Free Software Foundation facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Free Software Foundation

Abbreviation	FSF
Formation	October 4, 1985; 39 years ago (1985-10-04)
Founder	Richard Stallman
Type	501(c)(3) non-profit organization
Legal status	501(c)(3)
Purpose	Computer User Freedom (see Free software movement)
Headquarters	Remote work
Region served	Worldwide
Membership	Individuals
President	Geoffrey Knauth
Executive director	Zoë Kooyman
Revenue (2020)	$1,149,602
Expenses (2020)	$1,809,358
Staff	13

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a non-profit group. It was started by Richard Stallman on October 4, 1985. The FSF supports the free software movement. This movement believes that computer users should have four basic freedoms. These are the freedom to run, study, change, and share software.

The FSF prefers software that uses "copyleft" rules. This means if you share software, you must also share any changes you make to it. An example is their own GNU General Public License. The FSF was created in Boston, where it is also based.

From its start until the mid-1990s, the FSF mostly used its money to hire people. These people wrote free software for the GNU Project. Today, FSF employees and volunteers work on legal and other issues. They help the free software movement and its community. The FSF always tries to use only free software on its own computers.

The FSF owns the copyrights for many parts of the GNU system. One example is the GNU Compiler Collection. Because they own these copyrights, they can make sure people follow the rules of the GNU General Public License (GPL). This helps protect free software. The FSF also manages several free software licenses. This means they publish them and can update them when needed.

History of the FSF

The Free Software Foundation began in 1985. It was set up as a non-profit group to help free software development. It continued projects that were already part of GNU. This included selling manuals and tapes. It also hired people to develop the free software system.

Since then, the FSF has kept doing these things. It also speaks up for the free software movement. From 1991 to 2001, checking if people followed the General Public License (GPL) was informal. Richard Stallman often did this himself. He usually got help from the FSF's lawyer, Eben Moglen. Most GPL problems were fixed with quick emails.

In late 2001, Bradley M. Kuhn helped make these efforts more formal. He was the executive director at the time. This led to the FSF's GPL Compliance Labs. In 2004, Harald Welte started gpl-violations.org. This was to encourage other software companies to protect copyleft, just like the FSF.

From 2002 to 2004, there were many important GPL enforcement cases. These included cases against companies like Linksys and OpenTV. Making sure people followed the GPL was a big part of the FSF's work then. In March 2003, a company called SCO sued IBM. SCO claimed IBM's work on free software, including GNU, broke SCO's rules. The FSF was not directly part of the lawsuit. However, they were asked for information in November 2003.

During 2003 and 2004, the FSF worked hard to respond to this lawsuit. They wanted to stop it from harming free software. From 2003 to 2005, the FSF held legal workshops. These workshops explained the GPL and its laws. They were the first formal legal training on the GPL. In 2007, the FSF released the third version of the GNU General Public License. They got a lot of ideas from others to make it.

In December 2008, the FSF sued Cisco. Cisco was using GPL-licensed parts in its Linksys products. Cisco knew about the problem in 2003. But they kept ignoring their duties under the GPL. In May 2009, Cisco and the FSF reached an agreement. Cisco agreed to give money to the FSF. They also agreed to hire a Free Software Director. This person would check the company's license rules regularly.

In September 2019, Richard Stallman stepped down as president of the FSF. This happened after he made comments that caused concern. These comments were about a sensitive topic. He remained the head of the GNU Project. In 2021, he returned to the FSF board of directors.

What the FSF Does Today

The GNU Project

The FSF's first goal was to promote the ideas of free software. They imagined the GNU operating system as a perfect example of this.

GNU Licenses

The GNU General Public License (GPL) is a very common license for free software projects. The newest version (version 3) came out in June 2007. The FSF has also created other licenses. These include the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), the GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL), and the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL).

GNU Press

This is the FSF's publishing group. They publish affordable books about computer science. These books use licenses that let people share them freely.

The Free Software Directory

This is a list of software that has been checked and confirmed as free software. Each entry has details like the project's website and the programming language used. The goal is to help people find free software. It also helps users check if software is truly free. The FSF has received some funding from UNESCO for this project.

Defining Free Software

The FSF keeps many important documents updated. These documents explain what the free software movement is all about.

Project Hosting

The FSF hosts software development projects. They do this on their Savannah website.

h-node

h-node stands for "Hardware-Node." This website lists computer hardware and drivers. It shows which ones work well with free software. Users can edit it, and volunteers help support it. Hardware entries are tested by users before they are published.

Advocacy and Campaigns

The FSF runs campaigns against things they see as threats to software freedom. These include software patents and "digital restrictions management" (DRM). The FSF calls it "digital restrictions management" because these technologies limit your rights. Since 2012, Defective by Design is an FSF campaign against DRM.

