Do you believe that free software is crucial to a free society? Do you want to help people learn why free software matters, and how to use it? Do you want to dig deep into software freedom issues like copyleft, Digital Restrictions Management (DRM), or surveillance and encryption? Or, do you want to learn systems administration, design, or other tasks using only free software?

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is looking for interns to spend the summer contributing to work in one of three areas: campaigns, licensing, or with our tech team.

While in-office intern positions here in Boston are typically preferred, due to COVID-19, this summer the FSF is only hosting remote interns. As such, applicants from anywhere in the world will be considered.

These positions are unpaid, but the FSF will provide any appropriate documentation you might need to receive funding and school credit from outside sources. We place an emphasis on providing hands-on educational opportunities for interns, in which they work closely with staff mentors on projects that match their skills and interest.

Interns can choose from the following fields of work:

• Campaigns team interns might focus on privacy, encryption, or expanding and updating our outreach; they also might assist in preparations for the 2020 International Day Against DRM.

• Licensing team interns might assist with the Respects Your Freedom hardware product certification program. Or, they might work to improve the Free Software Directory, or analyze the compatibility of other licenses with the GPL.

• Tech team interns may choose from our current list of projects, including the new plan to to launch a public code hosting and collaboration platform, or "forge," or suggest an idea of their own. A past tech team intern did extensive work to set up a GNU social instance; others created HUBAngl for easy video streaming, worked on porting LibreJS to WebExtensions, penetration tested our network, researched Ceph distributed object storage, and researched the freedom status of single-board computers.

Summer internships have a flexible beginning, with possible start dates as early as June, and typically run for a period of twelve weeks. The deadline to apply is May 10, 2020.

To apply, send a letter of interest and a resume with two references to hiring@fsf.org. Please send all application materials in free software-friendly formats like .pdf, .odt, and .txt. Use "Summer internship application" as the subject line of your email. Please include links to your writing, design, or coding work if it applies -- personal, professional, or class work is acceptable. URLs are preferred, though email attachments in free formats are acceptable, too. Learn more about our internships, and direct any questions to info@fsf.org.

For the first time ever, LibrePlanet 2020 was a fully virtual conference due to ongoing issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic. In our last week of preparations before the live event, increasingly disturbing news related to the virus made us realize we could not responsibly hold our usual conference on software freedom in person while protecting the safety of our participants and their communities. So we turned everything around to eventually bring 35 free software presentations to our community through the filter of a computer screen. After the conference, we had many people writing to ask us for more details about what we used to do it, so we wanted to take this opportunity to share how we were able to create a fully free interactive and educational virtual experience.

LibrePlanet 2020 videos were recorded from the livestream, and they will be posted online soon. For the sessions that are not too dependent on the visual information from the slides, we'll also be providing the audiostreams via an RSS feed for anyone to listen to while they exercise, bake, garden, or seek distraction from very stressful times.

The setup

Because our community is an international one, we have been streaming our event online for years using fully free software. Thankfully, the tech team could build on this experience to make sure that we delivered a smooth online conference. Previously, we used HUBAngl, which was developed specifically for LibrePlanet, by Free Software Foundation (FSF) intern David Teste. It fetches audio and/or video input streams, and then streams to the Icecast streaming server. The streams that are broadcasted and stored can be audio-only, video-only, or both at once.

In 2016, we gained some livestreaming experience when we interviewed Edward Snowden live from Moscow. To minimize the risk of failed recordings due to overly complex or error-prone software systems, we made it a priority to achieve a pipeline with low latency, good image quality, and low CPU usage. The application we used then was Jitsi Meet, and the tech info and scripts we used for streaming from 2016 are available for your information and inspiration.

Naturally, for this year, with no time for researching other applications, we opted to build on our experience with Jitsi Meet. We hosted our own instance for remote speakers to connect to and enter a video call with the conference organizers. A screen capture of this call was then simultaneously recorded by the FSF tech team, and streamed out to the world via Gstreamer and Icecast. Some parts of the Jitsi Meet configuration were set up differently than suggested to bypass recommendations of nonfree services or software. In the days following the conference, we have already improved the script we used for streaming your screen or window, and it is free for you to use and adapt.

At the time of the conference, it was still considered safe to have a small number of people together, so we were able to have some of our staff and volunteers in the office. Speakers called in to a dedicated digital conference room for their session, where they were assisted by a room monitor and a tech team member who coordinated the session together. The call was received on a local monitor in the office. Our three digital conference rooms all had similar streaming setups, with the local monitor being broadcast through Gstreamer to Icecast. The desktops used were ASUS KGPE-D16 motherboards with Libreboot; this hardware has previously also been certified under the Respects Your Freedom (RYF) certification program.

