Today, on October 4th, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) celebrates
its thirty-fifth year of fighting for software freedom. Our work will
not be finished until every computer user is able to do all of their
digital tasks in complete freedom -- whether that's on a desktop,
laptop, or the computer in your pocket. The fight for free software
continues, and we wouldn't be here without you.
To celebrate, we have a full week of announcements and surprises
planned starting today, and we will end in an online anniversary
event featuring both live and prerecorded segments this Friday,
October 9th, from 12:00 EDT (16:00 UTC) until 17:00 EDT (21:00 UTC).
Celebrate with us by uploading a video
We'd love for you to join in celebration of this amazing
community by submitting a short (two-minute) video sharing your
favorite memory about free software or the FSF, and a wish for
the future of software freedom. We'll be collecting the videos
all week and airing a selection during the birthday event on
October 9th. Follow the instructions we've posted to the
LibrePlanet wiki to upload your video, and write to us at
[email protected] when you're finished. Please keep your
comments on the topic of free software and the FSF, and your
video length under two minutes.
If you are able to, please support the online anniversary celebration
with a donation of $35 or more to help keep the fight for user
freedom going another thirty-five years, we'll send you a
commemorative pin as pictured in this email.
Other ways to celebrate
There's no better way to commemorate the FSF's thirty-fifth anniversary than
to spread the free software message. We've come up with a few more
ways you can do so, and ideally encourage your friends to do the same.
The best gifts we can ask for are the individual contributions that
keep this movement going.
Try a fully free distribution of GNU/Linux, which can be run
"live" without making any permanent changes to your computer's hard
drive.
Download and experiment with one of the oldest parts of the GNU
operating system, the GNU Emacs text editor. Try the tutorial
by launching the editor and typing Ctrl-h + t (C-h t), or see if
you can make it through some of the games included with Emacs, such
as Alt-x (M-x) dunnet or M-x tetris.
Make the commitment to replace one nonfree program that you use with
one that respects your freedom, such as using LibreOffice
instead of Microsoft Office.
Petition the administrators of your favorite Web site to free the
proprietary JavaScript lurking on their page that many users
run and download without ever realizing it.
Contribute to the Free Software Directory by writing or
updating the entry for a freely licensed program you enjoy, or join
us on the Freenode IRC channel #fsf Fridays from 16:00-19:00
UTC for our weekly meetings on how to improve the Directory.
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Help support the FSF's important work by buying manuals, apparel,
and other GNU gear at the GNU Press shop! You could upgrade your
skills with a GNU/Linux command line manual, or just get an adorable
stuffed baby GNU as a companion for late-night hacking. Also, keep
your eyes peeled for special items related to our thirty-fifth anniversary.
The pin you see here is just one of them!
Watch and share the videos from our animated series, as well as the
keynotes, presentations, and panels given at LibrePlanet, the
annual conference dedicated to defending computer user
freedom.
Have an Android phone? Install F-Droid, a repository with
hundreds of fun and useful free software apps.
Share a message on social media about the FSF's thirty-fifth
anniversary! Feel free to adapt the text and use it with the #fsf35
hashtag and the included image.
Join me in celebrating #fsf35 with the free software community and the @FSF this Friday, October 9th by tuning into fsf.org for the live anniversary event.
We're another year older, but that doesn't mean we're slowing down our
efforts to bring software freedom to users around the globe. Stay
tuned for more information on how we plan to ring in the FSF's next
year, and the vital role each one of us plays in ensuring free
software's success for the future. We hope that you'll be able to take
part in our festivities this week!
