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Welcome to the *Free Software Supporter*, the Free Software Foundation's (FSF) monthly news digest and action update — being read by you and 233,004 other activists.
## TABLE OF CONTENTS
* August FSF40 challenge: Make plans to celebrate FSF40 * 4 decades, 4 freedoms, 4 all users * Org Mode, GNU Guix, Mattermost, and more projects to participate in the FSF's hackathon * Our small team vs millions of bots * The Licensing and Compliance Lab, not just holding it down, but pushing back * Missing Skype? Choose freedom and switch to GNU Jami * Meet Miles Wilson, the FSF's summer 2025 campaigns intern * Job opportunity: Deputy director at the Free Software Foundation (part-time exempt) * Job opportunity: Operations assistant at the Free Software Foundation (part-time) * A very warm welcome to 152 new associate members * Member spotlight on… John Kastner! * The software we have to use at work must respect our freedom * You don't own that game (And that app on your phone? Yeah, you don't own that either) * US Army and Navy have both asked for right to repair, now senators want to give it to them * July GNU Emacs news * Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory * LibrePlanet featured resource: Group: FSF/Fight-to-Repair * July GNU Spotlight with Amin Bandali featuring seventeen new GNU releases: Bash, Cflow, and more! * FSF and other free software events * Thank GNUs! * GNU copyright contributions * Translations of the *Free Software Supporter* * Take action with the FSF!
View this issue online here:
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Miss an issue? You can catch up on back issues at .
Want to read this newsletter translated into another language? Scroll to the end to read the *Supporter* in French or Spanish.
***
### August FSF40 challenge: Make plans to celebrate FSF40
Every month during our fortieth anniversary year, we're inviting free software supporters everywhere to join us in celebrating #FSF40. This month, we encourage you to register to attend one (or both) upcoming FSF40 events: the FSF40 celebration in [Boston][1] and [online][2] on October 4 and the virtual FSF40 [hackathon][3] on November 21-23. We're excited for you to join us! If you can't take part in this #FSF40Challenge, fear not — we've got four more coming.
Have an idea for a challenge? Send us a message at !
### 4 decades, 4 freedoms, 4 all users
*From July 22*
We are inviting free software supporters worldwide to join us in celebrating "4 decades, 4 freedoms, 4 all users" in Boston, MA, USA and online on October 4, 2025. The anniversary event, starting at 10:00 EDT (14:00 UTC), is jam-packed with talks and roundtable discussions by leaders in the free software community, with the last discussion ending at 17:30 EDT (21:30 UTC). After a morning and afternoon of engaging talks and discussions for all free software supporters, associate members are invited to participate in the annual associate member meeting from 17:45 to 19:00 EDT (21:45 to 23:00). To round off the birthday festivities, we will be hosting a get together at a local bar for all free software supporters. Register now to attend either the in-person or virtual FSF40 celebration.
### Org Mode, GNU Guix, Mattermost, and more projects to participate in the FSF's hackathon
*From July 16*
We're honoring our roots with an FSF40 hackathon! The FSF40 hackathon, scheduled for November 21-23, 2025, will be centered around important GNU software like Org Mode, GNU Guix, and GNU Boot, with plenty of tasks for both developers and non-programmers. This hackathon will also feature some less-known but remarkable projects, like Lewa (an interactive platform to learn African writing systems) and Don't Track Bugs: Track Valuable Discussions (a tool for helping contributors track bugs, patches, feature requests, and other valuable discussions shared on mailing lists). Check out the full list of projects in the link below and register to participate.
* *
### Our small team vs millions of bots
*From July 2*
Since the sysadmin team last wrote, much has happened, including increasing aggressiveness of the ongoing distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. The FSF infrastructure has been under DDoS attacks since August 2024. Read more about what kinds of DDoS attacks have been launched against our various services, including gnu.org and directory.fsf.org.
*
### The Licensing and Compliance Lab, not just holding it down, but pushing back
*From July 9*
There are many excellent strategies for protecting software freedom and furthering its goals, with the GNU General Public License (GPL) being one of the more notable tools. The GPL is the first free software license to effectively secure software freedom, in the past and long into the future. This has allowed the free software movement to flourish over the last forty years. Read on for some recent examples of how the FSF Licensing and Compliance Lab continues to work diligently to defend the GPL and your computer freedom.
