Free Software Foundation membership (Fwd: Help us get twenty-five more associate members by July 28)

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jc@tlo

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Jul 21, 2023, 7:56:50 PM7/21/23
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You know how I try to use and promote mostly free software.

Here is a call from the Free Software Foundation that's looking for new associate members (I am one).

What the FSF does is important. Don't hesitate to join.

Jean-Christophe 

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Miriam Bastian, FSF" <in...@fsf.org>
Subject: Help us get twenty-five more associate members by July 28
Date: July 22, 2023 6:41:49 JST
To: Jean-Christophe HELARY <jean.christ...@traduction-libre.org>
Reply-To: "Miriam Bastian, FSF" <in...@fsf.org>

*Please consider adding <in...@fsf.org> to your address book, which
will ensure that our messages reach you and not your spam box!*

*Read and share online: <https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/help-us-get-twenty-five-more-associate-members-by-july-28>*


Dear Jean-Christophe HELARY,

**We are extending the membership drive until July 28. Together with
your help, we are confident that we can reach our goal of twenty-five
more associate members.**

Thank you for your relentless support as an associate member of the
Free Software Foundation (FSF)! It gives us the strength in numbers we
need to continue our work *and* take on the challenging developments
where we need to take a stance.

**Your associate membership can inspire others just like you to take
important steps toward software freedom.** Can you ask a friend of
yours to join us? If you want to give them a treat you can also [gift
a membership][4].

[4]: https://www.fsf.org/associate/gift?mtm_campaign=spring23&mtm_source=extension

We are immensely grateful for all the donations we received, the
members who renewed their support, and the new members who signed up
during our membership drive from June 26 to July 21. However, we did
not achieve our goal. One reason is that we are currently left with
one fewer channel, one with more than 50,000 followers to whom we can
spread the free software message. This is because of some unfortunate
choices made by Twitter. Since May 18, our attempts to [post to
Twitter from both our special command line script and Choqok][8] --
the two methods we had previously developed to avoid the web client's
[nonfree JavaScript][9] -- have failed, and have continued to fail. We
are [not the only ones affected][10]. We are still trying to determine
whether we can continue posting to Twitter while abiding by our
principles. In the meantime, we have been left without one important
avenue for reaching our audience at an inopportune time.

Now, we need your help more than ever to spread the word. If you are
on social media, please work with us to improve and spread free
software and [share the message][11] using the hashtag
#WorkingTogether. If you write for a blog, please consider mentioning
our work as well as the membership drive. And whether or not you're on
social media or write for a blog, please continue to share the free
software message via word of mouth.

[8]: https://www.fsf.org/twitter
[9]: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/javascript-trap.html
[10]: https://twittercommunity.com/t/announcing-new-access-tiers-for-the-twitter-api/188728
[11]:https://www.fsf.org/share?u=fsf.org/appeal&t=%20Let%27s%20work%20together%20to%20improve%20and%20spread%20free%20software.%20Free%20software%20needs%20a%20strong%20community,%20made%20up%20of%20people%20just%20like%20you.%20Join%20the%20FSF%20by%20July%2021%20#WorkingTogether

In general, the FSF has faced immense challenges these last years, and
this year has been no different. We still see a lot of hesitation for
people to travel and meet up, and inflation has increased globally. It
has made it hard for many people to pay for even their most basic
needs, and unfortunately people's admirable continuation of charitable
giving does not balance the declining value of money and increased
expenses.

We won't let things get us down. We will extend the membership drive
until July 28. Together with your help, we are confident that we can
get twenty-five more associate members in that week. The bigger the
community of FSF associate members the bigger is our reach. The
associate member program started in November of 2002 to maintain the
core work of the free software movement. Back then, just as today, the
FSF wanted to be sustained by the community we serve. As of today,
membership dues make up most of the FSF's operational costs, and it is
notable that the fee for our membership dues have not changed in over
twenty years. Without members we would not be able to carry out the
important work the FSF does for the free software movement.

Working together with our beloved associate members, fantastic
volunteers, and groundbreaking projects, the FSF is achieving much
more than one would think that twelve staff members and a small board
could do. Over the last few weeks, we have reported on some aspects of
this work, like our latest [GNU Press summer swag][12], how our
copyright & licensing associate Craig Topham is [working together with
free software developers, lawyers, and volunteers for free software
licensing][13], as well as the [work the FSF tech team is doing behind
the scenes][14]. We completed the first round of the [FSF board
candidate evaluations][15] and are delighted to have seen a lively
discussion with more than 1,100 posts.

[12]: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/gnu-press/keep-cool-with-gnu-summer-swag
[13]: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/working-together-for-free-software-licensing
[14]: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/look-behind-the-scenes-of-the-fsf-tech-team
[15]: https://www.fsf.org/news/the-fsf-board-candidate-discussions-will-start-on-may-29

Furthermore, we recorded a short [tour through our GNU Press shop][16]
for those of you who can't visit us on site but have always wanted to
see, where the things you can order at [shop.fsf.org][17] are coming
from. In addition, we hosted a [Kdenlive workshop][18] and will be
hosting a ["LibrePlanet Wiki Edit Fest"][19], where we will work
together to improve an important resource for the free software
community.

[16]: https://framatube.org/w/pTAWb2UNUxaipb6qZ7vmH7
[17]: https://shop.fsf.org/
[18]: https://www.fsf.org/events/workshop-video-editing-with-kdenlive
[19]: https://www.fsf.org/events/libreplanet-wiki-edit-fest-is-on-july-26-come-join-us

We can do even more if you help us extend our membership base and gain
more members who support our work to improve and spread free software.
Together, as the free software community, we've already had a
tremendous impact on freedom in the digital world. However, we still
have a long way ahead to achieve full software freedom. Together, I
know we can do it.

In freedom,  

Miriam Bastian  
Program Manager  

--
* Follow us on Mastodon at <https://hostux.social/@fsf>, GNU social at
 <https://status.fsf.org/fsf>, PeerTube at <https://framatube.org/accounts/fsf/video-channels>, and on Twitter at @fsf.
* Read about why we use Twitter, but only with caveats: <https://www.fsf.org/twitter>
* Subscribe to our RSS feeds: <https://fsf.org/blogs/RSS>
* Join us as an associate member: <https://www.fsf.org/jf>
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Sent from the Free Software Foundation,

51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02110-1335
United States


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