Issue 38 Bulletin Spring 2021

Contents them, we see both positive and negative impacts. We also see some page 1: Thinking clearly about parts of the community being overly corporations solicitous of corporate support, and page 4: Looking back on LibrePlanet other parts describing even over the years seemingly positive actions as page 6: The road towards a free necessarily part of a long con to ebook reader eventually extinguish free software. – page 8: Evaluating a device for We need to think clearly somewhere between these extremes – freedom about corporate involvement, page 10: Updates from the FSF neither falling over ourselves to Tech Team invite it, nor being so endlessly suspicious that we miss out on Thinking clearly about corporations By John Sullivan Executive Director

or software to be considered free, F its license must allow for commercial use and redistribution. Yet, free software as a social movement is to a large extent a struggle against for­profit corporate control of our lives. Instead of telling companies they are not welcome in free software, we say they are welcome if they follow LibreAdventure was an interactive virtual the ethical principles – the Four world created for the LibrePlanet 2021 Freedoms. In our engagement with conference. Read more on page 10. 1 valuable contributions and to pursue certification under the ultimately fail to change the FSF's Respects Your Freedom practices of a significant sector of program (see: page 8). global society. These contributions are Clear thinking begins with seeing meaningful. The challenge is, how do for­profit corporations for what they we realize them while avoiding the are: for­profit organizations. They are ways corporations can hurt free not individuals. A company's software? We need to avoid financial behaviors can change dramatically, dependency, keep our standards not just from change in the high, and rely on a solid legal individuals they employ, but also framework rather than vague trust. from changes in leadership, Avoiding financial dependency ownership, or business circumstances. means making sure our operations as These are not hypothetical free software projects and concerns. In free software, many eyes organizations won't be seriously are now on Red Hat, to see if its harmed by a corporation withdrawing behavior toward free software will its support due to a disagreement or change as a result of being bought by an ownership change. IBM. We saw Redis Labs switch As an example, while we some of its software from a free appreciate and make productive use license to a nonfree one which of all the direct corporate patron ironically prohibits commercial re­ support we receive at the FSF, in our use. We've seen Google in the past last audited financial year, it was less decide to withhold the source code than 3% of our total revenue. for Android. We've seen Microsoft To keep standards high, free switch from publicly calling free software projects and organizations software a cancer to saying "We are should be conservative in what we all in on open source." offer in return for contributions. As Companies can commit valuable with any donation, specific public resources to actions that benefit the recognition and appreciation can free software movement. They can make sense. hire developers, sponsor events, fund But selling conference keynotes, advocacy and education, and provide for example, takes the interaction out infrastructure. Individuals can of the realm of a donation and makes convince their employers to release it a transaction. Plus, when some code under a free license, and to events offer the moon in exchange for distribute it with their products. sponsorships, it puts more pressure They can even persuade the company on other events to do so.

2 Relying on a solid legal explain how copyleft is in the best framework means relying on interest of all contributors to the copyleft, and on explicit, enforceable project (also, tell us your story at statements about who holds relevant info@fsf. org). rights when a contribution is made A person is capable of moral by the employee of a company. commitments outside of legal The GNU General Public License agreements, but accountability for (GPL) has enabled decades of companies works differently. This constructive engagement, because it position isn't based on conspiracy, or requires companies to give back on assumptions about corporate improvements they distribute, under employees. It is based on relating to the same terms to everyone, and its for­profit companies as the kind of terms don't change even with new entity they are. If we avoid company leadership or after an dependency, keep our standards high, acquisition. For certain GNU and ensure the terms of our work packages, the FSF gets additional together are copyleft, we can edge the assurances, in the form of copyright corporate sector ever closer to fully assignments and employer embracing free software, which will in disclaimers, to help make sure we can turn help us move all sectors of society effectively uphold these license terms in that direction, securing freedom according to the Principles of and autonomy for all. Community­Oriented GPL Enforcement, and can protect all of On a personal note, I'll be finishing my the program's users from patent or term as FSF's executive director before the next issue of the Bulletin is other ownership claims by published, so this will be my last contributors' employers. article. It's been an honor to appear We should stay watchful and here, to have had this chance to firm on these points. Over the last contribute to important ongoing year, I have seen firsthand multiple conversations in this community. We'll cases of Google employees be publishing details about the encouraging projects to relax their transition to a new executive director on fsf.org. Please continue supporting license from the Affero General the work of the FSF's incredible staff, Public License (AGPL), because of some highlights of which are described Google's wrong­headed policy in the rest of this issue – and all the forbidding any involvement by future issues to come! employees with AGPL projects. If you receive pressure like this from any company, stay strong and

