|
Please consider adding [email protected] to your address book, which
will ensure that our messages reach you and not your spam box.
Read and share online:
https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/freedom-memories-and-campaigning-for-free-software
Dear Free Software Supporter,
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) turned thirty-five years old
this year, and so we took the occasion to do some digging into the
past to bring you some of the key moments and fun anecdotes in three
parts, one focusing on collected stories centered around each of the
three major areas of work at the FSF.
Following up on our in-depth article about the history of the FSF
tech team, we've now taken the time to interview, collect, and
share the favorite memories former FSF staff have of their time on the
campaigns team. Like our previous article, this is not meant to
be a comprehensive summary of every campaign and action the FSF has
undertaken, but does include the highlights of some campaigns that
you'll probably recognize: Defective by Design, our work against
Apple, and campaigning for free media.
The article compiles stories from current FSF staff, including John
Sullivan, our current executive director, who happens to be our first
ever campaigns manager, as well as FSF alumni like Matt Lee and Zak
Rogoff. We also took the time to comb through our internal
archives, blog posts, and past issues of the GNU and FSF
Bulletins.
A write-up like this can't include everything, but we hope you'll be
able to get a feel for the incredible amount of work that the
campaigns team does to combat proprietary software and educate the
public on free software, with each member coming from diverse
backgrounds and with a range of skill sets.
Working on the FSF's campaigns means putting up a broad attack on
threats to user freedom coming from a wide variety of places, both
within proprietary software development and exterior factors like
software patents, the DMCA, and other unjust legislation. Through it
all, we remain committed to our mission of bringing #UserFreedom to
computer users all around the globe, and we hope that you'll take the
time to share our message with your friends and family.
Not only does the campaigns team address new threats to software
freedom coming from everywhere around the globe, but in normal times,
the campaigns team is going around the globe in order to promote
free software. The ongoing pandemic has prevented us from doing this
important work. As such, we rely on the wider community of users and
activists who support the FSF and keep it strong.
Can you support the campaigns team's work for software freedom by
becoming an associate member? The strength of our campaigns and
the breadth of our reach depends directly on the support of people
like you. During our fall fundraiser, associate members can
select a special gift, in addition to being able to enjoy all of our
associate membership benefits, which include access to our free
"as in freedom" Jitsi Meet videoconferencing server. Together,
and with your support, we can spread awareness of our mission and
campaigns, which are critical to the future of digital social justice.
We hope that you enjoy our small celebration and reflection on the
enormous strides the free software movement has made since its
inception. More importantly, we hope that reading about our past (and
present) efforts inspires you to join us in our journey forward to
bring #UserFreedom to people all over the world.
Read the full article online
In freedom,
Greg Farough
Campaigns Manager
Photo Copyright © 2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc. Licensed under
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
Illustration Copyright © 2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc., by
Raghavendra Kamath, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International license.
|
