[FSFE PR][EN] 1&1 Internet AG receives German Document Freedom Award

Wed Mar 28 07:08:11 CEST 2012

== 1&1 Internet AG receives German Document Freedom Award ==

[Read online: http://fsfe.org/news/2012/news-20120328-01.en.html Also
read the international DFD press release under
http://fsfe.org/news/2012/news-20120328-02.en.html ]

Karlsruhe, 28 March 2012 - 1&1, GMX and WEB.DE receive the German
Document Freedom Award for the use of Open Standards. The prize is
awarded by the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) and the Foundation
for a Free Information Infrastructure e.V. (FFII). 1&1 is awarded for
automatically adding XMPP for all customers of their mail services. The
Document Freedom Award is awarded annually on the occasion of Document
Freedom Day - the international day for Open Standards. Last years
winners include tagesschau.de [1], Deutschland Radio [2], and the German
Foreign Office [3].

In Karlsruhe FSFE and FFII handed over a certificate and the Document
Freedom Award-cake to Jan Oetjen, CEO 1&1 Internet Portals, and Tino
Anic with his team, who are responsible for this functionality. The
Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP, previously called
Jabber) is an Open Standard [4] communication protocol used for
chatting. A variety of chat programs [5] support this protocol, and it
is also used in VoIP applications. Every e-mail users of 1&1, GMX and
WEB.DE get such an XMPP account by default, which has the same name as
the e-mail address.

"Unlike closed services such as Facebook and Skype, 1&1 has provided
open connectivity with the rest of the Jabber/XMPP network for many
years. They are to be commended for supporting truly free communication
using Internet standards." says Peter Saint-Andre, Executive Director of
the XMPP Foundation.

Like 1&1, everyone can set up an XMPP server and enable it to connect
with other XMPP standard compliant servers around the world. People
having an account from 1&1 are able to chat with other contacts, within
or outside the 1&1 network, using any XMPP supporting client they want.
They can chat with customers from other XMPP supporting companies like
Google (with Google Talk), with people who set up their own Free
Software XMPP server, and with all of FSFE's supporters, which also
automatically get an XMPP account. When using Skype, ICQ, Facebook,
Yahoo! Messenger or Microsoft Network (MSN), all the people who want to
chat with each other have to use the same provider.

"Facebook and Microsoft Network (MSN) also use XMPP for their chat
functionality. But they disabled the XMPP server feature to connect with
other XMPP servers. This way Facebook and MSN are restricting their
users to their own service: You are only allowed to talk with people who
also have an account at their service and surrendered their data. By
using XMPP servers which connect with other XMPP servers, you give your
friends the freedom to decide which software and which provider they
want to use and trust!", says Matthias Kirschner, FSFE's German
Coordinator.

"We are very honoured to receive this award. It confirms our decision to
use the open standard XMPP for our online chat within WEB.DE, GMX and
1&1 mailboxes. It allows our users to chat without technical barriers
across the web.", says Jan Oetjen, CEO 1&1 Internet Portals.

Stephan Uhlmann, FFII board member, adds: "We're inspired by companies
like 1&1 Internet AG who not only base their business on Internet open
standards, like email and the web, but also keep these services
interoperable and do not rely on lock-in effects to convince their
customers."

  1. https://fsfe.org/news/2011/news-20110330-01.en.html
  2. https://fsfe.org/news/2010/news-20100324-01.en.html
  3. http://mail.fsfeurope.org/pipermail/press-release-de/2008q1/000124.html
  4. https://fsfe.org/projects/os/os.en.html
  5. http://xmpp.org/xmpp-software/clients/

== Background information ==

- Press pictures of the award ceremony are available on a seperated
  page. http://wiki.fsfe.org/DFD-2012-Karlsruhe
- DRadio Wissen interview with Deputy German Coordinator Torsten Grote
  about XMPP (in German) explaining the importance of XMPP.
  http://wissen.dradio.de/kommunikation-autarkes-chatten.36.de.html?dram:article_id=15749
  (Audio,
  http://ondemand-mp3.dradio.de/file/dradio/2012/0/26/drw_201203261034_autark_chatten_gespraech_mit_thor_10eb6223.mp3
  unfortunately only mp3).
- Until 30th March - You suggest, we send handcuffs: Who needs education
  about standards? https://fsfe.org/news/2012/news-20120321-01.en.html

== Other activities and events in Germany during DFD 2012 ==

- FSFE: Information booth about Open Standards and Free Software in the
  public library in Offenburg
  http://documentfreedom.org/2012/events/#event-20120328-03
- FSFE: Lectures and dicussions about open standards and their
  usefullness in the Chaosdorf in Düsseldorf
  http://documentfreedom.org/2012/events/#event-20120328-28
- Green Federal Party: Document Freedom Day: Questions about
  advertisement for Adobe Reader in parliament
  http://gruen-digital.de/2012/03/document-freedom-day-kleine-anfrage-zur-werbung-fuer-adobe-reader-eingereicht/
- Green Party Berlin: Awarding a DFD-cake for the city of Vienna to the
  ambassador in Berlin by the Green parliamentary group
  http://documentfreedom.org/2012/events/#event-20120328-41
- Pirate Party Baden-Württemberg: Countdown to Document Freedom Day by
  the Piratenpartei Baden-Württemberg
  http://documentfreedom.org/2012/events/#event-20120328-30
- All other activities during DFD around the globe
  http://documentfreedom.org/2012/events/events.en.html

== Press contacts ==

  Contact: Matthias Kirschner, Free Software Foundation Europe,
  Linienstr. 141, 10115 Berlin, t +49-30-27595290, m +49-1577-1780003

  Stephan Uhlmann, Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure
  Malmöer Str. 6, 10439 Berlin, t +49-30-41722597, m +49-170-4225008

== About Document Freedom Day ==

  Document Freedom Day (DFD) campaigns to celebrate information
  accessibility and introduce non-technical audiences to Open Standards.
  Open Standards are a basic condition for freedom and choice in
  software; ensuring the freedom to access data, and the freedom to
  build Free Software to read and write information. Started in 2008,
  the campaign this year has 48 events worldwide. This year 34 partners
  are supporting DFD on 28th March. http://documentfreedom.org

== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==

  The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
  non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
  involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
  participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
  the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
  Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
  furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
  modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
  securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people
  Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues
  of the FSFE. http://www.fsfe.org/

== About FFII ==

  The FFII is a not-for-profit association registered in twenty European
  countries, dedicated to the development of information goods for the
  public benefit, based on copyright, free competition, open standards.
  More than 1000 members, 3,500 companies and 100,000 supporters have
  entrusted the FFII  to act as their voice in public policy questions
  concerning exclusion rights ("intellectual property") in data
  processing. http://www.ffii.org/