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https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2021/march
Welcome to the Free Software Supporter, the Free Software
Foundation's (FSF) monthly news digest and action update -- being read
by you and 223,778 other activists. That's 696 more than last month!
Guardian Project's Nathan Freitas to keynote LibrePlanet 2021
From February 17th
The LibrePlanet 2021 conference will
be held online on March 20 and 21, 2021, with the theme "Empowering
Users." Attendance is gratis, and we have an exciting and dynamic
schedule planned, which will be announced soon. Please register for
the conference
today!
Guardian Project director Nathan
Freitas was announced as the second keynote speaker. Guardian Project
is most known for its Orbot app, which allows the anonymity-preserving
proxy Tor to be easily used on mobile phones running Android. Freitas
also collaborated with past LibrePlanet keynote speaker Edward Snowden
on the Haven app, which is used as an off-grid solution to detect
breaches or intrusions into a physical space, protecting those who are
at the highest risk of surveillance and personal danger.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- New changes to Twitter make it even worse for free software users
- Register to attend the FSF's March 22nd seminar on free software licensing
- LibrePlanet needs you: Volunteer remotely!
- Free Software Foundation awarded perfect score from Charity Navigator, plus eighth consecutive four-star rating
- Celebrate I Love Free Software Day on Feb. 14th by staying connected
- Thank you for your generous support as we move freedom forward
- John Deere promised farmers it would make tractors easier to repair; it lied
- FSFE is hiring a project manager and a part-time technical expert
- GUADEC 2021 call for participation is now open
- WhatsApp and the domestication of users
- VideoLAN celebrates its 20 year anniversary
- GNU Inetutils-2.0 released
- New Release: 0 A.D. Alpha 24: Xšay?rš?
- Emacs minor mode for d20 tabletop roleplaying games
- February GNU Emacs news
- Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory
- LibrePlanet featured resource: Conference/2021
- GNU Spotlight with Mike Gerwitz: 23 new GNU releases!
- FSF and other free software events
- Thank GNUs!
- GNU copyright contributions
- Translations of the Free Software Supporter
- Take action with the FSF!
View this issue online here:
https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2021/march
Encourage your friends to subscribe and help us build an audience by
adding our subscriber widget to your Web site.
Miss an issue? You can catch up on back issues at
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Want to read this newsletter translated into another language? Scroll
to the end to read the Supporter in French, Spanish, or Portuguese.
New changes to Twitter make it even worse for free software users
From February 25th
There are many complicated debates happening right now around Twitter
and its role in public discourse. These discussions are important, but
we also shouldn't forget a very basic and clear principle -- whatever
its policies are about who can and can't post or how, it's of
fundamental importance that Twitter should not require users to run
nonfree software in order to use the site. Unfortunately, on December
15th, Twitter removed its "legacy" Web interface. As opposed to its
much larger and more complex default Web client, the legacy interface
did not use proprietary JavaScript (or any JavaScript).
Previously, the FSF could tolerate the use of Twitter because of this
legacy interface. While it was active, we referred free software
advocates to it, or to third-party free software
applications. Twitter's removing access to this interface means that
users are forced to use the site's nonfree JavaScript if they don't
have a dedicated desktop or mobile client, preventing
freedom-respecting browsers like GNU IceCat from posting to the
service.
Register to attend the FSF's March 22nd seminar on free software licensing
From February 12th
Registration for the next seminar of free software licensing is now
open. While registration is open to the public, this seminar is a
special opportunity for legal professionals and law students who can
potentially earn Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits for
participating (approval pending). The CLE seminar will happen the day
after the LibrePlanet 2021 conference. Please register at
https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/event/info?id=93&reset=1 and read more
on the events
page!
LibrePlanet needs you: Volunteer remotely!
From February 11th
All of our wonderful conference sessions -- and this year's itinerary
is especially excellent! -- can happen only with the help of
volunteers like you. The volunteer needs for a remote conference are
fewer than those for an in-person conference, but volunteer
participation is still crucial to our success. There are two main
roles we need to fill: room monitors, and IRC/voice chat
moderators. We're also hoping that one or more especially dedicated
volunteers can do some live translation via transcription. If you're
interested in helping out, please message volunteer coordinator Matt
Lavallee at resources@fsf.org.
