LibrePlanet needs you: Volunteer remotely!

One keynote speaker has been confirmed, copyleft activist Julia Reda, and more keynote will be announced shortly. There will be workshops and lightning talks as well, and all of it will be presented remotely.

All these great sessions -- and this year's itinerary is especially excellent! -- can happen only with the help of volunteers like you. The volunteer needs for a remote conference are fewer than those for an in-person conference, but volunteer participation is still crucial to our success. There are two main roles we need to fill:

1. Room monitors: These volunteers will virtually attend LibrePlanet sessions, introduce speakers, and help facilitate question-and-answer time between speaker and audience. Think of this as a public speaking role that is not very difficult or demanding, plus enforcing the LibrePlanet Safe Space Policy. You will need a computer with a free "as in freedom" operating system, and a reliable Internet connection; we also strongly recommend a combination headphones/microphone headset. We will schedule one room monitor per session or workshop.

2. IRC and voice chat moderators: These volunteers will attend the various online spaces at the conference and make sure the discourse stays polite, and help direct people to the sessions they want to attend. This is basically a moderation task, enforcing the LibrePlanet Safe Space Policy. Basic familiarity with the GNU/Linux command line is helpful but not required, and we successfully train new moderators to help out year after year. We will schedule two or three at a time for the entire duration of the conference to monitor IRC channels, Mumble voice chats, and a virtual hallway.

If you're like me, you are now thinking: what's in it for me? I'm glad you asked.

• Volunteer before March 1, and I'll mail you a LibrePlanet 2021 T-shirt in your size, absolutely gratis.

• We will upgrade your registration to Supporter level, which gives you access to signing up for limited access workshops, a digital registration badge, access to the trivia event with fabulous prizes, and a commemorative pin and USB drive with videos from the event.

• The FSF staff, particularly the volunteer coordinator, will be eternally grateful to you, and remember your generosity for all time.

Please help us have the best online free software conference ever -- we can't do it without you! Volunteer by replying to this email, or by emailing me, FSF operations assistant and LibrePlanet volunteer coordinator Matt Lavallee, at resources@fsf.org. I will be very glad to hear from you and answer any questions you might have. Please include your T-shirt size and any details of your availability on the weekend of March 20 and 21, 2021.