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Conservancy BlogDisplaying posts
by Daniel Takamori
by on December 19, 2024
CC-BY-NA 4.0 Emily Dunham
Next up in our matcher interview series is Emily Dunham (edunham). Having been involved in free software for almost 20 years, her work has spanned all kinds of places from working at Mozilla with the Rust community to being a developer advocate and now being at Okta. Thanks to Emily for the incredible interview!
SFC: Tell us a bit about yourself! Where are you from, what are some of your hobbies?
edunham: I'm from the middle of nowhere, grew up off-grid in a tiny community where I still live and volunteer to this day. I've been working remotely in tech since around 2014, in various ops and automation roles for a series of Californian tech companies. I'm barely aware of how fundamentally this forestry-community upbringing shaped my worldview, except for how it causes the culture shock of bay-area thinkers being okay with planning only a year or a quarter ahead.
I have a rotating portfolio of hobbies where if I share about too many at once, it starts to sound like I'm exaggerating for comedic effect. Right now, in November of 2024, my free time is going to a combination of revisiting Skyrim Special Edition and addressing my backlog of "that seems like a neat idea, but..." topics with the fallible but well-read tutelage and co-thinking of claude.ai and, soon, local more-open models. (Claude is very helpful for bootstrapping into a toolchain to deliver similar benefits while being less at the mercy of some distant corporation choosing to keep offering it as a product, not unlike learning to brake and steer in an automatic vehicle before learning to drive a manual). There are a lot of surprises about AI that each individual who meets it has to have for themself at this moment in history, so I'm working on getting those out of the way without sounding too silly about it, because that seems like a prerequisite for making any useful contribution to our collective thought about and understanding of it. I'm quiet on the socials these days, but that might change as I continue building out the cognitive prosthetics to let me do more of the things I want to. I'm also halfway through a couple baby quilts for friends who are expecting next spring (if you're wondering, AI is unhelpful past the point of uselessness so far with quilting).
SFC: Why do you care about software freedom? How long have you been involved?
edunham: I care because it's good for me -- like I care about my garden because fresh veggies are delicious, or I care about keeping on top of routine maintenance around the house because it's super inconvenient to have to fix things if one lets them get to a point where they break.
I think everyone has their version of Stallman's printer story, and mine is the high school robotics team. We had these huge corporations throwing money and resources, especially "free" licenses for expensive software, at us left and right. This confused me, and I asked "why" enough times to eventually get the picture: They wanted us to build marketable job skills with specific proprietary technology so that we would go to employers and demand that they buy us a license for expensive proprietary software. They wanted us to invest our time in skills that they could then hold for ransom. We have plenty of mythology about the importance of thinking very carefully before entering that kind of contract with a more-powerful-than-human entity, so I thought through it carefully, and declined the offer.
My rule of thumb for investing time in learning a software tool is that I must be able to take that tool with me, online or offline. Software is cognitive prosthetics, and I'm lucky enough to have a choice among many options, unlike physical prosthetics like Karen's augmented heart. The tools I can keep with me through my life, without depending on money or an employer to maintain my access to the skills I've invested my own time in refining, tend to be free software.
SFC: How do you use free software in your life?
edunham: Free software is the invisible infrastructure that facilitates basically every benefit our species derives from computers. We hide it well, because free software often chooses raw power over generic usability -- it's like the logistics areas of an airport rather than the public spaces. But let's say I drive to the store to get some groceries. Maybe the traffic is bad, so I pull up google maps to get its opinion of the fastest route. First, I'm using an Android phone, so there's decades of Linux work underpinning its existence. But even on an iPhone, GPS "just works" and knows where the device is at by receiving signals from satellites and cell towers. How do those signals turn into a location? It's basically because all the devices agree on exactly what time it is, and they do that using the NTP stack and referencing public timeservers. (if you know with enough precision when a signal was sent and when it was received, and you know the speed at which it propagated, you know the distance it traveled. so from there it's just triangulation with multiple satellites or cell towers) Maybe I check my bank balance on my phone as I walk into the store, to make sure I know how much is in the account for the debit card I'll pay with later. My ability to do that safely instead of having my banking details easily stolen relies on encryption that's usually implemented using free software tools. And then the food at the store, from all over the world -- that got into the store through supply chains that use servers, databases, sometimes mainframes, and I'd challenge you to name any one of those systems with no load-bearing free software utility in its creation and maintenance. XKCD 2347 holds true. That's barely scratching the surface, as there's a whole lot more free software and right-to-repair concerns in growing the food before it even touches those systems!
