Discussion August 2019

discussion@lists.fsfe.org

8 participants
10 discussions

Mozilla: "We’re taking a break from Facebook"
by Jonke Suhr 04 Oct '21

04 Oct '21

Hey all, irregardless of the split in our community between privacy pragmatists and privacy absolutists, I think we should take note of this step Mozilla has taken, as I believe FSFE still has a Facebook page (last active on September 21st as far as I can ascertain). > Dear global community we’ve had the opportunity to interact with over the past several years here: > > We’re taking a break from Facebook. > > At Mozilla we champion platforms and technologies that are good for the web and good for the people that use it. > We stand up for transparency and user control because they make the web healthier for us all. > > That’s why we are pressing pause on any Facebook activity. Mark Zuckerberg has just promised to improve Facebook’s settings and make them more protective, which is a start! Please do that! But we can’t help but think we’ve heard it before, so we’re still going to wait and see what materializes before we resume spending our ad dollars or time here. > > IN THE MEANTIME: > If you need support for Firefox or want to tweet at us, you can find us here: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/ > and https://twitter.com/mozilla (Non-tracked link to the source: https://web.archive.org/web/20180323091845/https://de-de.facebook.com/mozil…) What do you guys think? Best regards, Jonke

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transparency about the fellowship
by Daniel Pocock 20 Jan '20

20 Jan '20

Hi everybody, In the blog about fellowship elections being cancelled[1], the fellowship has been likened to a corporate donor. A similar comparison was made in the invitation to the extraordinary general assembly. On the transparency page[2], there is a link to donor information[3] where FSFE identifies the significant corporate donors, especially those who contribute more than 10% of the budget. The fellowship appears to contribute[4] about a third of the budget, more than any other single donor. That was almost EUR 190,000 in 2016 A single fellow also made a bequest of EUR 150,000 to FSFE and they were not identified publicly. Every corporate donor who contributes over 10% is named publicly. Does anybody feel that the same transparency principle should apply in cases such as bequests? Corporate donors (whether they are publicly listed or private companies) typically have to publish some information publicly, at a bare minimum, we can see in which country they are domiciled and who their directors are. I feel it is a good idea to publish more details about FSFE membership and fellowship. In comparison, while at RMLL, I was at the session about April where they announced that they have 4,000 members[5] and clarified that these are all full members of the association with a right to vote. FSFE currently publishes[6] the names of all legal members (GA members), there are 29. FSFE has not directly published statistics about the fellowship though, although the page[7] about the last elections showed there were 1,532 people eligible to vote. There is a weekly report circulated in the team mailing list that gives a membership breakdown by country. As fellowship representative, I feel that the information in this report is quite important for the fellowship at large. I also feel that it is important for other reasons: - giving volunteers transparency, the same details that GA and team are aware of - being consistent with the availability of information about the corporate donors (e.g. we can see where corporate donors are domiciled, so it is important to know where the fellows are predominantly domiciled) - as the "E" in FSFE is for Europe, I feel it is important to demonstrate the extent to which FSFE is engaged in each European country The dissemination of the fellowship statistics on the team mailing list stopped shortly after the extraordinary general assembly. I notice that the fellowship numbers had been increasing last year but in the last few months it has been decreasing. Personally, I suspect that two factors may be responsible: - the renaming of "fellow" to "supporter", many of the email templates and web pages only started using the new term in the last few months. I personally feel this is a downgrade, as a fellow is by definition a member of a fellowship while a supporter is a more external role. Other people may have had the same feeling and quit. - increasing awareness about the GA decision[8] in October to begin the process of abolishing elections There is also a report circulated each week about mailing list subscriptions. I notice in this report that there is a strong correlation between the number of fellows in each country and the number of mailing list users in each country. The blog[1] about removing the elections asserts that fellows are a "purely financial contributor" but if they are active in the mailing list and volunteering, I feel that statement does not adequately describe the fellowship and it is even more critical to have details on the transparency page and to ensure the GA meeting in October puts in place a new procedure for community members to vote. Regards, Daniel 1. https://fsfe.org/news/2018/news-20180526-01.en.html 2. https://fsfe.org/about/transparency-commitment.en.html 3. https://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus.en.html 4. https://fsfe.org/about/funds/2016.en.html 5. https://www.april.org/association#Chiffres_cles 6. https://fsfe.org/about/team.en.html 7. http://civs.cs.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/results.pl?id=E_29119d29f759bbf8 8. https://danielpocock.com/our-future-relationship-with-fsfe-2018

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Re: [nomination]for Fellowship Council renewal and activism
by Christian Imhorst 29 Oct '19