When everyone was ready and everything worked, they would start the stream. All speakers were asked to deliver their slides in advance. That way, if a presenter had trouble sharing their screen with Jitsi Meet, the slides could be loaded from the FSF server and controlled by the tech team member in charge of coordinating that digital conference room as a backup solution. In some exceptional cases, like major time differences or panel coordination challenges, the talk was pre-recorded. If so, it was played locally on the machine with the mpv video player.

Interactivity

We hosted interactive IRC sessions on the Freenode network. In addition to a private channel to communicate directly with the speakers about technical issues, we had a general #libreplanet channel, and additional channels for every conference "room." In these rooms, the speakers connected directly to the audience to field questions and join the conversation. We enlisted volunteers to monitor the rooms for safe space policy issues, but the audience was so great and enthusiastic that we did not have a single issue!

Each year at LibrePlanet, we've facilitated a self-organized meeting of associate members who discuss the FSF's work and opportunities, and share their feedback and ideas with us afterward. We didn't want to miss out on this year's feedback, so we moved the member meeting online as well. This required more conversational communication and note taking, so we opted for a combination of Etherpad for note taking and written feedback, Mumble for voice communication, and the use of the dedicated IRC channel.

Issues and improvements

We had only a week to select and and optimize our streaming setup, but the experience itself taught us a lot. If given the opportunity, or for those of you now bringing your event online, some things we would do differently are:

• We would set up a continuous stream and insert the session into this; this would relieve the need to refresh between sessions and improve the viewer experience.

• It is important to notify speakers of bandwidth used by the streaming. Make sure they test their connection or have dedicated Internet lines. This is especially important with the international connections, as they showed to be more unreliable than local connections; this presented itself mostly in connection issues, and in difficulties with sharing the presentation screen.

• For a better experience for people on the move, or to experience the event via mobile, we advise the deployment of audio-only feeds and a lower bandwidth alternative feed for the videos.

• The FSF tech team is currently experimenting with Big Blue Button and Canvas for interactive streaming that allows for video, slide sharing, and instant chat. We will post about our work with these applications soon as well, and they are worth considering if you are planning a conference, interactive video session, or online meeting.

Conclusion

Hosting your conference freely is absolutely possible. You do not have to compromise freedom when you want to connect to your community, and you most certainly do not have to settle for proprietary software to help you communicate. You can read more about this subject in our recently published article Better than Zoom: Try these free software tools for staying in touch, join the conversation on the remote communication email list, or contribute to our evolving list of remote communication tools on the LibrePlanet wiki.

If you have an upcoming event and are interested in a freedom-respecting setup, but need a hand, you can email us at info@fsf.org and we might be able to help. In recent weeks, the FSF technical and campaigns teams have spent a lot of time working on and communicating about free communication tools. If you want to support our work in this space, and help us improve our setup to develop more remote solutions, please consider becoming an associate member, or making a donation.

Hi, everyone! My name is Leonardo Luca Vignini. I was born and still live in Italy, in a city called Imola, near Bologna. Currently, I'm an intern at the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and, in particular, I'm working in the campaigns team. I'm learning how to manage contacts with CiviCRM, and I write to journalists and organizations to inform them about our campaigns, and I'm learning how the FSF works to spread the word and sensitize people about free software. Through these activities, I'm also deepening my understanding of some aspects about free software that I didn't know. For example, I checked some parts of the Defective by Design Web site, and it was an excellent opportunity to inform me further about Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) and the campaign against it.

I learned about free software during the first year of university, thanks to a friend of mine who had been using GNU/Linux for some time. I have a degree in philosophy, and I'm currently studying political science. My main interests are studying developing countries, politics, technology, and philosophy; in my spare time, I dedicate myself to cinema and music. I have experience in the field of information and nonprofits, having worked at some newspapers and at some nonprofit organizations of which I am still a member.

I certainly cannot say that in Italy there is a lot of sensitivity regarding software ethics, and I certainly cannot say it was discussed in places where I grew up or at the schools and institutions that I attended. Since I started following the free software movement, I have never known about events or projects related to it happening near me. And of course the schools and institutions that I attended have never talked about or promoted free software. The only and few initiatives of this type that I learned of took place in the biggest Italian cities, like Milan or Turin.

Software freedom attracted me from a theoretical point of view rather than a technical one. In fact, everyone can be involved and talk about free software, even those like me who have only basic technical skills. What convinced me was therefore the message of freedom and collaboration at the base of the movement. I think it is the best tool to face great challenges, such as problems related to privacy, the "Internet of Things," and AI.