The FSF also promotes Ogg+Vorbis. This is a free choice instead of private formats like AAC. The FSF also supports free software projects they think are very important.

Annual Awards

The FSF gives out awards each year. These include:

• "Outstanding new Free Software contributor"
• "Award for the Advancement of Free Software"
• "Free Software Award for Projects of Social Benefit"

LibrePlanet Wiki

The LibrePlanet wiki helps FSF members form local groups. These groups work to promote free software. They also fight against digital restrictions management and other issues the FSF cares about.

Important Projects

Parabola GNU/Linux-libre is an operating system officially supported by the FSF.

The FSF has a list of "high-priority projects." The Foundation says these projects need the free software community's attention. The FSF believes these projects are important. This is because computer users often use software that is not free. There isn't always a good free choice.

As of 2021, important tasks include:

• Understanding how private software works (reverse engineering).
• Improving a tool for finding errors in code (GNU Debugger).
• Making software for automatic writing from speech.
• Creating software for editing videos.
• Developing Coreboot.
• Making drivers for network routers.
• Creating a free smartphone operating system.
• Building free replacements for popular communication and assistant apps.

Some people, like Michael Larabel, have said that these projects sometimes don't start active work or are slow.

Endorsed Systems

Operating Systems

The FSF keeps a list of approved Linux operating systems. These systems keep software free by default:

• Dragora GNU/Linux-Libre
• dyne:bolic
• GNU Guix System
• Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre
• Parabola GNU/Linux-libre
• PureOS
• Trisquel
• Ututo
• LibreCMC
• ProteanOS

The FSF also lists operating systems that are not versions of the GNU system:

• Replicant

Older Operating Systems

The following operating systems were once supported but are no longer actively updated:

• gNewSense
• BLAG Linux and GNU
• Musix GNU+Linux

Hardware Endorsements (RYF)

Since 2012, the FSF has a "Respects Your Freedom" (RYF) program. This program certifies hardware. To get this certification, a product must use 100% free software. It must also let users install changed software. It should not have hidden ways to access it (backdoors). It must also meet other rules.

How the FSF is Organized

Board of Directors

The FSF's board of directors includes professors, engineers, and founders. Current board members are:

• Geoffrey Knauth, a senior software engineer.
• Christina Haralanova, a founding member of the Free Software Association, Bulgaria.
• Gerald Jay Sussman, a computer science professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
• Henry Poole, who started a government digital services company.
• Ian Kelling, a Senior Systems Administrator at the FSF.
• John Gilmore, who helped start the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
• Maria Chiara Pievatolo, a professor of political philosophy.
• Richard Stallman, the founder of the FSF and GNU Project.

Executive Directors

The executive directors manage the FSF's daily work. They have included:

• Zoë Kooyman (2022–present)
• John Sullivan (2011–2022)
• Peter T. Brown (2005–2010)
• Bradley M. Kuhn (2001–2005)

Employment

The FSF usually has about a dozen employees. Most worked at the FSF headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. In August 2024, the FSF closed its offices. Now, all employees work remotely from different locations.

Membership

On November 25, 2002, the FSF started its Associate Membership program for individuals. Bradley M. Kuhn helped start this program. Associate members mostly help by supporting the FSF financially. In 2023, associate members gained the ability to suggest people for the board. There is also an annual meeting for members. This usually happens during the LibrePlanet event. Members can share their ideas for the FSF there.

Legal Support

Eben Moglen and Dan Ravicher used to give free legal advice to the FSF. After starting the Software Freedom Law Center, Eben Moglen continued to be the FSF's main lawyer until 2016.

Money and Funding

Most of the FSF's money comes from supporters and members. They also get money from checking software compliance, job listings, books they publish, and their online store. The FSF offers speakers and workshops for a fee. All FSF projects also accept donations.

The money helps fund free software programs and campaigns. Any extra money is invested carefully in ways that are good for society. This financial plan helps the Foundation stay strong for a long time. The FSF is a tax-exempt group. They post their yearly financial reports online.

FSF Locations

Over the years, the FSF has had its main office and mailing address in different places in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. As of September 1, 2024, the FSF became fully remote. Their current mailing address is a postbox.

The GNU GPL v2 license used to include the FSF's mailing address. So, every time the address changed, the license itself also needed updates.

Awards and Recognition

Important groups and industries have given awards and special mentions to the FSF:

• 2001: The GNU Project received the USENIX Lifetime Achievement Award. This was for how common, wide-ranging, and good its free software is. This software has helped a lot of research and business development.
• 2005: The FSF received the Prix Ars Electronica Award of Distinction. This was in the "Digital Communities" category.

More to Explore

See also

In Spanish: Free Software Foundation para niños