29 Oct '19

Hi, this is not an election, this is a farce. And I will not vote for anyone in this farce. There is no election commitee I trust, so I doubt that these are free and fair elections. The only thing you'll get here is maybe a tendency, what the rebels, malcontents and mavericks of the FSFE community want or don't want. I support FSFE and not FSF - among other things - because of Stallman. No question RMS did much good for the Free Software movement. After all, he founded it and he is one of the reasons why Free Software even exists. But I don't think he should stay any longer the figurehead of the Free Software movement. Seems the longer he has any say, the longer he will poison the well. He hurts his mission with statements about sexual abuse, dehumanizing disabled people and denigrating women. Btw: I have written 2 emails to lists.fsfellowship.eu. I think they never get it to his mailling list and I can not find them in the archive: https://lists.fsfellowship.eu/pipermail/discussion/2019-May/thread.html Looks like I am censored by Daniel Pocock. Regards Christian Imhorst Am 13.05.2019 10:41 schrieb Ingrid Schwarz: > Hello, > > Sorry everybody for not replying over the weekend, here are some of my > policies > > Many Fellows use the fsfe.org email addresses. The Fellowship Council > will demand a meeting with Richard Stallman and Matthias Kirschner to > understand the conflict about the FSFE name and also represent the > interests of Fellows who may be unaware of the conflict or > inconvenienced. If FSF really objects to the name like in the leaked > email then Fellows need to stop using it now, we shouldn't be trying > to extort things from FSF. People can't accuse the last Fellowship > rep of being entitled when FSFE is even more brazen using the name of > another organization. But I would try to get a good deal for Fellows > to keep their email addresses even if FSFE loses the name, this is why > it is so important for Fellows to have a voice in the Fellowship > Council now. > > Another group where I volunteer runs an annual ball. We sell tickets > to all our friends, dress up and have a lot of fun. Most members are > able to sell between 6 and 10 tickets, enough to fill a table. > Fellowship groups can bid to host a Fellowship ball in their city each > year. > > Before I write a lot more about my ideas, I would like to see the > policies of other candidates. > > One candidate has proposed to delete people from the mailing list > without consent. I don't feel comfortable about that and if we are > both in the Fellowship Council, I would vote against it. > > Yours, > > Ingrid > > > > ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ > On Wednesday, May 8, 2019 5:16 PM, Ingrid Schwarz > <ingrid.schwarz(a)protonmail.ch> wrote: > >> Dear fellows, >> >> Conflict like this doesn't erupt spontaneously. >> >> Daniel isn't even a candidate but people are attacking him. They talk >> about respecting the Code of conduct in one sentence and break it in >> the next. He promised a smooth transition for the new council, I can't >> see any way that he profits from helping run the election, why can't >> people just say thank you and move on? >> >> Both Daniel and Armijn have described thuggish behavior from FSFE >> bosses. Now we see it for ourselves. >> >> I came across this quote from Georg Greve on the fsfellowship site: >> >> "The Fellowship is an activity of FSFE, and indeed one of the primary >> ways to get involved in the organisation. It is a place for community >> action, collaboration, communication, fun, and recruitment that also >> helps fund the other activities of FSFE, for example, the political >> work." >> >> Moving the list to get around censorship appears to be a good example >> of that 'community action', activism and political work. >> >> That is what political action looks like. It was effective. Now >> everybody knows there is censorship in FSFE. We didn't know before and >> now we do. It shouldn't be happening. If only more FSFE actions could >> get their point across so clearly. That's activism, isn't that what we >> signed up for? People can learn from somebody like Daniel. >> >> I can't see any harm that can come about by having a fellowship >> council but I can see many benefits this council will have for free >> software. So I hereby nominate. >> >> Yours, >> >> Ingrid > > > _______________________________________________ > Discussion mailing list > Discussion(a)lists.fsfellowship.eu > https://lists.fsfellowship.eu/mailman/listinfo/discussion

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FSFE-in-2020: Who are we?
by Jonas Oberg 14 Oct '19

14 Oct '19

Hi everyone, I wanted to point you to this open internship position at the FSFE: https://fsfe.org/news/2017/news-20170811-01.en.html As you know, when the FSFE was founded, we put together a document describing our self conception. That was 16 years ago, and while I believe it to still be relevant, we'll be looking at making a new committment towards a revised organisational identity later this year. As a part of this work, we're looking for an intern to support the process for 3-6 months, working closely with me and others in the FSFE on analysing how the different groups within and outside of the FSFE perceive the organisation's identity, which will then work towards understanding how aligned they are, and supporting a renewed committment towards a self conception. We've already started the work, and will be looking for someone who could jump on board quite soon indeed, so don't wait to send this to someone you think might be interested! Work description and other application details on the page above. Sincerely, -- Jonas Öberg, Executive Director Free Software Foundation Europe | jonas(a)fsfe.org Your support enables our work (fsfe.org/join)

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recommendations for a mini laptop
by Erik Albers 23 Sep '19

23 Sep '19

Hi all, I am looking for a tiny laptop in a size of 9 or 10 inch that runs GNU/Linux and that I can easily take with me on my backpacking vacations. Battery power is a more important feature for me than computational power. I will basically use it for writing text and mails and browsing the web. Ok, if I can run GIMP that would be nice, but not necessary. If you know of a company that sells such a laptop with GNU/Linux pre-installed I would consider to support them. Else, I will install it by myself. Thanks for any recommendations, Erik -- No one shall ever be forced to use non-free software Erik Albers | Programme Manager, Communication | FSFE OpenPGP Key-ID: 0x8639DC81 on keys.gnupg.net

