New frontiers in freedom for a new year
The beginning of a new year invests us with new hope for the future: while the free software movement has been dealt some harsh blows in 2018, here at the Free Software Foundation (FSF) we have a lot of reasons for optimism as well.
The public is slowly becoming aware that Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, and other purveyors of proprietary software don’t have their best interests at heart, that “smart home” appliances are an unwise buy, and that allowing bulk surveillance in the name of “security” isn’t worth the loss of freedom. The less people outside of the inner circle of tech trust the peddlers of nonfree software and related products, the more open they are to our message; the more the public fights back to defend net neutrality, smash the disastrous EU Copyright Directive Article 13, and demand answers about how social media giants are violating their privacy, the broader our potential audience grows.
In order to create the free world we need, free software must become a "kitchen table" issue. Making that happen is a large part of the FSF’s mission, and it takes the everyday advocacy and hard work of a huge community of supporters to make it possible. It also takes funds for campaigns, software development, and more -- freedom isn’t always gratis, unfortunately. So we’re making one last push to ask you to help us start 2019 in a position of strength.
Our members provide the most crucial building blocks for our movement, and member dues fuel the infrastructure of the FSF and the GNU Project, keep the GNU Press churning out important free software documentation and cool T-shirts, enables the enforcement of copyleft licenses, and so much more. We urge you to start off your new year by becoming a new member of the FSF. Benefits of FSF membership include a 20% discount on FSF merchandise, gratis entrance to the yearly LibrePlanet conference, and more -- plus, as a thank-you gift, we’re sending all new and renewing associate members a fun set of exclusive enamel pins! We're just shy of our goal of 400 new members in this fundraiser period, and with your help, we'll start off 2019 ready to launch software freedom to new frontiers.
In the meantime, the FSF is bigger and better than ever, and more equipped to do the work you count on us to do: standing up against companies, governments, and programs that abuse your computing freedom, and expanding your ability to replace nonfree programs with free software that meets all of your computing needs. Keep an eye on our blogs, our news page, and our GNU Social, Diaspora, and Twitter accounts for the latest news. With your help, we can make this the best year for free software yet.