From press at fsfe.org Wed Jul 24 11:36:50 2019 From: press at fsfe.org (press at fsfe.org) Date: Wed, 24 Jul 2019 11:36:50 +0000 Subject: FSFE Newsletter July 2019 Message-ID: = FSFE Newsletter July 2019 = [ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-201907.ro.html ] In this month's newsletter, we pay special attention to our new Testimonials page and the freshly prepared summary of the FSFE's annual Legal Licensing Workshop that took place in Barcelona. Further down, you can discover the upcoming events we are participating in and hosting, as well as see some visual details about how and where we managed to promote and extend the use of Free Software around Europe. == The Testimonials == FSFE is a charity dedicated to empowering users to control technology. Together with our community we form a movement across Europe to build our digital societies on users' and software freedom. Although there will never be enough space to shed light on all the creative minds and motivated people who have helped us grow our movement and live out our mission, we would still like to highlight at least some of our highly- valued community members who have in one way or another shaped the FSFE's profile and who continuously helped us become what we are today. In the past month, the FSFE has worked on the Testimonials page. This page is part of a series of interviews with FSFE supporters and friends who wanted to share their excitement for being part of such a diverse group of people and volunteers who shape the FSFE community across Europe while achieving our mission [1]. One of the first entries is by our French supporter and privacy expert, Cryptie, who has been using Free Software for 15 years, and has been an active part of the FSFE community for the last 6 years. You can find more such interviews, videos and testimonials on our Testimonials page [2]. Enjoy getting to know our community! == The Legal and Licensing Workshop 2019 == A big aspect of Free Software use and deployment goes through the often confusing webs of legislation. One of our big initiatives to improve understanding of Free Software legal issues is the Legal Licensing Workshop, a closed conference that we organise annually for the members of the FSFE's Legal Network. Every year, many of lawyers from Europe and all over the world attend this conference to exchange knowledge, present best practices and discuss issues surrounding Free Software licensing. With up to three days of talks in an informal and confidential atmosphere, the Workshop advances the state of the art of knowledge on topics ranging from licence compliance to patent management, from project governance to corporate responsibility. Participation to the Free Software Legal and Licensing Workshop provides legal professionals not only the opportunity to share knowledge and updates on the topics they are working on, but also a chance to meet and get acquainted with each other. These two aspects, combined, foster better licence compliance by spreading best practices. The conference also provides a forum for different professionals to better understand each other, thus reducing the overall friction in the sector. The FSFE has prepared a short summary [3] of this year's Workshop. You can also find information on past years editions, if you are curious. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Join our community: https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-07 [4] -------------------------------------------------------------------- == Do not miss: upcoming events with the FSFE == As with every month, we are trying to spread the word and help individuals and organisations understand what Free Software is and how Free Software contributes to freedom, transparency, and self- determination. If you are interested in seeing us in action and to join our cause, keep in mind the following dates and locations in the coming months: - Between August 10 and 11, the FSFE Policy Manager Alexander Sander will promote the "Public Money? Public Code!" initiative to the FrOSCon audience in Bonn, Germany. - Between August 21st and 25th the FSFE will host an assembly [5] at the Chaos Communication Camp in Mildenberg, Germany. The assembly will be part of about:freedom [6], a cluster with a focus on digital (human) rights politics, freedom of information and Free Software advocacy. It is a union of different and diverse organisations from all over the world promoting Free Software and defending and extending digital rights. There will be workshops on-site and information materials. If you are coming to the camp, drop by and have a chat with us! - Between August 24th and 25th, you will have another chance to see our booth at the second Veganmania festival in Vienna, Austria. == What have we done? Inside and Outside the FSFE == Since the last newsletter we have been very active in promoting the Free Software cause, by helping individuals and organisations have a better understanding of what Free Software is and encouraging them to develop and implement it in their