SFC: On the spectrum on developer to end user, where do you lie? And how do you think we could do better bridging that divide?
edunham: The closest tech stereotype to how I relate to development is that of "ops guy". I love automation -- there's something so satisfying and grounded about working in a feedback loop where I am among my own customers. It often sidesteps that philosophical quagmire about what a more distant user's problem "really is" and when it's "really solved".
edunham: I think you could do better at reaching out to people so un-technical that they don't even realize they're the end users. You do targeted outreach to non-technical people in political positions of power, and I'll bet you're learning insights about what works and what doesn't that would scale excellently to the populations who vote for those people as representatives of their way of being. In other words, I suspect that your model of communicating with lawmakers has a lot of room for trying to scale to their constituencies.
SFC: What's got you most excited from the past year of our work?
edunham: Selfishly, you held FOSSY, which was like everything I missed out on by being a rural middle schooler during the early OSCON days. In the bigger picture, your DMCA work is ground-breaking, and the continued focus on right to repair should be of great interest to anyone who likes eating food that comes from farms where farmers wear these amazing mechanical exoskeletons of agricultural equipment to produce produce at a literally superhuman scale.
SFC: Do you think we are doing a good job reaching a wider audience and do you see us at places you expect?
edunham: I'm blissfully unaware of how wide an audience you reach. It's one of those problems where if nobody was successfully dealing with it, I'd feel like I "had to" help out more directly... but that kind of work is definitely not above the fold in my list of ways i'd rather be spending my time, so I'm grateful that you have it handled.
SFC: Have you been involved with any of our member projects in the past?
edunham: I'm doing this interview on an Etherpad as we speak, connecting using hardware running OpeWrt. I use Git on a daily basis to get my work done... Wine gives me games, Selenium gives me automation even when things don't offer a featureful api. I worked at the OSU OSL back in the day and did more direct ops support for some of the projects, but the intersection of my time availability, interests, and skillset doesn't have me contributing directly to any Conservancy projects at the moment.
SFC: How do you see our role amongst the various FLOSS organizations?
edunham: I get the luxury of not caring deeply about who does what role in the FLOSS organization landscape. I categorize you loosely as an organization that focuses on interfacing with the US government and helping it notice and course correct when it accidentally passes legislation that violates the principles on which it was founded. Translating modern tech concepts into "normal" human terms is really hard, especially when the people you're talking to might hold the belief that they already know the things which are worth knowing, so having as many unique approaches as possible to this challenge seems to bring far more value than trying to somehow consolidate them all. It's like by having a lot of organizations which each specialize in a high-impact area of opportunity, we demonstrate the engineering principle of building many simple utilities that excel at their tasks.
SFC: Do you think we do a good job standing up to the organizations with more corporate funding?
edunham: I think you do a good job of standing up to the organizations which are accidentally anti-freedom, and working within their worlds to explain how freedom is good actually. I hope you're not standing up to other software freedom organizations except when absolutely necessary, because the potential impact and good of working together is on a whole other scale from the potential good of infighting about less-important details.
SFC: What other organizations are you supporting this year?
edunham: I'm actually not that into the whole "donate money to charity" thing as a first line of social impact, because I'm uncomfortable with the harmonics of systems where giving money incentivizes asking for more money. I support my community by volunteering as an EMT and firefighter; I support local businesses by spending at them even when it's more expensive or less convenient than buying the same thing online. And I support roads and schools and stuff, along with the other side effects, by paying my taxes. But I happen to work at a larger corporation that offers a holiday giving match, and I strongly believe that corporations should do more to support the FOSS that they rely on, so what better way to combine these beliefs than leveraging their matching funds program to double a donation to Conservancy?
by on December 5, 2024
CC-BY-NA 4.0 Patrick Masson
We're so happy to feature our incredible matchers this year! Thanks to all of them for contributing to our largest match goal yet. Today we're talking with Patrick Masson, Executive Director of the Apereo Foundation.