* *
### Missing Skype? Choose freedom and switch to GNU Jami
*From July 31*
Microsoft Skype shut down for good on May 5, 2025. Shutdowns like this one or the end of support for Windows 10 are the best time to help people think differently about the tools they rely on for their most crucial communications, and educate our loved ones about software freedom. Often, this involves encouraging them to switch to free communication tools like, for example, GNU Jami, a recipient of the FSF's Award for Projects of Social Benefit. If you've never used Jami before, give it a try next time you want to call friends or family via videochat, or even suggest using it at your workplace.
*
### Meet Miles Wilson, the FSF's summer 2025 campaigns intern
*From July 30*
Meet our summer campaigns intern, Miles Wilson! This summer, Miles will help plan the upcoming FSF40 celebration and updates to the Defective by Design website. Miles has plenty of personal experience with free software and certainly the motivation to fight against digital restrictions management and other freedom-impeding issues. Get to know Miles and what Miles is hoping to accomplish as an FSF intern.
*
### Job opportunity: Deputy director at the Free Software Foundation (part-time exempt)
*From July 30*
We're seeking a motivated and talented Boston-area individual to be our next deputy director! Reporting to the executive director (ED), the deputy director (DD) plays a critical role in ensuring the execution of key operational and business functions. This position assists with leading the organization in close partnership with the ED. The ideal candidate is calm under pressure with a proven ability to independently manage multiple moving priorities and stakeholders, attention to detail, rigor, and a positive demeanor. The DD role will be primarily internal-facing. The role is part-time exempt, with exact hours negotiable up to a maximum of four days per week.
*
### Job opportunity: Operations assistant at the Free Software Foundation (part-time)
*From July 30*
We're seeking a motivated and talented Boston-based individual to be our operations assistant. Reporting to the executive director (ED), the operations assistant (OA) provides administrative support to the FSF's activities and works mainly in coordination with the operations team. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, responsible, self-motivated, and enjoys operations.
*
### A very warm welcome to 152 new associate members
*From July 21*
Our spring fundraiser has come to an end. Thank you so much for your help in getting us close to our ambitious goal of 200 new members in only a month, and a special thanks to those who continue to renew their support. We're extremely thankful for all of the ways you may have contributed, and it's because of you that we're able to welcome 152 new members to our associate member program in only thirty-two days! If you know someone who might enjoy an FSF associate membership, consider telling them about it or even gifting them one!
* * *
### Member spotlight on… John Kastner!
*From July 17*
As part of our festivities around our fortieth anniversary, we are celebrating individual associate members with our member spotlight series. For our second member spotlight, we spent some time getting to know John Kastner, a free software supporter with years of experience in software development. He has a substantial managerial background and experience in all levels of direct involvement, from requirements to research to design, development, implementation, and delivery, and has personally written hundreds of thousands of lines of code and produced over twenty-five professional publications. Read on to learn about John's experiences with free software.
* *
### The software we have to use at work must respect our freedom
*From July 10*
Many people are forced to use nonfree software to fulfill the requirements of their job descriptions. Software freedom is a human right. Every human being deserves to have the freedom to run, study, modify, and share the software they use. Instead of the freedom-robbing programs used for documentation and communication, your employers could and should opt for software that grants these same four freedoms. If you currently use proprietary software to carry out work tasks, talk with your manager about what these proprietary programs really cost and why they should transition to free software (if you feel comfortable doing so).
*
### You don't own that game (And that app on your phone? Yeah, you don't own that either)
*From July 24 by Hazem Abbas*
1.4 million EU citizens have so far declared that they're tired of purchasing a digital good with none of the rights that come with true ownership in a recent petition. For far too long, users have been controlled by digital restrictions management, a practice that imposes artificial restrictions on what users are able to do with their digital media. When you purchase something, you should have the rights to do what you want with it, instead of being told by the proprietor that you can't share it with anyone or modify it, and that it might not actually be yours in a couple years if the proprietor decides to erase it from existence. If you're an EU citizen, tell the European Commission that EU citizens deserve the right to truly own the digital tools they purchase.
* *
### US Army and Navy have both asked for right to repair, now senators want to give it to them
*From July 8 by Brandon Vigliarolo*
The right to repair movement continues to grow in popularity, as evidenced by a recent bill introduced in the United States Senate aimed at enshrining the US Army's right to repair policy into federal law across military branches. Unrepairability is a symptom of a critical lack of freedom. When software isn't free, we are blocked from studying it and modifying (or repairing) it. Even if we somehow find a way around all the constraints put in place by the proprietor, we aren't allowed to share these improvements with others to help them repair or upgrade their device as either. If you're new to the right to repair movement, or need help explaining it to someone, check out our video on it below.
