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This list is a work in progress and a result of a collaborative effort between the FSF and the free software community.
We encourage you to think with us on what this ladder should include, and what else to highlight by leaving notes on the discussion page, by joining us in the IRC meetings, or by emailing campaigns@fsf.org with your thoughts.
This page is a shared resource, and we encourage others to add to the discussion pages, but it is possible that some entries here may be added by members of the community. We check this resource periodically, and process the comments we receive. We know that others check it too, but it's a wiki, so errors may be added before they're fixed. We encourage you to review licenses and information about resources you add, and to update this page with your findings.
The “freedom ladder” is a new method the FSF campaigns team has developed to help users get their first start in software freedom.
One problem with most guides introducing newcomers to GNU/Linux is that they stop them too soon on their “journey to freedom,” and end up suggesting that a partially nonfree setup is a desirable outcome. By contrast, our guide’s focus is to encourage users to not rest content with nonfree software, while at the same time recognizing that they have other pressures and obligations. We want to help them stay both motivated and determined in their gradual process to eliminate nonfree software from their lives.
The FSF campaigns team held a series of IRC meetings about the draft schema:
Join us in #fsf on Libera.Chat to contribute to these conversations!
This is what we’ve developed so far, and we’re asking the community to weigh in with their thoughts and suggestions.
When is a program free or nonfree? What are the dangers of nonfree software, and why should a user be bothered about it?
To stay motivated on their journey to freedom, each person needs to have a compelling reason to use free software. That reason could be the philosophy of freedom, or it could be a more practical concern like desiring security or using gratis software wherever possible.
The first step we recommend a user to take on their journey to software freedom is by replacing one nonfree program they use with a free replacement. As we assume these users are on a nonfree operating system like Microsoft Windows or macOS, it is acceptable to recommend a program that is mostly free software, but that poses certain problems to the more experienced free software user (e.g. Mozilla Firefox).
Some free programs that are easily adopted:
Note that this is a nonexhaustive list of programs which have proved to be easily adopted by newcomers.
A community maintained list of free software replacements by operating systems can be found on this Free Software Directory page dedicated to free software replacements.
For a full list of free software programs the FSF recommends, see the over 17,000 entries in the Free Software Directory.
On this step, users are encouraged to try encrypting some device or program they use on a day-to-day basis. This could be learning how to encrypt one’s email with the Email Self-Defense Guide, or using GPG to encrypt a file they would like to remain private.
This step does not build off of a previous one, but is important enough of an issue that it deserves consideration. True mobile phone freedom is an impossibility at the moment given the nonfree “baseband” operating system that runs at the ring-0 level of every cell phone. However, this doesn’t mean that mobile phone freedom is a lost cause.
Here we encourage the user to use free repositories like F-Droid, and at least be aware of the free Android distribution Replicant. Other mobile free operating systems can be covered in this step. Even if they have certain issues, it’s important for the user to be aware of them: PureOS, Mobian, LineageOS, Ubuntu Touch, postmarketOS, GrapheneOS, Havoc-OS, etc.
Some mobile phone apps that respect the user's freedom and are easily adopted:
For a more extensive list of popular free software applications that run on Android see the collection Replicant-expanded on the Free Software Directory.
One common reason for burnout when it comes to learning free software is getting hung up on a technical problem, and being unable to progress. If the user isn’t especially tech-savvy, this can sometimes cause them to accept defeat and go back to a nonfree operating system. Here, we make sure the user is aware of how to find program documentation (such as through websites, manpages, or Texinfo), and also how to seek help on communication mediums used in the free software community like IRC, mailing lists, and forums.
During this step, the user will be encouraged to write a USB drive of the Trisquel GNU/Linux operating system and see if their hardware is compatible with it. They can then choose to install the operating system, or if there is a compatibility issue, some things they can do to address it, even if that involves a “deal with the devil.”
This page was a featured resource in July 2024.
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a nonprofit with a worldwide mission to promote computer user freedom.
We defend the rights of all software users. (Read more)