3 Looking back on day karma would punish me for my LibrePlanet over the years amusement. They promptly resolved By Ruben Rodriguez the issue, and we enjoyed a wonderful Chief Technology Officer conference. By 2015, I felt like a regular. ith my days as FSF staff Attending LibrePlanet was about W coming to an end, I find that visiting friends. Catching up at the some of my favorite memories were FSF office open house event before at the annual LibrePlanet going for Chinese food with a side of conference. I have attended for the activist chat, taking lots of pictures, last nine years, and combined it with and watching so many wonderful one of my other passions, talks had became an annual (re)treat. photography. I’d like to share some This routine ended when I joined of my favorite LibrePlanet stories the FSF staff in 2016 as a senior and photos with you. sysadmin, and immediately set myself I had my first chance to attend to improving the recording and in 2012, at the University of streaming process; the tech team also Massachusetts Boston campus. It runs the projectors and slides, as well was my first ever visit from Spain to as the sound system, IRC channels, the United States, a wonderful and networking setup of the venue. adventure! I finally got to meet all And it was a tall order: the opening the FSF staff and volunteers behind keynote would be Edward Snowden, in the IRC nicknames, and they were conversation with Daniel Kahn Gillmor, incredibly welcoming. I was even live from Russia over an encrypted bi­ asked to open up the event with a directional videoconference, and short impromptu presentation of recorded and published in real time via Trisquel GNU/Linux (a project I streaming. Despite weeks of testing, on founded in 2004), a terrifying honor. the day of the keynote, karma caught up The 2014 conference, at the with me, and the setup refused to work Massachusetts Institute of during the preparation time. I had one Technology Stata Center, opened of the most stressful experiences of my with a keynote by Sue Gardner, the life: standing behind the podium of a Wikimedia Foundation's outgoing large conference room with over three executive director. A few minutes hundred people silently watching as I into the keynote, I took pictures of tried to untangle the problem, hearing my FSF sysadmin friends sweating every keyboard press echo across the over a technical glitch with the slides room. But it all was solved, and the and projector, not knowing that one event was a success!

4 5 In the following years, thanks to The road towards a free the tech team growing in staff, ebook reader volunteers and interns – including By Greg Farough David Testé, who wrote dedicated Campaigns Manager recording and streaming software to ne corollary to the FSF's mission replace the clumsy GStreamer O to bring freedom to all computer scripts we had used in the past – the users is the need to bring freedom to workload became more manageable, every type of computer. While many and during calm moments, I would users are not prone to thinking about sneak out of the control room to it often, any device that runs enjoy bits and pieces of talks, and software is a computer in this sense, take many pictures. Some of my whether it's on your lap or desk, or favorites are a series of portraits in your pocket. Most ebook readers taken in 2017 with a medium­format run some version of the kernel Linux, film camera as old as myself, and some even run the GNU/Linux featuring Sumana Harihareswara, operating system. This puts ebook Cory Doctorow, and Micky Metts (at readers a few steps closer to freedom the bottom of page 5). than other devices, but closing the This steady routine was broken in gap will still require a significant the 2020 edition, since very close to amount of work. the event, the COVID­19 pandemic Accordingly,asweannouncedatthe forced us to reshape the conference LibrePlanet 2021 conference, we've into a fully remote one, which sadly decided this year to prioritize facilitating left few opportunities for pictures. the process for an ebook reader to reach You can read about my team’s the high standards of our Respects Your strategy for running a fully online Freedom (RYF) hardware certification conference at u. fsf. org/31j . program, whether this means adapting Although I will not be working an existing one from a manufacturer, or on the conference next year, I'm even contracting its production looking forward to attending it for ourselves. the tenth time – hopefully back as an In general, there hasn't been in­person event – so I can see my much pressure on hardware friends and colleagues, hang out at manufacturers to hold the freedom of the FSF office party, go on their devices to a high level of hackathons and workshops, and of scrutiny. As with general purpose course, take a lot more pictures. I computers, this means that several hope to see you there! critical components of the device will