* *
### July GNU Emacs news
*From July 31 by Sacha Chua*
In these issues: writing tools in Emacs, using funcall, and more!
### Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory
Tens of thousands of people visit directory.fsf.org each month to discover free software. Each entry in the Directory contains a wealth of useful information, from basic category and descriptions to version control, IRC channels, documentation, and licensing. The Free Software Directory has been a great resource to software users over the past decade, but it needs your help staying up-to-date with new and exciting free software projects.
To help, join our weekly IRC meetings on Fridays. Meetings take place in the #fsf channel on Libera.Chat and usually include a handful of regulars as well as newcomers. Libera.Chat is accessible from any IRC client — Everyone's welcome!
The next meeting is this Friday, August 8 from 12:00 to 15:00 EDT (16:00 to 19:00 UTC). Details here:
*
### LibrePlanet featured resource: Group: FSF/Fight-to-Repair
Every month on [the LibrePlanet wiki](https://libreplanet.org/wiki/Main_Page), we highlight one resource that is interesting and useful — often one that could use your help.
For this month, we are highlighting the Group: FSF/Fight-to-Repair resource. On this page, you can find information breaking down the right to repair movement, the FSF's work campaigning for it (Fight to Repair), and developments in legislation. You are invited to help update, adopt, spread, and improve this important resource.
*
Do you have a suggestion for next month's featured resource? Let us know at .
### July GNU Spotlight with Amin Bandali featuring seventeen new GNU releases: Bash, Cflow, and more!
Seventeen new GNU releases in the last month (as of July 31, 2025):
For announcements of most new GNU releases, subscribe to the info-gnu mailing list: .
To download: nearly all GNU software is available most reliably from . Optionally, you may find faster download speeds at a mirror located geographically closer to you by choosing from the list of mirrors published at , or you may use to be automatically redirected to a (hopefully) nearby and up-to-date mirror.
A number of GNU packages, as well as the GNU operating system as a whole, are looking for maintainers and other assistance. Please see if you'd like to help. The general page on how to help GNU is at .
If you have a working or partly working program that you'd like to offer to the GNU project as a GNU package, see .
As always, please feel free to write to me, , with any GNUish questions or suggestions for future installments.
### FSF and other free software events
* August 4-September 7, 2025, online FSF Free Software Every Day photo contest (*details to be announced*) * August 15-17, 2025, Queens, New York [HOPE](https://hope.net/) * October 4, 2025, Boston, Massachusetts [FSF 40 celebration](https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=135) * October 4, 2025, online [FSF40 celebration](https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=136) * October 4, 2025, Harbin, China [Community meetup](https://www.fsf.org/events/community-meetup-harbin-china) * October 12-14, Raleigh, North Carolina [ATO](https://2025.allthingsopen.org/) * November 7-8, Seattle, Washington [SeaGL](https://pretalx.seagl.org/2025/) * November 21-23, 2025, online [FSF hackathon](https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=134)
### Thank GNUs!
We appreciate everyone who donates to the Free Software Foundation, and we'd like to give special recognition to the folks who have donated $500 or more in the last month.
*
This month, a big Thank GNU to:
* Antoine Mercadal * Avi Dullu * Blue Systems * Christian Sperr * Donald Haase * Dwayne Dever * Martin Krafft * Michael Reed * Pablo González Otero * Richard Burgess * The 2A Foundation Inc * Zacchae Us
You can add your name to this list by donating at .
### GNU copyright contributions
Assigning your copyright to the Free Software Foundation helps us defend the GNU GPL and keep software free. The following individuals have assigned their copyright to the FSF (and allowed public appreciation) in the past month:
* Aman Ghodawala (GDB)
Want to see your name on this list? Contribute to GNU and assign your copyright to the FSF.
*
### Translations of the *Free Software Supporter*
El *Free Software Supporter* está disponible en español. Para ver la versión en español haz click aquí:
**Para cambiar las preferencias de usuario y recibir los próximos números del *Supporter* en español, haz click aquí:**
Le *Free Software Supporter* est disponible en français. Pour voir la version française cliquez ici:
**Pour modifier vos préférences et recevoir les prochaines publications du *Supporter* en français, cliquez ici:**
If you no longer wish to receive the *Free Software Supporter* in English (but still receive other communications in English), you can opt out [here][7].