lives. We want to share with you the events we have photos and videos for, below: - The FSFE Policy Manager Alexander Sander gave a talk and attended a panel discussion during the Church Days in Dortmund between June 19th and 23rd about Free Software. You can see the full report [7] on the event and the talks. Throughout those days Alex also hosted two workshops for beginners on how to use and operate with the Open Street Map and how to use and edit on Wikipedia. - The FSFE Programme Manager Max Mehl explained how Free Software can be the solution to many security problems at Pass the SALT on July 3rd, in Lille, France. You can watch his entire presentation on our mirror [8]. - Long-time FSFE volunteer Reinhard Müller gave a presentation at Tübix [9] about the development of web applications he used successfully for the development of the new online FSFE community portal [10] on July 6th, in Tübingen, Germany. - On July 22nd, the Franken community of the FSFE and the Nuremberg Hackerspace hosted a joint lecture [11] about the basics and common misunderstandings of Free Software in Nuremberg, Germany. == Editor's choice == In the month of July you can see some technical and other not so technical findings by members of the FSFE's Planet community [12]: - Albert Astals offers some new KDE application branches [13] - Evaggelos Balaskas shared his notes on the idea to use nested-Kernel- based Virtual Machine to run minikube inside a Virtual Machine, so that minikube will create a Kernel-based Virtual Machine node, upon an Ubuntu 18.04 LTS [14]. - Matija Šuklje (Hook) shares the results of the analysis he did on the most commonly used licenses in OpenAPI [15] == Get Active == Do you want to see our newsletter also available in your language, so you can share the news with peers in your country? Don't be shy and join our team of brave translators by emailing us at contact at fsfe.org [16]. == Contribute to our newsletter == If you would like to share any thoughts, pictures, or news, send them to us. As always, the address is newsletter at fsfe.org [17]. We're looking forward to hearing from you! If you also want to support us and our work, join our community and support us with a donation or a monthly contribution: https://my.fsfe.org/support [18] Thanks to our community, all the volunteers [19], supporters [20] and donors [21] who make our work possible. And thanks to our translators [22], who enable you to read this newsletter in your mother tongue. Your editor, Galia Mancheva -------------------------------------------------------------------- Join our community: https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-07 [23] -------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Free Software Foundation Europe FSFE News Upcoming FSFE Events Fellowship Blog Aggregation Free Software Discussions 1: https://fsfe.org/about/mission 2: https://fsfe.org/about/people/testimonials.ro.html 3: https://fsfe.org/activities/ftf/legal-conference.ro.html 4: https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-07 5: https://signup.c3assemblies.de/assembly/db340abb-1f28-48e0-bbd6-59035e98cb42 6: https://signup.c3assemblies.de/assembly/c1831305-457e-4199-9070-38e2ac9234de 7: https://www.evangelisch.de/blogs/kirchentag-2019/156935/21-06-2019 8: https://download.fsfe.org/presentations/20190703-mm-SALT-ITSec.en.mp4 9: https://www.tuebix.org/ 10: https://my.fsfe.org 11: https://wiki.fsfe.org/LocalGroups/Franken/DigitalFestival2019 12: https://planet.fsfe.org/ 13: https://tsdgeos.blogspot.com/2019/07/kde-applications-1908-branches-created.html 14: https://balaskas.gr/blog/2019/07/14/kubernetes-with-minikube-intro-notes/ 15: https://matija.suklje.name/popular-licenses-in-openapi 16: https://fsfe.org/mailto:contact at fsfe.org 17: https://fsfe.org/mailto:newsletter at fsfe.org 18: https://my.fsfe.org/support 19: https://fsfe.org/contribute 20: https://my.fsfe.org/support 21: https://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus 22: https://fsfe.org/contribute/translators 23: https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-07 From press at fsfe.org Fri Sep 27 08:18:17 2019 From: press at fsfe.org (press at fsfe.org) Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2019 08:18:17 +0000 Subject: FSFE Newsletter September 2019 Message-ID: = FSFE Newsletter September 2019 = [ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-201909.ro.html ] In this month's newsletter, we focus our attention on the impact of Free Software on competition, in a piece written by our guest expert, Prof. Dr. Simon Schlauri. We also take the chance to announce the awesome progress we have made in the REUSE project towards making copyright and licensing easier for developers. Further down, you can discover upcoming events and information about the FSFE Annual Community meeting, as well as see some photos and video recordings from events where our community promoted Free Software across Europe. We also make some recommendations for articles you may find useful. == Free Software and its impact on