6 not function without nonfree software. In ebook readers, this includes components as critical as the e­ink screen that powers the display. The free software community has made some good strides in the area of freeing ebooks. Denis "GNUToo" Carikli has composed a page on the LibrePlanet wiki documenting the components of ebook readers and other single­board computers (see: u. fsf. org/3ee); this has laid the groundwork for our investigation into releasing an ebook reader, and is one of the wiki's more active sure way to lose control of your digital projects. Also, earlier in the year, a autonomy, no matter what kind of user on the libreplanet­discuss device you have. Despite the Internet mailing list documented their project giving us the means to share to port Parabola GNU/Linux to the textbooks or works of literature reMarkable tablet (see: seamlessly and without cost, u. fsf. org/3ef), thereby creating publishing companies still operate a free ebook reader at the same time. under old assumptions, meaning that It's steps like these that make us feel libraries and storefronts alike ignore confident that we can bring an ebook the "solved problem of lending" (see: reader that respects its user's u. fsf. org/3eg) and distribute freedom to the public, both in terms books under restrictive terms. of hardware and the software that's Despite the technology behind shipped with the device. ebooks having been with us for years, Yet even when you have a free ebook DRM has only gotten more ebook reader in your hands, you will restrictive. It's common for textbooks still need to be vigilant about your to now require a constant and freedom. Many ebooks on the market uninterrupted Internet connection, are laden with Digital Restrictions and that they load only a discrete Management (DRM), which prevents number of pages at a time. Such you from exercising the freedom to requirements, especially when placed read and share the books you buy and on students in the global south, where own. Consenting to the DRM that connections aren't as reliable, directly many ebooks are distributed with is a detract from the quality of their

7 education. This is what motivated our free software and the movement for decision to make textbook DRM (and free culture, empowering both one of its top peddlers, Pearson) our readers and computer users around target for the International Day the globe. Against DRM (IDAD) in 2019 (see: u. fsf. org/3eh ). And though the Evaluating a device for pandemic may have prevented people freedom from meeting, DRM was undeterred. By Craig Topham Even libraries fell victim to "lending" Copyright & Licensing Associate services like Kanopy, putting an artificial lock on digital copies of he fight for software freedom is books, the last place it makes sense T multifaceted, and having the for them to be. right devices is key. Most devices If the FSF is successful in landing contain features which can be used RYF certification on an ebook to restrict their use, or even worse, reader, which I fully believe we will for spying on the owner. This is why be, we can ensure that users will have in 2013, the FSF’s licensing and the ability to read digitally while compliance team started the Respects retaining their freedom. It's up to all Your Freedom (RYF) certification of us to make sure we have the right program (ryf. fsf. org). It u. fsf. org/wt to read (see: ), by encourages the creation and sale of avoiding ebook DRM in each and products that will do as much as every case, and celebrating free (as possible to respect your freedom and in freedom) resources like Wikibooks your privacy, ensuring that you have and the Internet Archive, bridging control over your device. the divide between the movement for When we evaluate a device for certification, we assess four general Get 10% off! categories: hardware capabilities, software licensing, compiling/ Support the Free Software installation, and product presentation. Foundation by purchasing GNU The first step is to open up the device Press merchandise! and identify each integrated circuit (IC) inside, and determine its Visit shop.fsf.org and capabilities. Usually, any IC with enter discount code SPRING21, relevant functionality will be marked 6/20/21 - 10/1/21 and identifiable. Once these components are identified, we seek out various documentation, including 8 data sheets and product descriptions. onto the device.Forperipheralsandless We need to understand what the IC complicated devices, being able to install can do, if it can be reprogrammed, and and use the device with a computer whether the secondary embedded runninganendorseddistributionsuffices processor exception might apply, (see: u. fsf. org/1td). which would allow certification: this Finally, we address how the exception is for ICs within which device is presented to the recipient. software installation is not intended The certification program is designed after the user obtains the product. to never direct a user to anything Next, we move along to the nonfree. This includes not only the software. We must make sure that source code, but also the compiled all the code needed to use the device program, advertisements, product is fully licensed as free software. documentation, Web pages, and Although grep and string are useful product packaging. For a vendor tools for verifying licensing, we’ve interested in promoting software increasingly been relying on license freedom, these steps may seem quite scanning programs like the scancode­ natural, and may already be in place toolkit (see: u. fsf. org/3ek). If for their products. problematic files are discovered, they The RYF process does not end will need to be removed by the there: the price of freedom is eternal retailer. This can be a very tedious vigilance, and so the community is process, but every removed nonfree invited to point out any issues we file helps the community both may have missed. A key criterion is upstream and downstream. Once the a commitment by the retailer to code is verified, we compile and correct any freedom issues in the install it, to make sure the customer device, so if a package, firmware, or can do so themselves. hardware component is found to be For a device to be certified, all of nonfree or violates the user's privacy, the programs included with it must we invite reports to be sent to have accurate instructions for report-nonfree@fsf. org and compilation and installation. The to the retailer directly. instructions should be practical and Now that you have an idea of how written for the widest audience, but the program works, if you come may require a minimum of technical across a product that might meet our know­how from the user, such as criteria, please encourage the vendor executing programs on a command to apply at ryf@fsf. org. For line. The evaluation process involves vendors wishing to sell a product in building from source and loading it a manner that respects the rights of