[7]: https://my.fsf.org/node/75
### Take action with the FSF!
Contributions from thousands of individual associate members enable the FSF's work. You can contribute by joining at . If you're already a member, you can help refer new members by adding a line with your member number to your email signature like:
> I'm an FSF member — Help us support software freedom! >
The FSF is always looking for [volunteers](https://www.fsf.org/volunteer). From rabble-rousing to hacking, from issue coordination to envelope stuffing — there's something here for everybody to do. Also, head over to our [campaigns section](https://www.fsf.org/campaigns) and [take action on software patents](https://endsoftwarepatents.org/), [Digital Restrictions Management](https://www.defectivebydesign.org/), [free software adoption](https://libreplanet.org/wiki/Group:Freedom_Ladder), [OpenDocument](https://www.fsf.org/campaigns/opendocument/download), and more.
**Do you read and write Portuguese and English?** The FSF is looking for translators for the *Free Software Supporter*. Please send an email to with your interest and a list of your experience and qualifications. -- Interested in helping us expand our reach?
* Follow us on Mastodon at and PeerTube at , showing your support for federated social networks. * Get active on the LibrePlanet wiki: . * Share on your blog or [social network](https://www.fsf.org/share) that you support us, and why you do so. * Subscribe to our RSS feeds: . * Join us as an associate member: ; and display your membership button () on your website.
Read our Privacy Policy: .
Sent from the Free Software Foundation,
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You can unsubscribe from this mailing list by visiting
https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/mailing/unsubscribe?reset=1&jid=169932&qid=95082493&h=7de404e535c7c5d4. To stop all email from the Free Software Foundation, including Defective by Design, and the Free Software Supporter newsletter, visit
Welcome to the Free Software Supporter, the Free Software Foundation's (FSF) monthly news digest and action update — being read by you and 233,004 other activists.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
August FSF40 challenge: Make plans to celebrate FSF40
4 decades, 4 freedoms, 4 all users
Org Mode, GNU Guix, Mattermost, and more projects to participate in the FSF's hackathon
Our small team vs millions of bots
The Licensing and Compliance Lab, not just holding it down, but pushing back
Missing Skype? Choose freedom and switch to GNU Jami
Meet Miles Wilson, the FSF's summer 2025 campaigns intern
Job opportunity: Deputy director at the Free Software Foundation (part-time exempt)
Job opportunity: Operations assistant at the Free Software Foundation (part-time)
A very warm welcome to 152 new associate members
Member spotlight on… John Kastner!
The software we have to use at work must respect our freedom
You don't own that game (And that app on your phone? Yeah, you don't own that either)
US Army and Navy have both asked for right to repair, now senators want to give it to them
July GNU Emacs news
Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory
LibrePlanet featured resource: Group: FSF/Fight-to-Repair
July GNU Spotlight with Amin Bandali featuring seventeen new GNU releases: Bash, Cflow, and more!
Want to read this newsletter translated into another language? Scroll to the end to read the Supporter in French or Spanish.
August FSF40 challenge: Make plans to celebrate FSF40
Every month during our fortieth anniversary year, we're inviting free software supporters everywhere to join us in celebrating #FSF40. This month, we encourage you to register to attend one (or both) upcoming FSF40 events: the FSF40 celebration in Boston and online on October 4 and the virtual FSF40 hackathon on November 21-23. We're excited for you to join us! If you can't take part in this #FSF40Challenge, fear not — we've got four more coming.
Have an idea for a challenge? Send us a message at campaigns@fsf.org!
4 decades, 4 freedoms, 4 all users
From July 22
We are inviting free software supporters worldwide to join us in celebrating "4 decades, 4 freedoms, 4 all users" in Boston, MA, USA and online on October 4, 2025. The anniversary event, starting at 10:00 EDT (14:00 UTC), is jam-packed with talks and roundtable discussions by leaders in the free software community, with the last discussion ending at 17:30 EDT (21:30 UTC). After a morning and afternoon of engaging talks and discussions for all free software supporters, associate members are invited to participate in the annual associate member meeting from 17:45 to 19:00 EDT (21:45 to 23:00). To round off the birthday festivities, we will be hosting a get together at a local bar for all free software supporters. Register now to attend either the in-person or virtual FSF40 celebration.
Org Mode, GNU Guix, Mattermost, and more projects to participate in the FSF's hackathon
From July 16
We're honoring our roots with an FSF40 hackathon! The FSF40 hackathon, scheduled for November 21-23, 2025, will be centered around important GNU software like Org Mode, GNU Guix, and GNU Boot, with plenty of tasks for both developers and non-programmers. This hackathon will also feature some less-known but remarkable projects, like Lewa (an interactive platform to learn African writing systems) and Don't Track Bugs: Track Valuable Discussions (a tool for helping contributors track bugs, patches, feature requests, and other valuable discussions shared on mailing lists). Check out the full list of projects in the link below and register to participate.
