As software permeates more and more aspects of society, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) must expand our work to protect and extend computer user freedom. We launched our annual fundraiser with the goal of welcoming 700 new Associate Members and raising $450,000 before December 31st. Please support the work at the root of the free software movement: make a donation or –- better yet –- join us and become a member today.

In 2017, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 3. A lot has changed in the world of free software in the last decade. Thousands of software packages have been released, court cases affecting the interpretation of licenses have come and gone, and new threats to software freedom have risen and fallen. More importantly, technology has transformed the way we live, taking the importance of free software far beyond the established tech world: computing has gone mobile via smartphones, and the Internet has infiltrated every aspect of daily life.

Through it all, the FSF's licensing team was there to help people to understand these changes and how they affect users. From our work answering licensing questions from the public, to managing certification programs like Respects Your Freedom, to handling license compliance for the GNU Project, to providing resources like our list of free software licenses, we were there to lend a guiding hand. But if we want to continue this work, and do an even better job in 2018, we need your help. We want to share a bit about the work that we do on the licensing team, and let you know why it is so vital that this work continues.

Helping users understand licensing

Working with a team of volunteers, we answered almost 600 licensing questions from the public in 2017. These can range from the very simple (“Can I sell free software?” Answer: yes, you can!), to the more involved task of choosing the right license for a project. One such request resulted in our helping the Defense Digital Service set up a system for regularly releasing free software, which kicked off with eMCM, released under the GNU Affero GPL version 3 license. Helping governments, other organizations, and individuals to understand free licenses so that they can distribute their software in a way that respects user freedom is one of the most rewarding benefits of having an open channel for answering licensing questions.

Others write to us trying to understand the licenses of existing projects, whether they're established GNU licenses or licenses created by other organizations. While we maintain a list of licenses and our thoughts on them, some projects still choose to draft new licenses. Even for licenses on which we've publicly commented, there can be questions about what they mean, or how they can interact with one another. These situations can be confusing if you are trying to sort them out all on your own. We are here to guide you.

We also provide context and background for the flood of news happening daily in the world of free software licensing. If a topic is particularly important, like an interesting GPL compliance case or a pressing licensing issue, we often end up publishing an article on it.

Our team is always ready to answer these and other questions from users all around the world. Providing users with a direct line lets us share the gift of free software licensing on a personal level. But our team is small, and we're trying to serve millions of free software users across the globe. This means that we need to create and maintain informational Web sites and other resources and reference materials that are easy to find and to use.

Helping users find free software

The licensing team maintains the Free Software Directory, a massive listing of almost 16,000 freely licensed packages. This a resource for users to find free software, and helps maintainers of free software packages discover potential licensing issues with their code. We work with volunteers every Friday via IRC to review free software package licenses for inclusion in the Directory. If there's an issue, we file a bug with the project about the licensing problem. The Directory is a wiki that anyone can edit, and we welcome more volunteers.

Helping users find free distros

In addition to individual packages, users need to know that their systems as a whole are free. Through our List of Free GNU/Linux distributions, users can find a complete operating system that contains and recommends only free software. We work with maintainers, helping them remove nonfree software, and we point out other potential issues with the distro. For many users, running a fully free distro is the easiest way to ensure that they have complete control over their own computing.

Helping users find freedom-respecting devices

Once a user has selected a fully free operating system, they'll need hardware on which to run it. For general hardware needs, users can turn to h-node, a volunteer-run project from the FSF. Being able to purchase hardware that only comes with free software takes more effort, which is where our Respects Your Freedom certification program comes in. In 2017 we certified 18 devices, with 15 from Technoethical and 3 from Vikings GmbH

Helping everyone ethically share free software

When all of these educational resources aren't enough, and someone fails to provide the rights guaranteed under a free license like the GPL, FSF staff take special care to teach them how to come back into our community. Where necessary, we uphold free software by enforcing the license according to the Principles of Community-Oriented GPL Enforcement, which we co-developed with the Software Freedom Conservancy. With a little guided instruction, we help these distributors come back into compliance.

Help us share even more!

The licensing team shares its expertise with users all around the world. From answering questions directly from the public, to publishing articles on current events in software licensing, to providing materials on free software and the hardware it runs on, our work helps users to share their own work as well. But to continue this work, and do even more in the year to come, we need your support. Can you help us to share the power of free licenses with users everywhere?

We have two more days to do everything we can to make our voices heard on this monumental issue. Below we have a sample script for calling the United States Congress, ideas for social media posts, and a bit about why free software needs net neutrality. If you want to read even more about why the Free Software Foundation (FSF) loves net neutrality, you can view this post on our blog.

Call, call, call

If you are in the US, call Congress today. Nervous? Try using the following script:

Hello, I live in CITY/STATE. I am calling to urge you to support net neutrality and stop the FCC from removing common carrier status from Internet Service Providers like Comcast and Verizon. This is the only thing we have protecting a free Internet, which everyone needs. Thank you for your time.

Don't know who to call?

• You can find your Representative and call them.

• Dial the House of Representatives at (202) 224-3121 and they will connect you.

• Call your Senator directly. Find their number here.