9 its customers, and that comes with of a designer who uses exclusively free only freedom inside, this program is software. for you. You can learn more about Many participants interacted the RYF certification program and with our conference via an instance view currently certified devices at of LibreAdventure (LA), an ryf. fsf. org. AGPLv3­licensed codebase for Updates from the FSF socially­interactive maps. This allowed them to explore the event Tech Team virtually, with the ability to video By Andrew Engelbrecht chat with other attendees. People Senior Systems Administrator listened to and watched sessions, ver the last six months, the four­ visited our exhibitors, and gathered to O person FSF tech team has been see DJs play music for LibrePlanet hard at work maintaining, attendees. We're hoping to improve our upgrading, and repairing the LA codebase (at u. fsf. org/ladv), infrastructure that supports the so if you're looking for a fun project to FSF, the GNU Project, and many hack on, let us know at other free software projects. info@fsf. org! Knowing in advance that the LibrePlanet attendees worked LibrePlanet conference would be together on our Minetest instance, remote this year allowed us to plan adding floating logos for many GNU for many technical improvements. packages, including Guix. A train We hosted our talks on cart network that traveled BigBlueButton for the first time, and underground from the surface was streamed them via Icecast, which discovered near the main point of helped us with the reliability of our activity. We packaged up the world video streams. Our experimentation at the end of the conference, and it's with continuous video streams via available for you to download at Open Broadcaster Software was also libreplanet. org/2021/fun. a major success, ensuring that our Let us and other free software gamers audience didn't miss a beat. hear about what you're up to on our Our team worked overtime to #libreplanet­gaming IRC channel on make the remote conference as special Libera Chat. as we could, with many interactive In other news, the version of elements. The conference site launched Plone and Python on fsf. org is at libreplanet. org/2021, with now upgraded, bringing many an updated IRC page embed, and a improvements and patches. We're very nice theme, created with the help planning for the future direction of

10 our main online presence, and may Our CiviCRM instance was use Transmogrifier to convert upgraded to stay on top of security fsf. org into a static site. This patches. We're also excited about the would allow us to create a git repo self­hostable Bitcoin and Litecoin to which anyone could send patches, payment processor code that our tech making it easier for volunteers to help team intern wrote for our CiviCRM with site improvements. instance, and we look forward to Our bootable credit­card­shaped deploying it soon! USB membership cards are from a The storage capacity of our main new batch, with a much higher backup system is now upgraded, capacity, a newer version of the fully­ while increasing redundancy on free Trisquel operating system, and RAID1 arrays. This has allowed us pre­loaded free software­related to continue growing our network media for your offline enjoyment. This while ensuring that our data is not card is a membership perk, so if you lost in the event of accidental want one and you're not already an deletion or a natural disaster. We associate member, I encourage you to also migrated and audited the head over to my. fsf. org/j oin as security of some of our internal soon as you can! infrastructure. Our Piwik server is now The FSF tech team thanks you upgraded to Matomo, for improved for your support, and for each of your recording of site visitation statistics. contributions to the free software We continue to honor people's community. Our mission relies upon privacy settings, so if your browser your commitment to bring that is set to "Do Not Track," we will not freedom to a growing number of use JavaScript to record your visit. people around the world. Thank you We don't track with cookies via for putting that goal within reach. Matomo, to help with our European Union General Data Protection The FSF has switched to Regulation compliance, and to Libera.Chat! protect your identity. We also anonymize this user data by Friday Free Software Directory removing the last sixteen bits of IRC meetups and other visitors' IPv4 addresses, and the last moderated public discussion are eighty bits of IPv6 addresses, which moving from Freenode to allows us to see general Matomo Libera.Chat. Learn more at statistics, while storing less u. fsf. org/3ep. identifying information.

11 How to Contribute

Associate Membership: Become an associate member of the FSF. Members will receive a bootable 16GB USB card, email forwarding, and an account on Donate to the FSF with Bitcoin: the FSF's Jabber/XMPP server. 15QXo6MqmTAp9wSt Plus: participate in our members 6ugeCej cAh2c6Bii9Q forum at forum. members. fsf. org! To Copyright ©2021 sign up or get more information, Free Software Foundation, Inc. visit member. fsf. org or write The articles in this Bulletin are to membership@fsf. org. individually licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution­ Online: Make a donation at ShareAlike 4.0 International donate. fsf. org, or contact license. donate@fsf. org for more https: //creativecommons. or information on supporting the g/licenses/by-sa/4. 0/ FSF.

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