Since the sysadmin team last wrote, much has happened, including increasing aggressiveness of the ongoing distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. The FSF infrastructure has been under DDoS attacks since August 2024. Read more about what kinds of DDoS attacks have been launched against our various services, including gnu.org and directory.fsf.org.
The Licensing and Compliance Lab, not just holding it down, but pushing back
From July 9
There are many excellent strategies for protecting software freedom and furthering its goals, with the GNU General Public License (GPL) being one of the more notable tools. The GPL is the first free software license to effectively secure software freedom, in the past and long into the future. This has allowed the free software movement to flourish over the last forty years. Read on for some recent examples of how the FSF Licensing and Compliance Lab continues to work diligently to defend the GPL and your computer freedom.
Missing Skype? Choose freedom and switch to GNU Jami
From July 31
Microsoft Skype shut down for good on May 5, 2025. Shutdowns like this one or the end of support for Windows 10 are the best time to help people think differently about the tools they rely on for their most crucial communications, and educate our loved ones about software freedom. Often, this involves encouraging them to switch to free communication tools like, for example, GNU Jami, a recipient of the FSF's Award for Projects of Social Benefit. If you've never used Jami before, give it a try next time you want to call friends or family via videochat, or even suggest using it at your workplace.
Meet Miles Wilson, the FSF's summer 2025 campaigns intern
From July 30
Meet our summer campaigns intern, Miles Wilson! This summer, Miles will help plan the upcoming FSF40 celebration and updates to the Defective by Design website. Miles has plenty of personal experience with free software and certainly the motivation to fight against digital restrictions management and other freedom-impeding issues. Get to know Miles and what Miles is hoping to accomplish as an FSF intern.
Job opportunity: Deputy director at the Free Software Foundation (part-time exempt)
From July 30
We're seeking a motivated and talented Boston-area individual to be our next deputy director! Reporting to the executive director (ED), the deputy director (DD) plays a critical role in ensuring the execution of key operational and business functions. This position assists with leading the organization in close partnership with the ED. The ideal candidate is calm under pressure with a proven ability to independently manage multiple moving priorities and stakeholders, attention to detail, rigor, and a positive demeanor. The DD role will be primarily internal-facing. The role is part-time exempt, with exact hours negotiable up to a maximum of four days per week.
Job opportunity: Operations assistant at the Free Software Foundation (part-time)
From July 30
We're seeking a motivated and talented Boston-based individual to be our operations assistant. Reporting to the executive director (ED), the operations assistant (OA) provides administrative support to the FSF's activities and works mainly in coordination with the operations team. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, responsible, self-motivated, and enjoys operations.
Our spring fundraiser has come to an end. Thank you so much for your help in getting us close to our ambitious goal of 200 new members in only a month, and a special thanks to those who continue to renew their support. We're extremely thankful for all of the ways you may have contributed, and it's because of you that we're able to welcome 152 new members to our associate member program in only thirty-two days! If you know someone who might enjoy an FSF associate membership, consider telling them about it or even gifting them one!
As part of our festivities around our fortieth anniversary, we are celebrating individual associate members with our member spotlight series. For our second member spotlight, we spent some time getting to know John Kastner, a free software supporter with years of experience in software development. He has a substantial managerial background and experience in all levels of direct involvement, from requirements to research to design, development, implementation, and delivery, and has personally written hundreds of thousands of lines of code and produced over twenty-five professional publications. Read on to learn about John's experiences with free software.
The software we have to use at work must respect our freedom
From July 10
Many people are forced to use nonfree software to fulfill the requirements of their job descriptions. Software freedom is a human right. Every human being deserves to have the freedom to run, study, modify, and share the software they use. Instead of the freedom-robbing programs used for documentation and communication, your employers could and should opt for software that grants these same four freedoms. If you currently use proprietary software to carry out work tasks, talk with your manager about what these proprietary programs really cost and why they should transition to free software (if you feel comfortable doing so).
You don't own that game (And that app on your phone? Yeah, you don't own that either)
From July 24 by Hazem Abbas
1.4 million EU citizens have so far declared that they're tired of purchasing a digital good with none of the rights that come with true ownership in a recent petition. For far too long, users have been controlled by digital restrictions management, a practice that imposes artificial restrictions on what users are able to do with their digital media. When you purchase something, you should have the rights to do what you want with it, instead of being told by the proprietor that you can't share it with anyone or modify it, and that it might not actually be yours in a couple years if the proprietor decides to erase it from existence. If you're an EU citizen, tell the European Commission that EU citizens deserve the right to truly own the digital tools they purchase.
