#Tag
At #FOSDEM I promised people that if you attend the talk by @nicorikken and myself you will feel better afterwards. From the feedback we received I think we accomplished this.
The recording of the talk "Automating translation of a bestseller to spark children's interest in coding" is now also online here, so if you ever need some "feel good" moments around #softwarefreedom feel free to watch: https://fosdem.org/2026/schedule/event/R9Q9ZP-ada-zangemann-bestseller-automation/ #zangemann
Let's zoom in on a particular area of the commons: the #FreeSoftware movement and their #FOSS deliverables, where a strong #WorkingInPublic credo dominates. The noble focus is on offering open technologies, software and systems. But in their quest to uphold #SoftwareFreedom the overlooked aspect is #sustainability. The ability to not only sustain oneself, but also by extension the creative #commons one is part of. The commons is an entirely chaotic grassroots environment with very specific social dynamics that are not properly accounted for. Instead top-down "herding of cats" governance models that work in regular business environments, are attempted. These may work, but only in small organizational settings, and NOT at scale where they break down.
FOSS in this definition is NOT commons-based. For that we need #ChaordicCommons where FOSS is the deliverable and #SOSS initiatives the engines of delivery, #FSDL (Free software development lifecycle) supply chains.
https://coding.social/blog/reimagine-social/#sustainable-open-social-systems
Commons based is a broad concept, but ultimately you can say that commons based means "in alignment to the adapted Circles of #Sustainability model" that #SX defines.
https://coding.social/blog/reimagine-social/#circles-of-sustainability
Let's zoom in on a particular area of the commons: the #FreeSoftware movement and their #FOSS deliverables, where a strong #WorkingInPublic credo dominates. The noble focus is on offering open technologies, software and systems. But in their quest to uphold #SoftwareFreedom the overlooked aspect is #sustainability. The ability to not only sustain oneself, but also by extension the creative #commons one is part of. The commons is an entirely chaotic grassroots environment with very specific social dynamics that are not properly accounted for. Instead top-down "herding of cats" governance models that work in regular business environments, are attempted. These may work, but only in small organizational settings, and NOT at scale where they break down.
FOSS in this definition is NOT commons-based. For that we need #ChaordicCommons where FOSS is the deliverable and #SOSS initiatives the engines of delivery, #FSDL (Free software development lifecycle) supply chains.
https://coding.social/blog/reimagine-social/#sustainable-open-social-systems
Very much looking forward to the #WICMP 🚀 at the @zam
and my talk later today (17:00 CET) about #PMPC
🫵 What you can do
- Read and share the open letter: https://keepandroidopen.org/open-letter/
- If you are part of an organisation, join the signatories from across civil society, #FreeSoftware communities, and industry.
- Please help so that Google also understands it is not in its interest to jeopardise its own success in mobile by making Android unfriendly to developers who care about #softwarefreedom
📢 What we ask from #Google:
- Rescind mandatory developer registration for all third‑party distribution.
- Engage in transparent dialogue with civil society, #FreeSoftware communities, and regulators on improving security without sacrificing openness.
- Commit to platform neutrality so that Google’s role as Android steward does not conflict with its commercial interests.
🫵 What you can do
- Read and share the open letter: https://keepandroidopen.org/open-letter/
- If you are part of an organisation, join the signatories from across civil society, #FreeSoftware communities, and industry.
- Please help so that Google also understands it is not in its interest to jeopardise its own success in mobile by making Android unfriendly to developers who care about #softwarefreedom
#CRA: there are still uncertainties and recurring questions, like the role of the stewards.
https://fsfe.org/news/2026/news-20260224-01.html
Find out the results of the Q&A session that the FSFE held at #FOSDEM26 and leave your feedback for the topic about attestation, which is to be clarified yet: https://dialog-cybersicherheit.limesurvey.net/113884
AI Agent Lands PRs in Major OSS Projects, Targets Maintainers via Cold Outreach https://socket.dev/blog/ai-agent-lands-prs-in-major-oss-projects-targets-maintainers-via-cold-outreach
oof
@cwebber
> AI Agent Lands PRs in Major OSS Projects, Targets Maintainers via Cold Outreach
To what extent do you think this is just a Trained #MOLE doing random Trained MOLE stuff, like the paperclip maximiser it is, vs. having been bent into the right shape to insert digital asbestos into Free Code projects?