• Dial the Senate at (202) 224-3121 and they will connect you.

(Note: The number for the House and the Senate is a switchboard that will direct your call.)

Post and share

No matter where you live, if you use social media, you can join others in making as much noise as you can in support of net neutrality. Share your favorite articles, change your profile photos, tell people you care about a free Web, and that, today, net neutrality is the way to maintain a free Web in the United States.

Need a sample message?

• I support #netneutrality and #freesoftware!

• #Freesoftware needs #netneutrality

• I need #netneutrality because I need a free Web

You can also share this post, or look though our social media history for more ideas.

Why net neutrality?

There are so many reasons why we think net neutrality is important--and why it's necessary for free software. We'll briefly mention that:

• Free software is built collaboratively by using Web tools and Internet connections around the world.

• Free software is most easily discoverable thanks to pages like the Free Software Directory.

• Need to update your system or software quickly? You need an Internet connection to make that happen.

• Organizations like the FSF use the Web to educate and share free software ideology and tools.

• The FSF itself is run by a small team spread across the globe. Every day we use tools like IRC to communicate and work for user freedom together, with one another, and with you.

• We promote decentralized free software replacements for centralized software services, and that losing net neutrality means the centralized services will have a huge built-in advantage.

Without a free Web and free Internet, what we--this includes you--can do online will be limited by what ISPs like Comcast and Verizon want you to be able to do. They will have the legal right to control which Web sites we can access and how fast that access will be--and they will take advantage of their new ability to extort even greater fees from Web site and consumers alike.

We're asking you to take the time today and tomorrow to call Congress. Make some noise online. Tell your friends. Save the Internet.

Are you shopping for a student just getting their footing in the world of free software hacking, a friend determined to spread the good news of software freedom, or a longtime free software supporter who needs the newest piece of Free Software Foundation (FSF) gear? The GNU Press shop has you covered. Here are a few of our most exciting offerings for this holiday giving season.

• The GNU Scarf is brand new this year -- and just in time, if you are in the Northern hemisphere, for the chill winds of winter. It's long, warm, soft, and stylish, and features the iconic GNU mascot.

• The scarf is a perfect match for the newly-redesigned GNU Beanie -- in fact you can buy both together, and save money while staying toasty!

• Did you know that the GNU Press shop stocks autographed copies of Richard Stallman's books -- including the definitive document of the free software movement, Free Software, Free Society, presently in its third edition? It's informative and entertaining, and provides a great conversation starter for established believers looking to usher new free software supporters into the fold.

There's much more on offer at the GNU Press shop -- we have plenty of handy manuals and other reference materials, snazzy stickers, dozens of excellent t-shirts, and much more. We'll be hustling extra hard through the winter months to meet demand for cool FSF merch, and we hope to meet your needs with alacrity and panache. If you have any questions or special requests, please don't hesitate to email sales@fsf.org! Happy holidays!

By the way, the FSF's annual fundraiser is happening right now. Help us prepare for another year fighting for software freedom. Through December 8th, the Frâncu family will match all new membership donations, up to $10,000. We're about halfway to that goal, so there's still time to double your impact. Plus, all new and renewing annual FSF Associate Members ($120+) can choose to receive our new Four Freedoms t-shirt! So wear your freedom on your sleeve: become a member or make a donation today.

Verizon is a key participant in the effort to kill net neutrality: Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Ajit Pai is a former Verizon lawyer, and the company has poured millions of dollars into lobbying and lawsuits. This Thursday, we're bringing the fight to their doorstep, joining hundreds of thousands of other defenders of the Internet by protesting at our nearest Verizon store, and we hope you'll join us.

WHEN: Thursday, December 7, 5pm

WHERE: Verizon – 745 Boylston Street, one block from Copley Square

If you want to protest with us, feel free to meet us at the Free Software Foundation's office at 51 Franklin Street in Downtown Crossing -- we will be heading over to the protest at 4:40pm. We encourage you to bring signs and warm clothes. Just remember that we're protesting Verizon executives and lobbyists, and the politicians who support them, not the store employees, so please treat them with respect.

In the meantime: make sure the FCC knows you care about saving net neutrality! You can see our guide to action here.

Help improve the Free Software Directory by adding new entries and updating existing ones. Every Friday we meet on IRC in the #fsf channel on irc.freenode.org.

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 providing detailed info about version control, IRC channels, documentation, and licensing info.

It was this week in 1991 that the leaders of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine signed an agreement dissolving the Soviet Union and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States. With this act, the monolithic Soviet/Communist/Eastern Bloc was torn asunder into its constituent parts. One of the weaknesses of the original bloc was that with such a centralized socio-economic structure, the arrangement of social institutions and structures, as well as physical ones, could produce cascading failures from this central node.

The solution? Federalization/decentralization. So the theme of the Directory meeting this week is just that. We will look at federalized/decentralized software, from social media like Mastodon to crypto-currency. There are many paths that the meeting can take this week!

If you are eager to help, and you can't wait or are simply unable to make it onto IRC on Friday, our participation guide will provide you with all the information you need to get started on helping the Directory today! There are also weekly Directory Meeting pages that everyone is welcome to contribute to before, during, and after each meeting.