competition == Our guest writer Prof. Dr. Simon Schlauri shared his expert knowledge on what the impact of Free Software on competition is. Elaborating on the legal and economic arguments on whether the release of software under a Free Software license distorts the market, this article was originally written for our "Public Money? Public Code" brochure. If you missed it, please take a look and learn more about [1] the impact that Free Software has on competition. == REUSE makes copyright and licensing easier than ever == As you most likely already know, the FSFE is running a project called REUSE [2]. Its main goal is to help developers display copyright and licensing information of their projects according to the recommended best practices. Just recently, the project released version 3.0 of their specification. The new edition is accompanied by a helper tool that makes adopting these best practices easier than ever. If you are curious for more details on the topic, we welcome you to visit the dedicated article [3]. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Join our community: https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-09 [4] -------------------------------------------------------------------- == Do not miss: upcoming events with the FSFE == As with every month, we are trying to spread the word and help individuals and organisations understand what Free Software is and how Free Software contributes to freedom, transparency, and self- determination. If you are interested in seeing us in action and to join our cause, keep in mind the following dates and locations in the coming months: - The Open Source Summit Europe [5] in Lyon, France is happening between 28-30 October and the FSFE's Programme Manager Max Mehl will talk about the REUSE project and Free Software licensing compliance. - Between 15-16 November the FSFE Community Meeting will unite forces with the South Tyrol Free Software Conference (SFScon) [6] in Bolzano, Italy. The FSFE will have its own track and you are kindly invited to join the expert and community talks, as well as the social activites. You can read more about this on our wiki page [7]. == What have we done? Inside and Outside the FSFE == Since the last newsletter, we have been very active in promoting the Free Software cause, by helping individuals and organisations have a better understanding of what Free Software is and encouraging them to develop and implement it in their lives. We want to share with you the events we have photos and videos for, below: - The FSFE Policy Manager Alexander Sander went to the FrOSCon [8] and gave a talk about the current state of the "Public Money? Public Code!" initiative, the full recording of which is available online [9]. Thanks to the FSFE's local group in Bonn, we were also present with a booth. It turned out that many of the visitors were truly interested in what happens at a local level, as well as how they can help and support the cause with specific actions. It was a great opportunity to have such substantial discussions and exchange of ideas and best practices. - The most frequently asked question our Viennese FSFE Group faced during the local Veganmania Summer Festival in August was why a Software organisation like the FSFE participates in a vegan festival. Their answer? The same ethical considerations that lead people to adopt a vegan life style can be applied analogously to information technologies and the use of Free Software. For more interesting insights, read their blog entry [10]. - At the Chaos Communication Camp in Mildenberg, Germany that happened between 21-25 August, the FSFE hosted its own assembly in the about:freedom [11] cluster. This cluster organised more than 50 talks, workshops and panels about the Sustainability of Software, Argumentation Trainings for Data Protection, Copyright, workshops on Free Your Android and Crypto, and measuring Internet censorship. A recording of Erik Albers' talk about the sustainability of software is also available on our channel [12] (German). Also some great photos from the Village settings are accessible online [13]. - During the NextCloud Conference in Berlin that took place on 14 September at the premises of the Technical University of Berlin, our Policy Manager Alexander Sander was part of a panel discussion dedicated on "Public Money? Public Code!". He debated on behalf of the FSFE with people representing NextCloud, the Working Group of Youth Organisations and Regional Youth Council in Germany, and the Open Knowledge Foundation Germany. The full video of the debate and what was said can be seen on our video channel [14]. - As a result of our participation at events and efforts promoting the "Public Money? Public Code!" initiative during the summer, the Open Letter received 6 new supportive signatures from organisations over the last 2 months. The following organisations from around Europe and the world endorsed these principles and joined the actions on local ground: 1. OpenSaar [15] is an initiative based in the SaarLorLux region. They have dedicated their efforts to promoting Free Software in their region. 