Free Software Foundation awarded perfect score from Charity Navigator, plus eighth consecutive four-star rating
From February 9th
The FSF has been awarded a four-star and 100% rating, the highest
possible, from Charity Navigator, the largest independent evaluator of
US-based nonprofit charities. The FSF was also selected for Charity
Navigator's "Top Ten List" as one of "10 Charities Worth Watching."
These designations exemplify the FSF's strong financial health and
commitment to accountability and transparency.
Using objective analysis, Charity Navigator awards only the most
fiscally responsible organizations a four-star rating, with metrics
including governance, ethical practices, operations in accordance with
industry best practices, and openness with donors and
stakeholders. This is the eighth year in a row the FSF has received a
four-star rating, a record attained by only six percent of the 160,000
charities evaluated by Charity Navigator. The FSF also earned perfect
scores on "Financial Health" and "Accountability & Transparency,"
resulting in the organization's first-ever 100% rating, an
accomplishment less than one percent of all charities evaluated by
Charity Navigator are able to achieve. This is the second time the FSF
has placed in the list of "10 Charities Worth Watching."
Celebrate I Love Free Software Day on Feb. 14th by staying connected
From February 10th
Times are tough in 2021, but free software enthusiasts are a tenacious
lot, and while we haven't been able to hug many friends, we haven't
lost touch with them, either, thanks to a wonderful plethora of free
software communications tools. Given how crucial our families and
social networks are to our ability to survive and thrive right now,
we're so fortunate to be able to talk to all the people we love,
anywhere in the world, without sacrificing our principles or exposing
ourselves and our loved ones to the predatory and abusive practices of
proprietary software companies. The handcrafted communications tools
we use don't come with strings attached – they are a simple and
perfect gift, shared with an absolute commitment to generosity and
respect.
In order to show our appreciation, we partnered with the Free Software
Foundation Europe (FSFE) to celebrate staying connected on I Love Free
Software Day, on February 14th. Along with the design of a fun
customizable photo frame (which you could also customize further using
LibreOffice
Draw),
they released a podcast
episode for the
occasion, with recorded messages from free software supporters
including FSF campaigns manager Greg Farough.
Thank you for your generous support as we move freedom forward
From February 3rd
When the FSF officially ended our annual associate membership drive on
January 18, the freedom train banner progress bar read 487/500 new
members. With 500 new members in eight weeks being an ambitious goal,
that's already an incredibly strong show of support! But there's more
-- because of massive delays with the United States Postal Service due
to the pandemic, we are still receiving new member signups that were
mailed during the fundraiser. And there are gift memberships that were
purchased but don't count until they are redeemed. This means that
when all is said and done, we think we did reach our target of
500. This support has put us in a strong position to do our work in
2021, holding the line for your freedom and making new inroads against
the proprietary establishment. We are beyond grateful for your
generous support and your help in creating awareness about free
software.
Whether you've been around for some of the thirty-five years that
we've been an organization, or just joined us, we hope that you'll
continue to support our efforts for a world where users are in full
control of the software that powers all of their devices.
John Deere promised farmers it would make tractors easier to repair; it lied
From February 18th by Jason Koebler and Matthew Gault
In September 2018, a trade group that represents John Deere and a
series of other tractor and agricultural equipment manufacturers made
a promise intended to stave off increasing pressure from their
customers and the Right To Repair movement, and to prevent lawmakers
from passing what they said would be onerous repair regulations. They
vowed that, starting January 1, 2021, Deere and other tractor
manufacturers would make repair tools, software, and diagnostics
available to the masses.
It is now three years later. The agreement is supposed to be in
effect. No right to repair legislation has been passed. Deere, the
dealers, and the manufacturers got what they wanted. And, yet, farmers
are still struggling to get anything promised in the agreement.
The FSF supports the Right to Repair, as demonstrated in our recent
Fight to Repair
video,
and have opened a new
campaign and a
collaborative resource
page on this
issue.