US Army and Navy have both asked for right to repair, now senators want to give it to them
From July 8 by Brandon Vigliarolo
The right to repair movement continues to grow in popularity, as evidenced by a recent bill introduced in the United States Senate aimed at enshrining the US Army's right to repair policy into federal law across military branches. Unrepairability is a symptom of a critical lack of freedom. When software isn't free, we are blocked from studying it and modifying (or repairing) it. Even if we somehow find a way around all the constraints put in place by the proprietor, we aren't allowed to share these improvements with others to help them repair or upgrade their device as either. If you're new to the right to repair movement, or need help explaining it to someone, check out our video on it below.
Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory
Tens of thousands of people visit directory.fsf.org each month to discover free software. Each entry in the Directory contains a wealth of useful information, from basic category and descriptions to version control, IRC channels, documentation, and licensing. The Free Software Directory has been a great resource to software users over the past decade, but it needs your help staying up-to-date with new and exciting free software projects.
To help, join our weekly IRC meetings on Fridays. Meetings take place in the #fsf channel on Libera.Chat and usually include a handful of regulars as well as newcomers. Libera.Chat is accessible from any IRC client — Everyone's welcome!
LibrePlanet featured resource: Group: FSF/Fight-to-Repair
Every month on the LibrePlanet wiki, we highlight one resource that is interesting and useful — often one that could use your help.
For this month, we are highlighting the Group: FSF/Fight-to-Repair resource. On this page, you can find information breaking down the right to repair movement, the FSF's work campaigning for it (Fight to Repair), and developments in legislation. You are invited to help update, adopt, spread, and improve this important resource.
To download: nearly all GNU software is available most reliably from https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/. Optionally, you may find faster download speeds at a mirror located geographically closer to you by choosing from the list of mirrors published at https://www.gnu.org/prep/ftp.html, or you may use https://ftpmirror.gnu.org/ to be automatically redirected to a (hopefully) nearby and up-to-date mirror.
We appreciate everyone who donates to the Free Software Foundation, and we'd like to give special recognition to the folks who have donated $500 or more in the last month.
Assigning your copyright to the Free Software Foundation helps us defend the GNU GPL and keep software free. The following individuals have assigned their copyright to the FSF (and allowed public appreciation) in the past month:
Aman Ghodawala (GDB)
Want to see your name on this list? Contribute to GNU and assign your copyright to the FSF.
If you no longer wish to receive the Free Software Supporter in English (but still receive other communications in English), you can opt out here.
Take action with the FSF!
Contributions from thousands of individual associate members enable the FSF's work. You can contribute by joining at https://my.fsf.org/join. If you're already a member, you can help refer new members by adding a line with your member number to your email signature like:
Do you read and write Portuguese and English? The FSF is looking for translators for the Free Software Supporter. Please send an email to campaigns@fsf.org with your interest and a list of your experience and qualifications.
Welcome to the Free Software Supporter, the Free Software Foundation's (FSF) monthly news digest and action update — being read by you and 233,004 other activists.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
August FSF40 challenge: Make plans to celebrate FSF40
4 decades, 4 freedoms, 4 all users
Org Mode, GNU Guix, Mattermost, and more projects to participate in the FSF's hackathon
Our small team vs millions of bots
The Licensing and Compliance Lab, not just holding it down, but pushing back
Missing Skype? Choose freedom and switch to GNU Jami
Meet Miles Wilson, the FSF's summer 2025 campaigns intern
Job opportunity: Deputy director at the Free Software Foundation (part-time exempt)
Job opportunity: Operations assistant at the Free Software Foundation (part-time)
A very warm welcome to 152 new associate members
Member spotlight on… John Kastner!
The software we have to use at work must respect our freedom
You don't own that game (And that app on your phone? Yeah, you don't own that either)
US Army and Navy have both asked for right to repair, now senators want to give it to them
July GNU Emacs news
Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory
LibrePlanet featured resource: Group: FSF/Fight-to-Repair
July GNU Spotlight with Amin Bandali featuring seventeen new GNU releases: Bash, Cflow, and more!
Want to read this newsletter translated into another language? Scroll to the end to read the Supporter in French or Spanish.
August FSF40 challenge: Make plans to celebrate FSF40
Every month during our fortieth anniversary year, we're inviting free software supporters everywhere to join us in celebrating #FSF40. This month, we encourage you to register to attend one (or both) upcoming FSF40 events: the FSF40 celebration in Boston and online on October 4 and the virtual FSF40 hackathon on November 21-23. We're excited for you to join us! If you can't take part in this #FSF40Challenge, fear not — we've got four more coming.