2. FOSS Bangladesh [16] is the most prominent Free Software organisation in the South Asian nation of Bangladesh and has worked with FSF [17] some time ago. 3. Peercoin Foundation [18] is an international NGO working towards the development of a Free Software blockchain. 4. Computertruhe [19] is a German NGO that repairs old computers and donates them to people in need. 5. Idealiste.cz [20] is a Czech NGO advocating for better quality ​​public services that are accessible to the general public, especially when it comes to schools, hospitals, public transport or housing. 6. Liquid Democracy [21] is a Berlin based "Think and Do Tank". Their work revolves around the development of a Free Software and digital participation tool called Adhocracy, providing users with various civic participation tools. - On 16 September, one of our independent sister organisations, the US- based Free Software Foundation (FSF), announced the resignation of Richard M. Stallman [22] as its president. == From FSFE's planet == In the months since the last newsletter and during the summer break, many things have happened. Some of them have been shared on the FSFE's Planet [23] and are directly related to the organisation while others are more into the general direction of our mission: - In his article [24], Frank Karlitschek reminds us of the bigger picture of Free Software and why the differences with proprietary solutions are not only a matter of software licenses; - On a more technical note, if you had problems installing the WackoWiki, Evaggelos Balaskas has created a helpful walkthrough [25]. - "Blocking Untrusted USB devices" [26] is a good read by Nikos Roussos, especially if you are concerned about digital security. == Get Active == The Internet Freedom Fund is Open Tech Fund's primary way to support projects and people working on open and accessible technology-centric projects. These are supposed to promote human rights, internet freedom, open societies, and help advance inclusive and safe access to global communications networks for at-risk users including journalists, human rights defenders, civil society activists, and every-day people living within repressive environments who wish to speak freely online. You can apply for this fund [27] until 01.11.2019. == Contribute to our newsletter == If you would like to share any thoughts, pictures, or news, send them to us. As always, the address is newsletter at fsfe.org [28]. We're looking forward to hearing from you! If you also want to support us and our work, join our community and support us with a donation or a monthly contribution: https://my.fsfe.org/support [29] Thanks to our community, all the volunteers [30], supporters [31] and donors [32] who make our work possible. And thanks to our translators [33], who enable you to read this newsletter in your native languages. Best Regards, The FSFE -------------------------------------------------------------------- Join our community: https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-09 [34] -------------------------------------------------------------------- -- Free Software Foundation Europe FSFE News Upcoming FSFE Events Fellowship Blog Aggregation Free Software Discussions 1: https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190806-01.ro.html 2: https://reuse.software/ 3: https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190807-01.ro.html 4: https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-09 5: https://osseu19.sched.com/event/05a3272287d3def1bcb0a62ace00b730 6: https://www.sfscon.it/ 7: https://wiki.fsfe.org/Events/FSFECommunityMeeting2019 8: https://programm.froscon.de/2019/events/2326.html 9: https://peertube.social/videos/watch/702cb495-7a04-472c-95af-ca249816f1d4 10: http://blogs.fsfe.org/franz.gratzer/2019/08/27/fsfe-booth-donauinsel/ 11: https://events.ccc.de/camp/2019/wiki/Village:About:freedom 12: https://peertube.social/videos/watch/02f2666a-452a-47c9-a4b9-7c1d3a4b627b 13: https://pixelfed.social/c/73939228374994944 14: https://peertube.social/videos/watch/00577775-29d2-4064-968a-09960d48cba4 15: https://opensaar.de/en/ 16: https://www.fossbd.org/ 17: https://www.fsf.org/bulletin/2013/spring/foss-bangladesh 18: https://peercoin.net/ 19: https://computertruhe.de/ 20: https://www.idealiste.cz/ 21: https://liqd.net/en/about/ 22: https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20190917-01.ro.html 23: https://planet.fsfe.org/ 24: https://karlitschek.de/2019/08/open-source-if-more-than-licenses/ 25: https://balaskas.gr/blog/2019/08/24/walkthrough-installation-of-wackowiki-v5512/ 26: https://www.roussos.cc/2019/08/19/usbguard/ 27: https://www.opentech.fund/funds/internet-freedom-fund/ 28: https://fsfe.org/mailto:newsletter at fsfe.org 29: https://my.fsfe.org/support 30: https://fsfe.org/contribute 31: https://my.fsfe.org/support 32: https://fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus 33: https://fsfe.org/contribute/translators 34: https://fsfe.org/join/nl2019-09