Each of us has our own story to share about how we came to free
software. For some, it might have been something as simple as learning
about it from a friend. Others may have come to GNU/Linux through an
article online or in a magazine, and at least a few lucky members of
our community will have grown up with free software being used in the
home. As part of our Freedom Ladder initiative, we want to take
the time to highlight these stories, and distill what we can from them
in order to help more and more people join the free software movement.
Our stories may differ widely, but we're confident that we can learn
something of value from each of them, and use them as tools to help
lead others to freedom.
We're inviting you to a live session on January 20,
starting at 14:00 EST (19:00 UTC), in the #fsf channel of the
Libera.Chat IRC network. During this time, we'll be having an
impromptu discussion about our own free software journeys, and opening
a convenient place for you to share your own with us. Although it's
not necessary to participate in the IRC session to submit your story
to the campaign, we hope that you'll take the time to join us! To
access the story submission form, please visit the event page on
Thursday, or any time over the following weekend.
While each of our stories about how we came to free software are
likely as distinctive and diverse as the people sharing them, they
might have certain commonalities. Over the sixteen years that I've
been using free software, for example, I've often wondered how many
people have a story similar to mine. I don't expect that very many
people came to software freedom by way of Punkcast, like I did,
but I imagine there are quite a few people who still remember that
first inspiring reading of the GNU Manifesto (shoutout to C-h g!) --
not to mention the first time they accidentally erased their root
filesystem.
In the interest of helping others reach the highest level of freedom
that we can, we want to keep these discussions honest and frank. No
matter what stage you're on when it comes to computing freedom, your
perspective is valuable, and we aim to draw from it as much as we can
to help others find their way to computing freedom. Especially when
we're considering what we can take from our stories that will help
others, we shouldn't shy away from places where we've failed, or where
we think our journey could have gone better. The point of this event
is to learn what we can from each other, and carry it to the free
software users of the future.
The more members we can count on, the better we can build the ladder
for others, and this starts with achieving our membership goal of 500
new members before January 20. Right now, we have 334! Can you
join this effort as an FSF associate member? You can start for
as little as $10 per month ($5 for students), or $120 per year. Your
membership will help the FSF give more people the tools they need to
continue on toward software freedom. It will enable us to continue to
create new resources, and to lead much needed initiatives like the
Freedom Ladder campaign for the community.
Plus, associate members can select a special gift during this
fundraiser, and enjoy all the member benefits, which include
merchandise discounts, a 16GB bootable membership card, and use of our
videoconferencing server.
How to participate
If you haven't already, now would be a good time to read the
Freedom Ladder campaigns page on the LibrePlanet wiki.
This is where we've been publicly developing our campaign materials.
In the days leading up to the event, start thinking of the parts of
your story that you most want to share, and which parts of your
story you feel might be the most helpful to others. If you like, you
might write parts of your story down to help you remember.
Join the FSF's live discussion on Thursday, January 20 at 14:00
EST (19:00 UTC). This is your opportunity to share your story, and
listen to others' stories! For instructions on how to submit, please
see our event page.
If you're unable to attend the event, would prefer not to speak, or
would like to share your story in another way, you can do so on the
Ladder's LibrePlanet wiki page, or by writing
[email protected].
No matter whether your free software journey began two days ago or two
decades ago, we believe you have something to teach newcomers to free
software. At the same time, and especially when considering the dire
necessity of bringing computing freedom to the world, we feel sure
that the campaigns team can draw on your experiences and use them to
make free software advocacy stronger. We're looking forward to seeing
you, and sharing with you, as we prepare for the next steps. Your
story will help not only for this campaign, but will shape the course
of our advocacy throughout 2022 and beyond.