SFC: Tell us a bit about yourself! Where are you from, what are some of your hobbies? Social media?
Patrick: I am currently the Executive Director of the Apereo Foundation. Apereo was established in 2012 as a non-profit organization and works to support and develop open source software for higher education. The foundation's mission is to assist academia in developing, adopting, and maintaining open source software for teaching, learning, and research. Before Apereo, I was the General Manager of the Open Source Initiative. I have also worked in higher education as a CIO of The State University of New York, Delhi, and CTO at the University of Massachusetts, Office of the President. I started my career as a Scientific Illustrator, moving from pen and ink to computer-generated imaging, thus leading to my later roles in academic computing and free and open-source software.
I live in Albany, New York, moving here from southern California (San Diego and Santa Monica) about 20 years ago. I am on Mastodon at @massonpj@fosstodon.org. I have a Twitter account, but it is dormant and redirects to Mastodon. I'm on LinkedIn but rarely participate. In addition to working at Apereo, I am an adjunct professor at The University at Albany, teaching "Open Source Princinples and Practices" in the College of Computing & Information. I also served on my local school board for four years, 2014-2018. I enjoy playing hockey and biking (slow touring, nothing serious) with my wife, Jamie. We have two sons--and despite all my tutelage and advocacy, one works for Microsoft as a software engineer developing very proprietary video games--Thanksgiving is tough ;-).
SFC: Why do you care about software freedom? How long have you been involved?
Patrick: I first discovered Free Software in the early 90s while working at UCLA. My work focused on medical and scientific visualization. Many of the tools we used from academic and research initiatives were readily shared. The idea of "software freedom" was not well established (or perhaps known to me) then. Rather, universities worked under traditional, collaborative models where peers created cohorts of practice around shared research interests and efforts. The software was just another output of research to be peer-reviewed, edited, built upon, and used by researchers as needed (That sounds like "software freedom"). While we did use software that today carries an OSI Approved License (remember this is before the OSI was founded), including Linux, NCSA HTTPd, some FTP servers, etc., most of the software was community-built, where collaboration, cooperation, and co-creation, were the drivers. No one thought about this beyond the software-specific use cases driving development at an institution or across research efforts. While not labeled as such, the ideals or ethos, practices, and benefits of software freedom took root with me then.
SFC: How do you use free software in your life?
Patrick: I use free and open source software daily and emphasize its use, from my home computing (mobile phone, laptop, and desktops) to professionally at the Apereo Foundation. Working for an organization advocating and supporting free and open source software, I feel it is essential that "we eat our own dogfood." As such, my work computer runs Linux and only FOSS tools/applications, and we strive to deploy FOSS for our business and administrative computing, e.g., Drupal for our website, CiviCRM for our constituent management, BigBlueButton for web conferencing, XWiki for our document management, etc. Truth be told, a few legacy systems are in place, but as opportunities arise to migrate, I expect to do so. How can we convince the institutions we reach out to that FOSS is a viable option if we've not also selected that option?
SFC: On the spectrum on developer to end user, where do you lie? And how do you think we could do better bridging that divide?
Patrick: Like many in our industry, "career advancement" often requires moving away from developer to administrative roles. So, while I am--and always will be--an end user personally and an advocate for free and open source software within the organizations I work with, I do not do any significant development (coding) of software these days. I suppose it could be said that my "development" efforts today are focused on developing organizations that create and maintain free and open-source software and the communities of practice that make it all possible. My efforts (building awareness, fostering adoption, and promoting contributions) include developing an authentic ecosystem beyond software communities were free and open source software--and even the ideals/ethos--can thrive throughout industries and institutoins.
