In 2012 the FSF published human- and machine-readable recommendations for labeling the license and source information for JavaScript (JS) programs on the Web. In addition to recommending the use of license and source tags for comment fields, we also encourage sites to maintain a single page of JavaScript License Web Labels, which contains a table with three columns with links to the (minified) JS file used on a given page, the license of that JS program, and the source code of that program. On each page that uses JavaScript, we encourage people to include a link to the labels page, and within the HTML link, to make use of a machine-readable attribute/value combination of rel="jslicense". For example, the footer of fsf.org has the following HTML:

<a href="https://weblabels.fsf.org/www.fsf.org/CURRENT/" rel="jslicense">JavaScript Licenses</a></pre>

The rel="jslicense" attribute allows tools, such as GNU LibreJS, to know where to find the labels page to determine if each JS file being served is free software, and if it is, then to allow your browser to download and run that program.

Unfortunately, when we first published our web labels recommendation, one problem web developers encountered was the fact that rel="jslicense" attribute was not considered "valid" HTML5, and so tools such as W3C's Markup Validation Service would return an error stating that the rel="jslicense" tag was invalid attribute. However, earlier this month, we were able to get rel="jslicense" to become a rel value that is considered valid HTML5.

To get rel="jslicense" recognized as a valid HTML5 link type, we needed to get it listed on the existing-rel-values page of the Microformats.org wiki. Specifically, the W3C's HTML5 specification states that link types defined as extensions in the Microformats.org wiki page with the status "proposed" or "ratified" may be used with the rel attribute on <link>, <a>, and <area> tags. So, in 2014, we submitted our "jslicense" rel-value for review on Microformats.org, and then after some conversations with Microformats.org administrators and showing that various sites were actually making use of "jslicense" rel-value, the good folks at Microformats.org listed "jslicense" as a valid (i.e. "proposed") HTML5 link type extension.

Special thanks to Tantek Çelik of Microformats.org for taking the time to give us feedback on our proposal and for ultimately adding it as a proposed value.

We recently announced a 30th birthday party for the Free Software Foundation, to be held in Boston, Massachusetts on the evening of Saturday, October 3rd. What better way to celebrate three decades fighting for computer user freedom? If you're planning to join the celebration, with hors d'oeuvres, drinks, an address by FSF founder and president Richard Stallman, and lots of birthday fun, RSVP now! The party has a limited capacity, and many free software supporters have already let us know they'll be attending.

If you're attending and want to brag about it on social media, use the hashtag #FSF30.

But that's not all -- we're also holding a Free Software User Summit in the daytime, before the party. The theme of the summit is "Thirty Years, Four Freedoms," and it will feature sessions for longtime free software fans and those who are new to free software. Stay tuned for more details on the User Summit, including session information and registration.

Bookmark the event homepage for lodging suggestions and more information about the summit and other festivities that weekend, coming soon.

Join our worldwide party network!

We know that not every free software fan will join us in person in Boston -- so we're hosting a party network where you can promote your own party (we'll even offer some ideas for making your event lots of fun!) We'll have a livestream of the Boston party, and welcome photos and reports from your own parties, too!

Support our work for computer user freedom

Our supporters have made our thirty wonderful years possible -- and we're on the hunt for 800 new members who will help us build the next thirty years. We're more than halfway to our goal: will you put us over the top by becoming an associate member? Members get special benefits, including gratis admission to our LibrePlanet conference each spring.

If you'd rather not become a member, you can also help by making a donation when you RSVP, or on our regular donation page.

Volunteer or sponsor

If you are interested in helping out at the summit or the party, we welcome you! In addition to setting up the venue and greeting guests, we need people with skills in free software livestreaming. All volunteers will receive a special reverse birthday gift from us to you.

The FSF is also seeking general event, beverage, or food sponsors. To sponsor or recommend a sponsor, or to volunteer, reply to this email.

See you in October!