Have an idea for a challenge? Send us a message at campaigns@fsf.org!
4 decades, 4 freedoms, 4 all users
From July 22
We are inviting free software supporters worldwide to join us in celebrating "4 decades, 4 freedoms, 4 all users" in Boston, MA, USA and online on October 4, 2025. The anniversary event, starting at 10:00 EDT (14:00 UTC), is jam-packed with talks and roundtable discussions by leaders in the free software community, with the last discussion ending at 17:30 EDT (21:30 UTC). After a morning and afternoon of engaging talks and discussions for all free software supporters, associate members are invited to participate in the annual associate member meeting from 17:45 to 19:00 EDT (21:45 to 23:00). To round off the birthday festivities, we will be hosting a get together at a local bar for all free software supporters. Register now to attend either the in-person or virtual FSF40 celebration.
Org Mode, GNU Guix, Mattermost, and more projects to participate in the FSF's hackathon
From July 16
We're honoring our roots with an FSF40 hackathon! The FSF40 hackathon, scheduled for November 21-23, 2025, will be centered around important GNU software like Org Mode, GNU Guix, and GNU Boot, with plenty of tasks for both developers and non-programmers. This hackathon will also feature some less-known but remarkable projects, like Lewa (an interactive platform to learn African writing systems) and Don't Track Bugs: Track Valuable Discussions (a tool for helping contributors track bugs, patches, feature requests, and other valuable discussions shared on mailing lists). Check out the full list of projects in the link below and register to participate.
Since the sysadmin team last wrote, much has happened, including increasing aggressiveness of the ongoing distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. The FSF infrastructure has been under DDoS attacks since August 2024. Read more about what kinds of DDoS attacks have been launched against our various services, including gnu.org and directory.fsf.org.
The Licensing and Compliance Lab, not just holding it down, but pushing back
From July 9
There are many excellent strategies for protecting software freedom and furthering its goals, with the GNU General Public License (GPL) being one of the more notable tools. The GPL is the first free software license to effectively secure software freedom, in the past and long into the future. This has allowed the free software movement to flourish over the last forty years. Read on for some recent examples of how the FSF Licensing and Compliance Lab continues to work diligently to defend the GPL and your computer freedom.
Missing Skype? Choose freedom and switch to GNU Jami
From July 31
Microsoft Skype shut down for good on May 5, 2025. Shutdowns like this one or the end of support for Windows 10 are the best time to help people think differently about the tools they rely on for their most crucial communications, and educate our loved ones about software freedom. Often, this involves encouraging them to switch to free communication tools like, for example, GNU Jami, a recipient of the FSF's Award for Projects of Social Benefit. If you've never used Jami before, give it a try next time you want to call friends or family via videochat, or even suggest using it at your workplace.
Meet Miles Wilson, the FSF's summer 2025 campaigns intern
From July 30
Meet our summer campaigns intern, Miles Wilson! This summer, Miles will help plan the upcoming FSF40 celebration and updates to the Defective by Design website. Miles has plenty of personal experience with free software and certainly the motivation to fight against digital restrictions management and other freedom-impeding issues. Get to know Miles and what Miles is hoping to accomplish as an FSF intern.
Job opportunity: Deputy director at the Free Software Foundation (part-time exempt)
From July 30
We're seeking a motivated and talented Boston-area individual to be our next deputy director! Reporting to the executive director (ED), the deputy director (DD) plays a critical role in ensuring the execution of key operational and business functions. This position assists with leading the organization in close partnership with the ED. The ideal candidate is calm under pressure with a proven ability to independently manage multiple moving priorities and stakeholders, attention to detail, rigor, and a positive demeanor. The DD role will be primarily internal-facing. The role is part-time exempt, with exact hours negotiable up to a maximum of four days per week.
Job opportunity: Operations assistant at the Free Software Foundation (part-time)
From July 30
We're seeking a motivated and talented Boston-based individual to be our operations assistant. Reporting to the executive director (ED), the operations assistant (OA) provides administrative support to the FSF's activities and works mainly in coordination with the operations team. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, responsible, self-motivated, and enjoys operations.
Our spring fundraiser has come to an end. Thank you so much for your help in getting us close to our ambitious goal of 200 new members in only a month, and a special thanks to those who continue to renew their support. We're extremely thankful for all of the ways you may have contributed, and it's because of you that we're able to welcome 152 new members to our associate member program in only thirty-two days! If you know someone who might enjoy an FSF associate membership, consider telling them about it or even gifting them one!