SFC: Tell us about how Apereo is forwarding software freedom and about your role in the org.
Patrick: I joined Apereo just over two years ago. At the time, Apereo primarily served as a fiscal sponsor for open source software developed by academic and research institutions. As free and open source software has become operational on campuses and fundamental to research activities, Apereo is extending its role in supporting educational, administrative, and research computing through software freedom. Many campuses have opportunities through grant funders and consortia initiatives to adopt and even develop their own free and open source software. Campuses, too, rely on open source software created internally or even developed and deployed by trusted third-party service providers. In response, Apereo offers "OSPO as a Service" and "Foundation as a Service." support models where campuses can access Apereo expertise and services to manage their own internal open source software projects locally or outsource their initiatives to the Apereo Foundation. Despite the long history of the practice, especially in higher education where many free and open source projects began, software freedom is still poorly understood by many outside technology fields (i.e., faculty, researchers, administrators). Apereo is working to foster authentic engagement to realize the maximum benefits of software freedom.
Institutions of higher education have an inherent understanding and an appreciation for software freedom as it aligns with and supports academic freedom. Guiding principles include the open exchange of ideas and the pursuit of knowledge. Both prioritize transparency, collaboration, and the freedom to explore, modify, and share work without undue restrictions. In higher education, academic freedom empowers scholars to research and teach freely, fostering innovation and critical thinking. Similarly, software freedom enables developers to study, adapt, and improve code, driving technological progress and accessibility. Together, these principles create an ecosystem that values intellectual curiosity, shared learning, and the democratization of knowledge. Apereo's vision is for an academy where both flourish and mutual support creates a thriving environment for education and technology to grow together.
SFC: What's got you most excited from the past year of our work?
Patrick: FOSSY, FOSSY, FOSSY!!! While there are several activities SFC undertook this year (and has undertaken for many years, hosting several important projects, Outreachy, license protection, general advocacy etc. etc., etc.), organizing and delivering a software freedom-focused conference was for Apereo (and me personally) a highlight. It is not simply because it provides a forum for peer communities of practice to meet after such a dearth of opportunities (due to COVID, OSCON shutting down, etc.), but because the event so well aligns with Apereo's direction and strategy.
For Apereo, the event is a perfect opportunity to work with the free and open source community--projects, foundations, industry, experts, advocates--to introduce the higher education community--institutions, faculty, researchers, administrators--through shared interests and activities. Rarely do these two groups interact, and Apereo--because of FOSSY and SFC--has another touch point to facilitate greater engagement and productivity; we were thrilled to run the FOSS for Education track and are excited to submit a proposal again for the track in 2025. SFC's work to grow and mature the event is phenomenal and inspiring. I am sure FOSSY will continue to grow in size and impact, and Apereo is dedicated to supporting it as best we can through community and contributions.
SFC: What issues happened this past year that you were happy we spoke about?
Patrick: While the history and activities undertaken by SFC related to AI and LLMs extend back to 2020, the recent announcement, "Aspirational Statement on LLM-backed generative AI for Programming," was uniquely prominent for Apereo and higher education. While there are many issues related to AI, two fundamental concerns among institutions of higher education are bias and reproducibility. AI is taking higher ed by storm--if you attended the recent EDUCAUSE Annual Conference, you know what I am talking about. However, real concerns should be evident considering how and where AI "solutions" are being marketed.
A core tenet of research is reproducibility. Research reproducibility suffers significantly when AI models, particularly LLMs, and the datasets used to train them are closed-source or proprietary; transparency, black box algorithms, independent verification/validation, accessibility/equity, etc., are all issues that may impact research and hinder discovery. The same applies to administrative systems where bias, ethical concerns, and a general lack of accountability can impact student and faculty affairs.
I was also delighted to see SFC's response was "aspirational" and delivered in a tone to help and contribute.
SFC: Do you think we are doing a good job reaching a wider audience and do you see us at places you expect?
