> welcome.
#### How do you tell your friends and family about free software?
> They constantly hear me extol the virtues of FSF and GNU. I
> particularly like the FSF initiatives for cross-platform
> capabilities and desire for upward and backward compatibility so
> missing from most companies.
#### Do you think the FSF will remain relevant in the future?
> Yes, but it won't be easy. The tech companies have tremendous
> monetary power and have too many incentives to keep things private.
The FSF is turning 40 on October 4, 2025, and the free software
community is celebrating this milestone anniversary with various
events all throughout the year. Will you [join][12] us and help us
ensure we meet our [spring fundraising goal][13] of 200 more new
associate members by July 18? Your doing so will ensure that the
festivities -- like an in-person celebration in North America on
the actual day of the anniversary and a virtual global hackathon for
both projects and individual contributors the following month --- do
justice to marking four decades of commitment to software freedom.
If circumstances do not permit you to donate $140 USD or more, you
also have the option of joining at the Friends tier ($35 USD per year
with some of the same benefits as the associate membership) or
applying for a [sponsored FSF membership][19].
[12]: [link removed]
[13]: [link removed]
[18]: [link removed]
[19]: [link removed]
Associate memberships make up the backbone of our support, and because
they represent the bulk of our annual budget, they make it possible
for us to plan and drive more effective campaigns. Associate members
also give us the moral support to keep going.
Thank you to everyone who has supported us financially and otherwise
throughout the past four decades. We could not have made it this far
without you.
In freedom,
Jeanne Rasata
Membership Coordinator
--
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