I believe that the strength of free software lies precisely in the fact that anyone can collaborate, even those without technical skills. In this sense, collaborating means sharing and helping others to know more about the world, raising awareness, and helping them. As for me, after getting to know free software I tried to fully understand what it was about by reading books and articles, and watching videos. After becoming an associate member of the FSF, I immediately tried to become an activist in my small way, and I started doing it in the simplest and most immediate way: talking about it with people. It was incredible to see how many people share the things the FSF says, and how that helps people to decide to change their technological habits, for example, by installing a GNU/Linux distribution or choosing to use applications with free licenses on their smartphones. This made me understand that the issues addressed by the free software movement are shared by many people everywhere. Therefore, it is essential to inform and sensitize people globally through events, conferences, campaigns, and interventions in schools, and locally through all the means available in daily life, especially through word of mouth.

Since various people in my city often ask me about free software, I decided with a friend of mine to create a Web site (libreadvice.org), which, thanks to the support of the FSF, now fully works with LibreJS. Its purpose is to provide information and guides on the use of free software for people who do not have any kind of technical skills. In fact, to bring more people closer, I believe we must deliver the message that free software is not necessarily something distant and difficult to use, but that it often concerns simple and functional tools.

To close, I am happy to have the opportunity to directly contribute to the Free Software Foundation through this remote internship. During this experience, I would like to contribute in the campaigns against bulk surveillance. In fact, surveillance is a problem always present and especially now -- during the COVID-19 pandemic -- and if no limits are placed on surveillance measures put in place from countries, there could be very serious consequences for our freedom. I will continue to make my skills available to the campaigns team, and I hope to be able to further contribute to the spread of free software in Italy, which is, in my opinion, a country that is not free enough.

The original version of this blog is in Italian, here.

The principles of the Free Software Directory

The Free Software Directory is a collaborative catalog of software aimed to be the primary source for representing all free software. Each free program has its own page in the Directory from which it is possible to study the evolution it has undergone in both technological and legal terms through a chronological system similar to that of Wikipedia. Each catalogued program is distinguished by one or more aliases, and accompanied by a huge amount of information, which goes beyond the pure needs of the end user. Snapshots of the graphic interface, detailed descriptions, change logs, links to social pages, and lists of licenses and dependencies are examples of all the useful information which can be carefully attached by users to each page.

Everyone can freely subscribe to the Directory and create new pages, but only the pages reviewed and approved by administrators become visible and indexable. Administrative approvals are always made according to strict rules aimed at preventing the spread of proprietary content. As on Wikipedia, each user can have a self-approved personal page, where they can define their identity and discuss with other users. Users can also include sub-pages on which to publish their thematic articles, and any tools useful for the daily life of the Directory. User access rights are assigned to active users, and all those who demonstrate that they have the necessary technical skills and wish to devote themselves daily to the care of the pages have a chance to be welcomed onto the staff. This serene and flexible organization, based on bonds of trust built on facts and adherence to well-defined common ideals, guarantees that the technological and social development produced by the project is gradual but unstoppable. Thus, any investment of time by volunteers is amply repaid.

The project has proved to be a clear success, so much that over the years it has received funding from UNESCO, and is still supported by the Free Software Foundation. The portal boasts the participation of more than 3,000 users from all over the world. Since its creation, it has accumulated more than 80,000 verified and recorded revisions for posterity in the chronology of the MediaWiki pages, all of which are dedicated to facilitating the essential freedoms in more than 16,000 free programs.

The portal's ability to adapt and survive was possible not only because of the technical creativity of the staff, but also by the solid ideal at its base. By guaranteeing maximum visibility to free software, it has thus rewarded developers who freely employ their knowledge for the good of humanity. The transition to free licenses is indeed a moral duty of every developer, and the Free Software Directory is deployed at the forefront to facilitate it with great benefit to the world's cultural heritage.

My experience as an administrator of the Free Software Directory

I am Lorenzo L. Ancora, an Italian citizen born in Calabria. I have been part of the administration of the Free Software Directory since 2018, when I started collaborating with the staff and volunteers of the Free Software Foundation. Below, I will describe what I've learned during my participation in the administrative life of the Directory, while omitting the overly technical and boring details.

Over the years, I've developed the belief that the Internet was created to preserve and spread knowledge, and that this must remain its primary use. The Directory can be compared to a social network, and therefore needs constant moderation to avoid the irrational behaviors of a few that could damage the common cultural heritage. Hatred and discrimination must not find a place in the chronology of the pages, nor in any related communications, without exceptions. In fact, the first quality required to be an administrator is to self-moderate, and be able to moderate others, in order to preserve the existing order and ensure long-term efficiency.