FSFE is hiring a project manager and a part-time technical expert
From February 10th
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is hiring a "Project
Manager" with focus on communications and sustainability. They are
looking for a person with a communications background to support them
in their running and upcoming projects, including their upcoming
digital sustainability campaign. The person will work full-time in
their Berlin office.
FSFE is also seeking a person with a strong technical background to
support projects with software engineering and expertise. The
technical expert will work part-time, either from their Berlin office
or remotely.
If your company has a free software related job opening, we're happy
to get the word out on our jobs
page -- find out how you can post
here!
GUADEC 2021 call for participation is now open
From February 22 by GNOME Foundation
The GNOME Foundation is excited to announce that the call for
participation for GUADEC 2021 is now open. Proposals can be submitted
on the event page:
https://events.gnome.org/event/9/abstracts. GUADEC, the GNOME
community’s largest conference, is taking place between the 21st and
25th of July, and will be held online, with a possibility of having a
hybrid conference in Mexico as well if travel turns out to be possible
by then.
WhatsApp and the domestication of users
From January 27th by Rohan Kumar
I have never used WhatsApp, and never will. Despite this, I still feel
the need to write an article about WhatsApp since it’s the perfect
case study to help understand a class of businesses models I call
“user domestication.” The domestication of users is high on my list of
problems plaguing the human race, and is worth a detailed explanation.
WhatsApp wasn’t the first instant messenger of its kind, and probably
won’t be the last. I simply chose to focus on WhatsApp since its
recent privacy issues have made it a hot topic.
VideoLAN celebrates its 20 year anniversary
From February 1st by VideoLAN
Congratulations to the VideoLAN (VLC) team on their 20th birthday! VLC
is one of the most popular programs under the GPL, and has been used
by millions around the world as their media player of choice.
GNU Inetutils-2.0 released
From February 5th by Simon Josefsson
We are pleased to announce the stable release 2.0 of Inetutils! This
is the first release in six years.
New Release: 0 A.D. Alpha 24: Xšay?rš?
From February 20th by Stan
Wildfire Games, an international group of volunteer game developers,
proudly announces the release of 0 A.D. Alpha 24: “Xšay?rš?”
(pronounced: Khsha-ya-?sha), the twenty-fourth alpha version of 0
A.D., a free real-time strategy game of ancient warfare -- it has both
freely licensed code and freely-licensed artwork. The release is named
after Xerxes the Great, ruler of the Achaemenid Empire from 485 to 465
B.C.
Emacs minor mode for d20 tabletop roleplaying games
From February 12th by Sean Whitton
org-d20 is a minor mode for Emacs’ Org-mode for GMs running games
whose rules center around rolling d20 dice. It should be useful for
Dungeons and Dragons 3rd, 4th and 5th editions, Paizo’s Pathfinder,
and d20 System games like d20 Modern. The idea is that you’re already
keeping your campaign notes in an Org-mode file. This minor mode does
useful things for you while you are visiting that buffer.
February GNU Emacs news
From February 25th by Sacha Chua
In these issues: Spartan Emacs; beginning Emacs Org-mode; My Grading
Workflow; how to start using Emacs; and more!
Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory
Tens of thousands of people visit directory.fsf.org each month to
discover free software. Each entry in the Directory contains a wealth
of useful information, from basic category and descriptions to version
control, IRC channels, documentation, and licensing. The Free Software
Directory has been a great resource to software users over the past
decade, but it needs your help staying up-to-date with new and
exciting free software projects.
To help, join our weekly IRC meetings on Fridays. Meetings take place
in the #fsf channel on irc.freenode.org, and usually include a handful
of regulars as well as newcomers. Freenode is accessible from any IRC
client -- Everyone's welcome!
The next meeting is Friday, March 5, from 12pm to 3pm EST (16:00 to
19:00 UTC). Details here:
LibrePlanet featured resource: Conference/2021
Every month on the LibrePlanet
wiki, we highlight one
resource that is interesting and useful -- often one that could use
your help.
For this month, we are highlighting Conference/2021, which provides a
participatory space for attendees at the LibrePlanet 2021 conference,
which is happening this month! You are invited to adopt, spread and
improve this important resource.