Patrick: I think SFC--like other organizations working with shared values and a common vision, like Apereo--is in a tough spot. Despite the 30 years of history, many organizations are either unaware or unengaged with free and open source software. Gone are the early days (2004-2012?) where open source was the hot topic, marketing magic, and investors' and industry's funding choice. While the adoption and dependency on FOSS are greater than ever (especially in higher education), actual support and participation by those who most rely on sustainable communities and the projects they produce are declining (disappearing?).
Reaching a wider audience is a real challenge, considering reaching the current audience- which should already be engaging- is so difficult (and frustrating). I honestly believe organizations will come to appreciate the importance of supporting the FOSS core to their business and operations, especially with growing external pressures (e.g., the Cyber Resiliency Act, Software Bill of Materials) combined with new opportunities (e.g., increased funding from granting organizations). While several new organizations are popping up--which, in my opinion, are simply chasing the latest money and buzz--those like SFC, with years of services, credibility with the community, and authenticity in practice, will emerge as fundamental resources and valuable services for organizations that choose to best leverage FOSS for their benefit and the benefit of others.
SFC: Have you been involved with any of our member projects in the past?
Patrick: While most of my involvement has been as an end-user (e.g., I have several scientific illustrations created in Inkscape and published in medical and dental textbooks and journals), I have been most active with the Teaching Open Source project run by Heidi Ellis and Greg Hislop. Considering the project's focus on using open source software and technologies to teach computer science and other disiplines, it's probably obvious why I am involved.
SFC: How do you see our role amongst the various FLOSS organizations?
Patrick: "Supporting the supporters." I rely on SFC as a resource for Apereo's foundational work, which extends Apereo's capacity and capabilities in service to our constituents in higher education. Examples include policy analysis and advocacy, copyleft compliance, the aforementioned "Statement on LLM-backed generative AI," etc. In this sense, SFC serves a similar role to the OSI, where organizations like Apereo, whose focus is "FOSS outward facing," i.e., connecting with end-users, benefit from SFC's "FOSS inward facing," i.e., connecting with FOSS organizations on broader issues impacting their constituent communities.
SFC: Do you think we do a good job standing up to the organizations with more corporate funding?
Patrick: Times are tough for FOSS foundations, and funding from all sources should be pursued. I think SFC does a good job with corporate sponsorship- everyone knows what SFC is all about, and SFC has stayed true to its mission and is authentic in its practices. I do not feel SFC has compromised its credibility or shied away from issues based on corporate support.
SFC: What other organizations are you supporting this year?
Patrick: I am committed to supporting the FOSS projects and foundations I use (rely on) personally or professionally. I consider this no different than those who pay annually for proprietary software. Both models need funding to develop software, but FOSS is a better deal for the consumer: lower TCO, funds that support development--not profits, the ability to help shape the project (features and functions), etc. It is simply a better/smarter business decision for organizations (and individuals) to pay for FOSS than proprietary software.
by on January 15, 2024
CC-BY-NA 4.0 Lucy Voigt
Thanks so much to one of our matching supporters, The Voigt Family! We're so happy to highlight a young family involved in free software and hear from about what they think about our work and the future. Read on to hear from Eli from a quick interview we did!
SFC:Tell us a bit about yourself! Where are you from, what are some of your hobbies? Social media?
Eli: I moved from Chicago to Portland as a tween. I have since adopted many Pacific Northwest hobbies like hiking, camping, and enjoying microbrews.
SFC: Why do you care about software freedom? How long have you been involved?
Eli: In college (almost 10 years ago? Oh no.) I helped run the Oregon State University Linux Users Group (OSU LUG) where we ran InstallFests and gave talks on different Open Source tools. Prior to that I used open source software like Linux and Blender to produce 3D art.
Software Freedom is important to me because world class software tools should be accessible to everybody. Growing up middle class I had the privilege of a computer and free time, but I couldn't afford expensive 3D software like Adobe. Thankfully I got into Blender because it was free but also because it was good!
I definitely think of Software Freedom as a spectrum. For example: using Blender on Windows is a win compared with using Adobe products.
SFC: How do you use free software in your life?