While end users can afford to make mistakes because changes are not immediately visible, those with administrative privileges do not have this comfort. It is never recommended to act without careful planning. Contrary to what most think, it is better to spend more time in planning before making any changes, regardless of your level of competence. The same applies to acts of moderation and for the publication of new content, because any superficial behavior leaves permanent traces, whether they are physical (the chronology of the pages, designed to be permanent) or psychological (users collaborate only when there is a serene environment). Every time we carry out revisions with the utmost care, we leave a good example for those who come after us. Every time we treat others with respect and humanity, we distinguish ourselves from the crowd, and establish a pretext for such courtesy to be repeated.

Going down in the details, officially, my role as administrator is to solve the most serious problems affecting the Web portal. We call this activity "Backlog Management." In addition to doing this, I often validate the pages, manage online meetings, or publish new software. Flexibility is essential, because sooner or later all administrators must go beyond their pre-established role. Due to time zone differences, disasters affecting various areas of the world, or personal commitments, sometimes volunteers cannot fulfill their duties, and neglecting tasks can introduce weeks of delay, or, worse, result in an injustice towards end users. You can participate by writing markup and style sheets, scripting and graphic design, reviewing documentation, and assistance via email and chat. Regardless of what you do, you need to make improvements until it is totally sure that the final result is more than adequate.

As is well known by now, the Directory is a community work, and even many administrative decisions are made democratically, with participation from not only other administrators, but also with the bureaucrats and users present. There are many ways to face even the simplest tasks. For this reason, behind every decision, there is first of all the need to find the best workflow through common consensus. Thanks to the trust built through mutual collaboration, the administrators have the luxury of being able to ask for a common opinion. This proves to be fundamental during the approval and revision of the pages, because each published software program is unique, and is based on heterogeneous technologies and licenses.

By sharing their knowledge and cooperating with each other, all those who participate in the life of the Free Software Directory choose to follow the hard path to extend their cultural background and discover new strategies to creatively reuse what they already know. If we think that the product of our efforts is a catalog of free code, which everyone can execute, study, modify, improve and re-share freely, then it is easy to deduce that there is no more noble use of the network of networks.

In times like these it becomes all the more important to remember that tools like Zoom, Slack, and Facebook Messenger are not benign public services, and while the sentiment they've expressed to the global community in responding to the crisis may be sincere, it hasn't addressed the fundamental ethical issues with any piece of proprietary software.

After taking the LibrePlanet 2020 conference online, we received a number of requests asking us to document our streaming setup. As the pandemic grew worse, this gave way to more curiosity about how the Free Software Foundation (FSF) uses free tools and free communication platforms to conduct our everyday business. And while the stereotype of hackers hunched over a white on black terminal session applies to us in some ways, many of the tools we use are available in any environment, even for people who do not have a lot of technical experience. We've started documenting ethical solutions on the LibrePlanet wiki, in addition to starting a remote communication mailing list to help each other advocate for their use.

In the suggestions that follow, a few of the tools we will recommend depend upon some "self-reliance," that is, steering clear of proprietary network services by hosting free software solutions yourself, or asking a technical friend to do it for you. It's a difficult step, and the benefits may not be immediately obvious, but it's a key part of preserving your autonomy in an age of ubiquitous digital control.

To those who have the technical expertise and available infrastructure, we urge you to consider hosting instances of free communication platforms for your friends, family, and your community at large. For example, with a modest server and some GNU/Linux knowledge, you could help local students learn in freedom by volunteering to administer an instance of one of the programs we'll be recommending below.

The need to self-host can be an uncomfortable reminder of our dependence on the "cloud" -- the network of someone else's computers -- but acknowledging our current reliance on these providers is the first step in making new, dependable systems for ourselves. During dangerous and stressful times, it's tempting to sideline our ethical commitments for easier or more convenient ways to get things done, and software freedom is no exception. We hope these suggestions will inspire you to inform others about the importance of their freedom, privacy, and security.

Chat

When we can no longer communicate face-to-face, tools for voice and video calling often come to mind as the next best thing. But as evidenced by the size and success of the proprietary software companies that sponsor these tools, their development isn't easy. Promoting real-time voice and video chat clients remains a High Priority Project of ours. Though we may still be waiting for a truly perfect solution, there are some projects that are far enough along in their development that we can recommend them to others.

Audio calls

• Mumble: Mumble is a real-time, low latency program for hosting and joining audio conversations. Clients are available for every major operating system, and even large rooms tend not to put too much stress on the network. When it was time for us to go fully remote, the FSF staff turned to Mumble as a way to have that "in-office" feel, staying in touch in rooms dedicated to each of our teams and a general purpose "water cooler" room.