• binutils-2.25.1
• coreutils-8.24
• denemo-1.2.4
• ed-1.12
• gcc-5.2.0
• gettext-0.19.5.1
• gnucash-2.6.7
• gnupg-2.1.6
• gnutls-3.4.3
• icecat-31.8.0-gnu1
• libidn-1.31
• libunistring-0.9.6
• nano-2.4.2
• screen-4.3.1
• texinfo-6.0
• tramp-2.2.12
• ucommon-6.3.5
• unifont-8.0.01

For announcements of most new GNU releases, subscribe to the info-gnu mailing list: https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/info-gnu.

To download: nearly all GNU software is available from https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/, or preferably one of its mirrors from https://www.gnu.org/prep/ftp.html. You can use the url https://ftpmirror.gnu.org/ to be automatically redirected to a (hopefully) nearby and up-to-date mirror.

This month, we welcome Assaf Gordon as a new comaintainer of GNU Coreutils.

A number of GNU packages, as well as the GNU operating system as a whole, are looking for maintainers and other assistance: please see https://www.gnu.org/server/takeaction.html#unmaint if you'd like to help. The general page on how to help GNU is at https://www.gnu.org/help/help.html.

If you have a working or partly working program that you'd like to offer to the GNU project as a GNU package, see https://www.gnu.org/help/evaluation.html.

As always, please feel free to write to us at maintainers@gnu.org with any GNUish questions or suggestions for future installments.

This guest post was submitted by Ole Tange, maintainer of GNU Parallel.

I am the maintainer of a piece of free software called GNU Parallel. Free software guarantees you access to the source code, but I have been wondering how many actually read the source code.

To test this I put in a comment telling people to email me when they read this. The comment was put in a section of the code that no one would look to fix or improve the software -- so, the source code equivalent to a dusty corner. To make sure the comment would not show up if some one just grepped through the source code I rot13'ed the source code.

Two-and-a-half months later I received an email from someone who not only managed to find the comment, but also managed to guess the code had to be rot13'ed.

The first cookie was released on January 24, 2011 and was won by AEvar Arnfjord Bjarmason on April 10, 2011.

I inserted a new cookie on August 18, 2013, that was a bit harder as you would have to use rot14. On July 19, 2015 Mark Maimone won that cookie.

This brings me to the conclusion that there are people who are not affiliated with the project who will read the source code -- though it may not happen very often.

Join the Free Software Foundation and friends in Boston, MA, USA on the evening of Saturday, October 3rd for our 30th Birthday Party. We'll share hors d'oeuvres, drinks, and an address by FSF founder and president Richard Stallman, as well as plenty of social time for catching up with old friends and making new ones.

RSVP now! If you want to brag about it on social media, use the hashtag #FSF30.

If the free software movement is coming together for a party, we might as well get some work done, too. We're planning a mini-conference for the day of October 3rd, before the party, where we'll share what we've learned from the first thirty years of the free software movement and swap ideas about the future. Stay tuned for more details about this, as well as a possible dinner on Friday night.

Bookmark the event homepage for lodging suggestions and more information about the mini-conference and other festivities that weekend, coming soon.

Not coming to Boston?

We've been flattered by supporters around the world asking to hold their own local events for the FSF's birthday. Of course! We'd even love to write about it, or come up with a creative way of connecting it to the event in Boston. Contact us at campaigns@fsf.org if you're interested.

We also intend to stream the event and post videos online afterwards.

Support our work for computer user freedom

Our supporters have made our thirty wonderful years possible. By becoming an associate member you'll help us achieve even more in the next thirty. Members also get special benefits, including gratis admission to our LibrePlanet conference each spring.

If you'd rather not become a member, you can also help by making a donation when you RSVP, or on our donation page.

Volunteer or sponsor

If you are interested in helping out at the mini-conference or the party, we welcome you! In addition to setting up the venue and greeting guests, we need people with skills in free software livestreaming. All volunteers will receive a special reverse birthday gift from us to you.

The FSF is also seeking general event, beer, or food sponsors. To sponsor or recommend a sponsor, or to volunteer, reply to this email.

Also, we'd like to introduce Georgia Young, our newest FSF staffer, in the role of program manager. Georgia is planning the thirtieth birthday events, so expect to hear more from her soon.

See you in October!

Read the New Yorker Article, The GNU Manifesto Turns Thirty by Maria Bustillos.