As part of our festivities around our fortieth anniversary, we are celebrating individual associate members with our member spotlight series. For our second member spotlight, we spent some time getting to know John Kastner, a free software supporter with years of experience in software development. He has a substantial managerial background and experience in all levels of direct involvement, from requirements to research to design, development, implementation, and delivery, and has personally written hundreds of thousands of lines of code and produced over twenty-five professional publications. Read on to learn about John's experiences with free software.
The software we have to use at work must respect our freedom
From July 10
Many people are forced to use nonfree software to fulfill the requirements of their job descriptions. Software freedom is a human right. Every human being deserves to have the freedom to run, study, modify, and share the software they use. Instead of the freedom-robbing programs used for documentation and communication, your employers could and should opt for software that grants these same four freedoms. If you currently use proprietary software to carry out work tasks, talk with your manager about what these proprietary programs really cost and why they should transition to free software (if you feel comfortable doing so).
You don't own that game (And that app on your phone? Yeah, you don't own that either)
From July 24 by Hazem Abbas
1.4 million EU citizens have so far declared that they're tired of purchasing a digital good with none of the rights that come with true ownership in a recent petition. For far too long, users have been controlled by digital restrictions management, a practice that imposes artificial restrictions on what users are able to do with their digital media. When you purchase something, you should have the rights to do what you want with it, instead of being told by the proprietor that you can't share it with anyone or modify it, and that it might not actually be yours in a couple years if the proprietor decides to erase it from existence. If you're an EU citizen, tell the European Commission that EU citizens deserve the right to truly own the digital tools they purchase.
US Army and Navy have both asked for right to repair, now senators want to give it to them
From July 8 by Brandon Vigliarolo
The right to repair movement continues to grow in popularity, as evidenced by a recent bill introduced in the United States Senate aimed at enshrining the US Army's right to repair policy into federal law across military branches. Unrepairability is a symptom of a critical lack of freedom. When software isn't free, we are blocked from studying it and modifying (or repairing) it. Even if we somehow find a way around all the constraints put in place by the proprietor, we aren't allowed to share these improvements with others to help them repair or upgrade their device as either. If you're new to the right to repair movement, or need help explaining it to someone, check out our video on it below.
Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory
Tens of thousands of people visit directory.fsf.org each month to discover free software. Each entry in the Directory contains a wealth of useful information, from basic category and descriptions to version control, IRC channels, documentation, and licensing. The Free Software Directory has been a great resource to software users over the past decade, but it needs your help staying up-to-date with new and exciting free software projects.
To help, join our weekly IRC meetings on Fridays. Meetings take place in the #fsf channel on Libera.Chat and usually include a handful of regulars as well as newcomers. Libera.Chat is accessible from any IRC client — Everyone's welcome!
LibrePlanet featured resource: Group: FSF/Fight-to-Repair
Every month on the LibrePlanet wiki, we highlight one resource that is interesting and useful — often one that could use your help.
For this month, we are highlighting the Group: FSF/Fight-to-Repair resource. On this page, you can find information breaking down the right to repair movement, the FSF's work campaigning for it (Fight to Repair), and developments in legislation. You are invited to help update, adopt, spread, and improve this important resource.
To download: nearly all GNU software is available most reliably from https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/. Optionally, you may find faster download speeds at a mirror located geographically closer to you by choosing from the list of mirrors published at https://www.gnu.org/prep/ftp.html, or you may use https://ftpmirror.gnu.org/ to be automatically redirected to a (hopefully) nearby and up-to-date mirror.
We appreciate everyone who donates to the Free Software Foundation, and we'd like to give special recognition to the folks who have donated $500 or more in the last month.
Assigning your copyright to the Free Software Foundation helps us defend the GNU GPL and keep software free. The following individuals have assigned their copyright to the FSF (and allowed public appreciation) in the past month:
Aman Ghodawala (GDB)
Want to see your name on this list? Contribute to GNU and assign your copyright to the FSF.
If you no longer wish to receive the Free Software Supporter in English (but still receive other communications in English), you can opt out here.
Take action with the FSF!
Contributions from thousands of individual associate members enable the FSF's work. You can contribute by joining at https://my.fsf.org/join. If you're already a member, you can help refer new members by adding a line with your member number to your email signature like:
Do you read and write Portuguese and English? The FSF is looking for translators for the Free Software Supporter. Please send an email to campaigns@fsf.org with your interest and a list of your experience and qualifications.