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Anyone at BalCCon?
by Max Mehl 05 Sep '19

05 Sep '19

Hi all, Does anyone of you consider going to BalCCon, a conference about Free Software and IT security in Novi Sad, Serbia? It's going to take place on 13-15 September. https://2k19.balccon.org This will be the second time I will attend, and I liked its cosy style and friendly audience. There also is an area for groups and projects to present themselves. I thought about offering an FSFE space but would love to share this joy and responsibility with other Free Software enthusiasts. So, anyone in? :) Best, Max -- Max Mehl - Programme Manager - Free Software Foundation Europe Contact and information: https://fsfe.org/about/mehl | @mxmehl Become a supporter of software freedom: https://fsfe.org/join

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New version of the free software song
by Bonnie Mehring 02 Sep '19

02 Sep '19

Hello everybody, at the CCC Camp last week we had great fun organizing and participating in our "free software song sing along-session", with lots of people. Some of them even had a guitar and we started making up new versions of the "free software song". We had some modern as well as rock versions and it got us the attention of the people around us. As this might be a fun and easy way to get into contact with new people, who could be interested in free software, it might be a good idea to have different versions of the "free software song". What do you think? This is the reason why we are looking for remixes of the free software song. The remixes do not need to be anything like the original, except for the text :) and of course they need to be licensed under a free license. So if you are a musician, maybe you could write a remix for the next event and we could promote it and sing it all together? Best wishes and looking forward to all the creative thoughts about this! Bonnie -- Bonnie Mehring - Policy Intern - Free Software Foundation Europe Schönhauser Allee 6/7, 10119 Berlin, Germany | t +49-30-27595290 Registered at Amtsgericht Hamburg, VR 17030 |(fsfe.org/support)

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Open Lectures on EU policy making
by Christian Kalkhoff 20 Aug '19

20 Aug '19

Hi, I browsed through the free and open offering of the openvhb and stumbled upon a series of lectures on EU policy making [1]. It might be of interest to you. >From the teaser: > [...]. > By attending this course, you will get an > overview of the most important actors in European policy making and how > they work together. Furthermore, the course will show you the basics of the > European Migration and Asylum policy and what the Union has established so > far. > [...] I have not signed up my self and don't need about software freedom at the openvhb. Best, Christian [1] https://open.vhb.org/blocks/ildmetaselect/detailpage.php?id=51 -- Christian Kalkhoff - Softwarebefreier - software liberator Supporter of FSFE https://softmetz.de https://blogs.fsfe.org/softmetz

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REUSE 3.0 released: tutorial, FAQ, and helper tool
by Max Mehl 08 Aug '19

08 Aug '19

Hi all, Today, we released the official release of REUSE 3.0 which contains many exciting improvements. REUSE helps developers to declare copyright and licensing of their projects. The new version makes it easier than ever to follow the best practices for Free Software projects. https://reuse.software REUSE 3.0 is accompanied by a brand new tutorial and FAQ. The latest version of the REUSE helper tool will make it much easier for developers to get their repositories REUSE compliant, and can be included in numerous CI/CD workflows. For some more background information, please find the full announcement here: https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190807-01.html I am looking forward to your feedback! Please consider making your software projects REUSE compliant, and let us know how it worked. Feel free to join the mailing list to get in touch with us and other REUSE adopters [^1]. Best, Max [^1]: https://lists.fsfe.org/mailman/listinfo/reuse -- Max Mehl - Programme Manager - Free Software Foundation Europe Contact and information: https://fsfe.org/about/mehl | @mxmehl Become a supporter of software freedom: https://fsfe.org/join

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Tender EU-Study about impact of Free Software and Open Hardware
by Bernhard E. Reiter 05 Aug '19

05 Aug '19

Hello, probably of interest and we should see who will do this study and follow up on it. Regards, Bernhard The European Commission, Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, Directorate E: Future Networks, Unit E2: Cloud and Software has put out the following tender: https://ted.europa.eu/TED/notice/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:304377-2019:TEXT:EN:HTM… The Impact of Open Source Software and Hardware on Technological Independence, Competitiveness and Innovation in the EU Economy — Smart 2019/0011 Reference number: SMART 2019/0011 Short description: The objective of the study is to investigate in detail the economic impact of open source software and hardware on the European economy. The study should identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges of open source in relevant ICT policies (e.g. cybersecurity, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Digitising the European industry, the connected car, HPC, big data, distributed ledger technologies, etc.). The study should gather evidence in monetary terms of the footprint of open source in the EU economy. Finally, the study should propose a list of policy options that can maximize the benefit of open source in support of a competitive EU software and hardware industry and an eco-friendly transformation of the EU economy. -- FSFE -- Founding Member Support our work for Free Software: blogs.fsfe.org/bernhard https://fsfe.org/donate | contribute

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Discussion August 2019