BTW Would love to have your comments (and others') here on the various software freedom issues raised by MOLE Training;
I am talking about popular apps like LibreOffice, Blender, and Firefox, and desktop skeuomorphism implementations like GNOME and KDE and the very way that these #HCI paradigms enable building and distributing apps.
I'm pointing fingers basically everywhere.
We are acting like *them.* Pretending we can play that game better by being Free, even without the plan including money for a phase of rapid growth.
Not really by choice. People know the language. They want apps. Free apps. And yeah, good.
But you know what game #SoftwareFreedom can play *better* than the exit-oriented libertarian-backed startup or platform?
The bigger game. The #HCI paradigm design game. How informatic potential finds you Free.
We are in an innovation recession. The whole startup engine is ripe for disruption. The libertarian path to dominion itself is congested and vulnerable.
Show them what they never knew they always wanted.
Want to see something cool?
Oh, and one more thing.
#SoftwareFreedom I have an itch… I have long considered the *app* paradigm to be a fundamentally anti-Free way to package and distribute informatic potentiality.
The "app" leases human compute resources unfairly and unilaterally to a remote entity. This design empowers the Enshittifier. The intermediating extractive platform brokers the lease, *as if* on your behalf, but (only now, obviously) actually guaranteeing a degree of your attention to the enclosure of the monopolist.
thread TBC…
❤️ Thank you to the #Archlinux Wiki maintainers! ❤️
#Maintainers in general, and maintainers of documentation most of the time get way too little recognition for their contributions to #SoftwareFreedom.
ArchWiki is one of the pearls of the internet! That's why I dedicated my this year's #ilovefs post to the #ArchWiki maintainers!
I want to thank all the contributors of @phosh for improving #softwarefreedom on mobile phones. Thank you so much for the steady progress during the last months!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
(Transparency note: I am one of the founding members of #Phosh e.V which aims to provide a daily usable, robust and easy to use graphical user environment for mobile devices running mainline #Linux.)
@phosh
Special thanks to @agx for all the energy he put into #phosh in the last months of his long years of contributions to #softwarefreedom !!! 🫶
I want to thank all the contributors of @phosh for improving #softwarefreedom on mobile phones. Thank you so much for the steady progress during the last months!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
(Transparency note: I am one of the founding members of #Phosh e.V which aims to provide a daily usable, robust and easy to use graphical user environment for mobile devices running mainline #Linux.)
You want to stay updated with more positive #FreeSoftware news? Subscribe to our newsletter today!
And read all about our work for #SoftwareFreedom and #ILoveFS
You want to stay updated with more positive #FreeSoftware news? Subscribe to our newsletter today!
And read all about our work for #SoftwareFreedom and #ILoveFS
A big thank you to the @libreoffice community for enabling companies, public administrations, nonprofits and individuals to run a office suite that grants them the rights to use, study, share, and improve it. ❤️
How would we be able to open and edit all those proprietary doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx files without you?
Despite all the challenges ahead, please keep up focusing on your mission for #softwarefreedom 🫶 #ilovefs
❤️ At the Berlin #ilovefs event I could give a small cake to @kde 's @AleixPol as a small sign of appreciation, thanking him and #KDE for their great work for #softwarefreedom. ❤️
❤️ Today a special thanks to all the #KDE #maintainers!! ❤️
❤️ When I started using #GNU / #Linux one of the most important tools for me were the great books you got together with the #SUSE CDs and floppies.
The documentation was really great for me as a beginner and enabled me to get deeper into the community for #softwarefreedom.
Thanks to all contributors involved creating such great documentation, and to the @opensuse community for maintaining such important work! ❤️
❤️ When I started using #GNU / #Linux one of the most important tools for me were the great books you got together with the #SUSE CDs and floppies.
The documentation was really great for me as a beginner and enabled me to get deeper into the community for #softwarefreedom.
Thanks to all contributors involved creating such great documentation, and to the @opensuse community for maintaining such important work! ❤️
