The Free Software Foundation (FSF) turned thirty-five this year, and for this fall's fundraising
appeal, we took the time to do some digging into the past to bring
you some of the key moments and fun anecdotes of the FSF's past in
three parts, one focusing on collected stories centered around each of
the three major areas of work at the FSF.
Today, we published part one, a deep dive into the history of what
has come to be the FSF's tech team. This series of
articles is by no means an attempt to create a comprehensive linear
history; instead, I spoke to some of the former and current FSF system
administrators and asked them for memorable moments from their time
working with the FSF. This article lays out those stories and moments
in the history of the technical infrastructure of FSF in a very
simplified order. The two following articles in this series will
highlight key moments in free software licensing and campaigning.
This slice of history is built on conversations with former FSF tech
team members like Nicolás César, Ward Vandewege, and Bernie Innocenti,
as well as the current team, and on research into the long history of
GNU and FSF Bulletins, news items, and blog posts. We gathered a
collection of great anecdotes that highlights just how unique the work
at the FSF is, and the exceptional dedication and skill of the team.
The article covers the stories of troubleshooting (and sometimes
rescuing) the BIOS of every server; setting up data migration from a
legacy database system to CiviCRM; labeling the Web site's JavaScript
libraries; spending five days getting a compromised Savannah back
online; the streamlining of the annual mailing process from lasting
about a month to a week; livestream adventures with Edward Snowden;
the lighting of the Massachusetts Institute of technology (MIT) with
"GNU," and much more.
For thirty-five years, the FSF has been supported by people just like
you, who give back because you believe in the idea of free software
and you trust that the FSF can make a difference. It is worth a moment
of celebration and reflection of the work done before we continue our
journey forward to achieve our free software mission and bring
#UserFreedom to all computer users.
Can you pledge your support for the tech team's important work for
software freedom by becoming an associate member? The work of
the tech team depends directly on support from the wider free software
community, and the FSF can't fulfill its mission without you. This
fall fundraiser, our goal is to reach 500 new associate
members. If you join today, you can select a special gift in addition
to being able to enjoy all of our associate membership benefits,
which include a free "as in freedom" videoconferencing
server. Together, we can show the world the importance of free
software, and support the tech team's pioneering example.
We hope you enjoy this moment of celebration and reflection of the
work done before we continue our journey forward to achieve our free
software mission and bring #UserFreedom to all computer users. Carve
out a bit of time for this, as it's a long read -- but it's worth it!
