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Read and share online: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/fsf-giving-guide-put-freedom-first-in-your-giving-this-year
Dear Free Software Supporter,
It's that time again. All the holiday decorations are out on full
display. Ads are thrown across every screen, each one trying to
convince you how much you need that new device. They're ready to
give it to you at a cut rate, too, since they want to let you know how
much your friends and loved ones need the same tech gadget in their
pocket, lap, or monitoring their living room. But is the gift that
you're about to give (or splurge on for yourself) respectful of a
person's right to freedom? For the last thirteen years, the Free
Software Foundation (FSF) has published our Ethical Tech Giving
Guide as a way to guide concerned individuals towards gifts that
do not deprive them of their freedom. The right to determine what a
device you've purchased does or doesn't do is something too valuable
to lose. It's the difference between having control over your digital
life or having someone else control you.
Freedom is the best gift you can give, and the one that keeps on
giving. Taking your first steps to freedom often doesn't just
help you win back your digital autonomy: it provides an opportunity
for you to deepen your relationship with the ones you care about
through a shared experience, and inaugurates you into a worldwide
community of users. If you're already technical and committed to
furthering free software, we've also included a short list of devices
that need developer attention to clear the last hurdles to freedom
that stand between the chips they employ and full acceptability.
This year's Guide is replete with recommendations on DRM-free media
for you and your loved ones to enjoy. In the time you have to yourself
this holiday season, or your beach vacation to recover from it,
consider going through a small (if invisible) stack of DRM-free
ebooks. If you're the type to read with a soundtrack -- or who needs
one to get through the season -- our DRM-free music recommendations
are there for you as well. As publishers and storefronts putting out
these works are increasingly fewer and further between, we encourage
you to support them.
Taking a step forward
The Giving Guide is a helpful and practical tool we create every year
to highlight issues with technology that other tech gift guides don't
even touch, such as "does the gift maintain the recipient's freedom
to share?" Can you support this effort as an FSF associate
member? You can start for as little as $10 per month ($5 for
students), or $120 per year. With your support, we can continue to
show people how the freedom to share can affect change in all areas
where software touches modern life. Besides that, your membership
gives strength to the idea of free software. Plus, your membership
will count towards achieving our fall goal of 455 new associate
members before December 31, and you will be eligible for this year's
snazzy and secure webcam cover when you join as an annual associate
member at $120 or more. You'll also be able to enjoy all the member
benefits, which include merchandise discounts, a 16GB bootable
membership card, and use of our associate member videoconferencing
server. And it's also worth pointing out that an FSF associate
membership makes a great gift for any occasion.
Please do take the time to share the Guide with the people you
care about. More importantly, we hope that you'll commit to moving
forward on your own individual journey to freedom. In our
experience, one of the best ways to persuade others to use free
software is simply by using it yourself, both by setting a moral
example and showing those around you all that software freedom does
for you. In the face of so many new and seemingly "dazzling" devices,
the holiday season is one of the best times to get the free software
message included in the conversations that happen around the kitchen
table.
No matter if or how you'll be buying gifts this year, always keep in
mind that retaining your freedom is the greatest gift of all.
Happy holidays, and happy hacking,
Greg Farough
Campaigns Manager
Illustration Copyright © 2022, Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
license.
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