Do you have a suggestion for next month's featured resource? Let us
know at campaigns@fsf.org.
GNU Spotlight with Mike Gerwitz: 23 new GNU releases!
23 new GNU releases in the last month (as of February 25, 2021):
For announcements of most new GNU releases, subscribe to the info-gnu
mailing list: https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/info-gnu.
To download: nearly all GNU software is available from
https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/, or preferably one of its mirrors from
https://www.gnu.org/prep/ftp.html. You can use the URL
https://ftpmirror.gnu.org/ to be automatically redirected to a
(hopefully) nearby and up-to-date mirror.
A number of GNU packages, as well as the GNU operating system as a
whole, are looking for maintainers and other assistance: please see
https://www.gnu.org/server/takeaction.html#unmaint if you'd like to
help. The general page on how to help GNU is at
https://www.gnu.org/help/help.html.
If you have a working or partly working program that you'd like to
offer to the GNU project as a GNU package, see
https://www.gnu.org/help/evaluation.html.
FSF and other free software events
Thank GNUs!
We appreciate everyone who donates to the Free Software Foundation,
and we'd like to give special recognition to the folks who have
donated $500 or more in the last month.
This month, a big Thank GNU to:
- David Bruce
- Dwight Cass
- Evan Klitzke
- Harry Mangalam
- Jeanne Rasata
- Ken SENOO
- Konstantin Münning
- Tobi Lehman
- Uday Kale
- Valerio Poggi
You can add your name to this list by donating at
https://donate.fsf.org/.
GNU copyright contributions
Assigning your copyright to the Free Software Foundation helps us
defend the GNU GPL and keep software free. The following individuals
have assigned their copyright to the FSF (and allowed public
appreciation) in the past month:
- Alessio G. Baroni (GCC)
- Bastian Beranek (Emacs)
- Douglas Davis (Emacs)
- E Choroba (Emacs)
- Koichi Murase (Bash)
- Matthew Armstrong (Emacs)
- Max Gautier (glibc)
- Sebastien Miquel (Emacs)
- Sergey Belyshev (GCC, Binutils, glibc)
Want to see your name on this list? Contribute to GNU and assign your
copyright to the FSF.
Translations of the Free Software Supporter
El Free Software Supporter está disponible en español. Para ver la
versión en español haz click aqui:
https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2021/marzo
Para cambiar las preferencias de usuario y recibir los próximos
números del Supporter en español, haz click aquí:
https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/profile/create?reset=1&gid=34&id=59606&cs=8ddfdcaabe73fe9abb0e11d3ca8417e6_1614640465_168
Le Free Software Supporter est disponible en français. Pour voir la
version française cliquez ici:
https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2021/mars
Pour modifier vos préférences et recevoir les prochaines
publications du Supporter en français, cliquez ici:
https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/profile/create?reset=1&gid=34&id=59606&cs=8ddfdcaabe73fe9abb0e11d3ca8417e6_1614640465_168
O Free Software Supporter está disponível em português. Para ver a
versão em português, clique aqui:
https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2021/marco
Para alterar as preferências do usuário e receber as próximas
edições do Supporter em português, clique aqui:
https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/profile/create?reset=1&gid=34&id=59606&cs=8ddfdcaabe73fe9abb0e11d3ca8417e6_1614640465_168
Take action with the FSF!
Contributions from thousands of individual members enable the FSF's
work. You can contribute by joining at https://my.fsf.org/join. If
you're already a member, you can help refer new members (and earn some
rewards) by adding a line with your member number to your email
signature like:
I'm an FSF member -- Help us support software freedom!
https://my.fsf.org/join
The FSF is always looking for volunteers
(https://www.fsf.org/volunteer). From rabble-rousing to hacking,
from issue coordination to envelope stuffing -- there's something here
for everybody to do. Also, head over to our campaigns section
(https://www.fsf.org/campaigns) and take action on software patents,
Digital Restrictions Management (DRM), free software adoption,
OpenDocument, and more.
#
Copyright © 2021 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
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