Information about the Free Software Foundation Europe -----------------------------------------------------
First of all we would like to thank everyone for their huge interest and support. It has definitely surpassed our wildest expectations and we very much appreciate it.
As we are currently seeing more mail than we can reasonably reply to without giving up everything else, we will try to answer some of the more frequently asked questions in this posting.
Current plans of the FSF Europe:
We are currently having a lawyer evaluate the different legal frameworks that exist in Germany to find out which one will suit the FSF Europe best. Afterwards it is planned to have this lawyer set up the legal documents so we can proceed with the official founding of the FSF Europe.
Once that is done, we will seek legal consultation in other countries as to whether a law for charitable organizations exists, and what it implies for the local organizations. This will be done in close contact with people in those countries who will be founding the local organizations.
As to which countries will be approached first we cannot say right now.
About local organizations:
Our plans are to work together with local organizations like the FFII, AFUL or APRIL. They are doing important work, and we are not planning to replace them. Bernhard Reiter is member of the new FFII board and we are in contact with people from APRIL and AFUL. Our declared goal is to strengthen and unite.
About local representatives:
We are currently looking for people in other countries to become part of the FSF Europe and we have been contacted by a lot of people so far.
The FSF in the U.S. itself is not a "membership organization." It is rather an organization of selected individuals that have proven themselves to possess a deep understanding of the Free Software philosophy and a firm belief in the long-term goals of Free Software. It can easily be understood that being a member of such an organization requires a relatively high level of commitment.
As we seek to become the acknowledged sister organization of the FSF, we feel that we have to maintain the same level of commitment and philosophical awareness of the FSF itself.
For this reason we would like to get to know everyone who is interested in becoming part of the FSF Europe. Of course we have read or heard from a lot of the active members of the Free Software community before, but this is no substitute for getting to know you from personal email and discussions. We therefore ask you to be a little patient - talk to us, discuss things with us, let us know your personal take on things so we know who we are truly dealing with. At the same time this will give you a chance to really get to know us and our views and standpoints. Hopefully this will allow us to build the mutual trust that is neccessary for such a big project.
If this seems overly cautious to you, please keep in mind that we seek to create an organization that will at least last as long as the FSF has so far (which is about 16 years). This requires doing things _right_ and we feel that anything less would not do it justice.
But this does not mean that you have to become a member in order to help the FSF Europe. In fact there will be a lot of tasks we will need help with (see below).
On financial donations:
We very much appreciate your offers and would be very pleased to accept them once the financial part of the FSF Europe gets started. Acquiring legal consultation in Germany and all the other countries will cost some money as will doing actual _work_ on behalf of Free Software. As a result it is quite likely that we will be asking for donations in the not too distant future.
On other help:
We are extremely pleased with all the spontaneous offers of help we have been receiving. In general, discussing things with us, giving us your views and perceptions on things, as well as spreading the word and backing us, is a lot of help already. Although the amount of specific tasks that we can be helped with is rather small, that number will surely increase as we will need everything from web masters and admins to people helping with booths at shows.
If you have any specific ideas as to how you might help us now, we would be very glad to hear them. Just because we haven't thought of it, doesn't mean that we won't consider it a good idea.
Okay, this should hopefully answer a lot of the questions. We will work our way through the email we receive(d); and even if we don't reply immediately, please be assured that everything you write will be read and considered.
Judging by the support all of you have given us so far, it seems quite likely that together we can build a stronghold for Free Software in Europe.
On behalf of the FSF Europe team, Georg C. F. Greve greve@gnu.org
Hamburg, $Date: 2001/04/28 21:59:02 $