Over our thirty-five years of campaigning for freedom, the Free Software Foundation has seen countless people start to adopt free "as in freedom" software as a tool to affect meaningful change in their communities. When users have the freedom to study, change, share, and contribute to the software that they depend on, they are empowered to take charge of their own digital lives.
In the face of the novel coronavirus, we have been inspired by people in the free software movement banding together to show how technology can make us safer and keep us connected without compromising our freedoms. Our work has been motivated by seeing people help others move away from proprietary tools that embrace corporate control and government bulk surveillance. Movements like this help build a future that empowers users and their communities rather than the harmful business models of monopolistic proprietary software companies.
This year has been an exceptional year for everyone, and the future is uncertain for in-person events. The FSF will continue to monitor public health notifications, and will follow the guidelines of the City of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We care about people's safety as much as their freedom, and this will remain our priority.
Whether the event will be held fully online like our 2020 edition, or whether we can hold the event in the Boston area and enjoy all the pleasures of meeting the community in person is not yet known.
We will update our plans for socializing at a later stage, but feel free to add your own (safe) events here.
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)