• Asterisk/SIP: When we give tours of the FSF office, people often think we're joking when we mention that even the FSF's conference phones run free software. But through Asterisk and our use of the SIP protocol, it's entirely true. Although it can be difficult to set up, it's worth mentioning that free software can manage your traditional phone lines, and even transfer calls seamlessly to digital extensions or SIP clients like Jami and Linphone.

Video calls and presentations

• Jitsi: Jitsi was a key part of LibrePlanet 2020's success. Providing video and voice calls through the browser via WebRTC, it also allows for presenters to share their screen in a similar way to Zoom. And unlike Zoom, it doesn't come with serious privacy violations or threats to user freedom. The connection between callers is direct and intuitive, but a central server is still required to coordinate callers and rooms. Some of these, like the Jitsi project's own "Jitsi Meet" server, recommend proprietary browser extensions and document sharing tools. If you're able, hosting your own instance is the most free and reliable method.

• OBS: Another much-used software program this LibrePlanet was OBS Studio. Illness, different timezones, or unforeseen travel were no match for the solutions that OBS Studio offered. It's a flexible tool for streaming video from multiple inputs to a Web source, whether that's combining your webcam with conference slides, or even your favorite free software game. At LibrePlanet, OBS allowed our remote speakers to record their presentations while speaking in one screen, and sharing audiovisual materials in a second window.

Text chat

• XMPP: If you've ever used "Jabber," older iterations of Google Talk or Facebook Messenger, then you've used XMPP. XMPP is a flexible and extensible instant messaging protocol that's lately seen a resurgence from clients like Conversations.im and encryption schema like OMEMO. XMPP is the instant messaging method we prefer at the FSF when we need to discuss something privately, or in a secure group chat, as everything is sent through servers we control and encrypted against individual staff members' private key. Also, access to the FSF XMPP server is one of the many benefits of our associate membership program.

• IRC: Messaging services have become all the rage in office atmospheres, but nothing about Messenger or Slack is new. In fact, Slack (and its counterpart for video games, Discord) takes more than a few cues from the venerable Internet Relay Chat (IRC). IRC remains an enduring way to have a text-based chat in real-time, and as evidenced by Web clients like The Lounge, or desktop clients like Pidgin, it can be as stripped down or feature-rich as you like. For a true hacker experience, you can also log into IRC using Emacs.

Long-form discussion

• Encrypted email: While it's asynchronous and maybe the most "old school" item on our list, GPG-encrypted email is a core part of the FSF workflow, and helps guard against prying eyes, whether they're one room over or in an NSA compound across the country. The initial setup can sometimes be a challenge, which is why we provide the Email Self-Defense Guide to get you up and running.

• Discourse: Discourse is the message board software that powers the FSF associate member forum, and we couldn't be happier to recommend it. While the concept may seem a little antiquated, message boards remain a good way to coordinate discussions on a particular topic. Discourse's moderation tools are intuitive and easy to use, and it even includes achievements for users to earn!

Document Sharing

If you're unused to working remotely, finding ways to collaborate with others on a document or presentation can be a challenge. At the FSF, Etherpad is the main tool that we use to keep live meeting notes and work together on other documents. It provides all the features you need for quick collaboration, including comments, revision tracking, and exports to a variety of formats. You can host your own instance, or you can select an instance made available by others and start sharing.

File Sharing

At the FSF office, we have a common server to store our files. Not everyone has the luxury of a setup like that, and especially not due to the fast changeover from office to home. To avoid using proprietary "solutions" and disservices like Dropbox, you can turn to the widely popular Nextcloud to synchronize your text and email messages, share calendars with coworkers, and exchange files privately with your friends.

If you need something temporary, there's always Up1. Up1 is a temporary, encrypted text and image sharing program you can host locally, making sure those files you need to exchange are only there for just as long as it takes for your friend to download them. And while we don't use it ourselves, we've heard good things about the Riseup network's instance of Up1, and will occasionally suggest it to those wanting a quick and easy way to share files while retaining their freedom.

Conclusion

This is just a small selection of the huge amount of free software out there, all ready to be used, shared, and improved by the community. For more suggestions on both local and Web-based programs, visit the FSF's Free Software Directory, our volunteer-run wiki which aims to be a comprehensive list of the thousands of free programs available for everyday use.

As always, free software is a moving target. We reap as much as the community puts into it, and as more and more attention shifts to the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus, the tools themselves are likely to see an increased amount of development. Please collaborate with us on the LibrePlanet wiki's entry on remote communication to help people find ways of communicating that put user freedom as a priority.