Eli: I use Linux and free software whenever I can. I also run a physical server in my basement which hosts instances of open source services like Gitea for friends and family. Being a nights-and-weekends Sysadmin isn't for everybody but I love it!
SFC: On the spectrum on developer to end user, where do you lie? And how do you think we could do better bridging that divide?
Eli: I am definitely more of a Developer, and I struggle with bringing co-workers, friends, and family into the fold of Free Software. When a tool is Free, Convenient, and Good people are more than happy to use it. Beyond that though I have no idea!
SFC: What's got you most excited from the past year of our work?
Eli: I was a huge fan of FOSSY! I could only make the first day because we had a BABY during the conference. The one day I went I got to speak to Andrew Kelley (of Ziglang) and I learned about running AI models on my laptop which was enlightening and fun! I also volunteered and got to see so many community folks for the first time since COVID.
SFC: What issues happened this past year that you were happy we spoke about?
Eli: I think the work you're doing with Right to Repair is really meaningful. It's the kind of thing every consumer agrees with and wants but we still need to fight for!
SFC: Do you think we are doing a good job reaching a wider audience and do you see us at places you expect?
Eli: I am sure running a conference like FOSSY, especially in a post-COVID-lockdown world, is challenging but really helped me feel connected to the SF Conservancy and the community around your work. I can't wait to see it grow over the coming years.
SFC: Have you been involved with any of our member projects in the past?
Eli: I am a huge fan of Busybox! When I put on my system administrator hat (at work and for fun) I use it every day.
SFC: What other organizations are you supporting this year? charities, local, non-tech, etc
Eli: A few of my recurring donations I want to plug:
SFC: Did you have the first FOSSY Baby?
Eli: Yes! His name is Oliver and he just turned 6 months old (as of January 15)!
by on January 31, 2023
Today Software Freedom Conservancy is officially opening our call for track proposals for our first annual FOSSY conference! We will be holding the conference in Portland, Oregon July 13-16, 2023 at the Oregon Convention Center. We are looking for community driven tracks that can balance important and in depth technical and non-technical issues, while uplifting contributors of all experiences. Tracks will be modeled after the DevRooms at FOSDEM and the miniconfs at linux.conf.au. They may be between 1 and 4 days, and the organizers of the tracks will be in charge of outreach, calls for submissions, communicating with potential speakers in the track, determining the schedule and hosting the track in person at FOSSY.
We're looking for organizers who can give us a really good idea of what we can expect from their track. The description should give a detailed explanation of the topic, ideally along with some of the issues you expect to cover. Example talks you expect, what kind of audience are you aiming for, and how this topic fits into the larger FOSS ecosystem are good things to mention.
You'll note that we ask for two people to be listed as organizers for the track. It's easy to underestimate the work involved so having more than two organizers could also really help to take care of all of the work. We'll be there to help and support you, but this will be your show!
We'd like you to tell us why the organizers are the right ones for the job. Do they have experience running conferences, unique perspectives due to involvement with the topic? Conference organizing is a demanding job that requires a balance of logistics, people centered concerns and technical skills. We trust you to assemble a group of people that can cater to those needs and want to put on a great event.
Given that this is the first FOSSY, we will be creating this space together! How is the topic you are proposing beneficial for the FOSS community and how does it fit into this new space? The hope is to have a balance of technical and non-technical topics, and we want to hear from you about what's important on those issues. Given that we want to shape the conference into something that uplifts contributors of all levels and experience, how will you approach a varied audience?
How long will your track be? Are you planning a quick and deep dive into a single topic or do you dream of having a 4 day long track dealing with tough issues that you want attendees to sit with and reflect on over the weekend? We don't need you to lock yourself into this choice, but we do need a rough figure how much participation and space you'll need if you are hoping to do something specific.
Anything that gives us a sense of the organization and spirit of your tracks will be helpful.
Please use our submission page or email us at conference@sfconservancy.org if you have any questions.
The deadline for application is Sunday March 19th, so be sure to reach out soon!
We're very excited to hear from you about how we can shape this conference into something for us all. Thanks so much for your interest and we hope to see you in July!