Group:Free Software Foundation/Ideas

Please post and discuss ideas for the Free Software Foundation.

Please sign your posts by typing four tildes: ~~~~

Suggestions regarding existing campaigns

Membership program

• offer them a gnu.org or fsf.org or maybe best a libreplanet.org mail adress. Freedom is not just a word, it's a duty! 11:45, 11 February 2012 (EST)
  • We do this already Kxra 00:17, 9 April 2012 (EDT)
    • No, just forwarding--email receiving is great, but email sending is even better! Mtraceur 22:35, 16 April 2012 (EDT)
• offer them a mini-guide bash in paper a sort of 20 page bash survival guide with informations about the usb key card, their mail adress, the existing projects and gnu mailing list. Freedom is not just a word, it's a duty! 11:45, 11 February 2012 (EST)
• offer them a libreplanet sticker just one but a good one Freedom is not just a word, it's a duty! 11:45, 11 February 2012 (EST)

Profiles

Suggest individuals involved in free software to be features on Meet the Free Software Community:

• Mako --Kxra 15:01, 23 July 2010 (UTC)

Defective By Design

Post ideas here: Group:DefectiveByDesign/Ideas

LibrePlanet

Did you have ideas for the LibrePlanet Project?

(For suggestions about the annual conference, see the #LibrePlanet_Conference section on this page.)

fsf.org website

Welcoming newcomers

As part of the Working Together for Free Software project, the fsf.org site is being made more intuitive for new visitors.

How does the refocused homepage look?

Suggestions

• We should create a Working Together for Free Software badge that featured projects can display and link back to the campaign --Kxra 15:00, 23 July 2010 (UTC)

• Free Software Supporter read by someone cool (audio and video versions)

Reply by Apollia 08:56, 29 May 2014 (EDT): That idea reminds me of these amusing performances of Richard Dreyfuss reading the iTunes EULA. More dramatic performances like those of various horrendous software licenses would help draw attention to how egregiously such licenses take away freedom, and how unfortunate it is that most people don't even notice, because most people understandably don't bother to read long boring screeds of legalese gibberish. --Apollia 08:56, 29 May 2014 (EDT)

• Maybe switch to new forum software, and make most boards visible to the public? More details in this forum post: Ideas for improvements to this forum --Apollia 08:56, 29 May 2014 (EDT)

Events

LibrePlanet Conference

• Offer a solution of live video / audio streaming of the conference --Aurélien 9:49 Sat Febuary 9.50 (UTC 2012
• It should be an international event that is also hosted outside the U.S. just like GPLv3 conferences. This can be done in collaboration with other FSF* organizations. In addition, it should be in summer instead of March where many people are able to consider attending. These two issues do matter to many free software advocates who are students.--OsamaK 15:04, 5 August 2010 (UTC)

Store suggestions

Novelty/different

• Slippers that have stuff GNU heads on them --they make these for a bunch of animals
  • ...though pointedly not the gnu. Mattlav (talk) 10:05, 14 September 2016 (EDT)
• Iron-on or sew-on patches
• Temporary tattoos

Stickers

• Stickers and more with all the logos of FSF, EFF, GNUzilla IceCat, VLC, etc...
  • +1 Juanmabv (talk) 06:48, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
• Either GNU/Hurd or GNU OS stickers (similar in scope to the GNU/Linux sticker)
• Stickers, bumper stickers, patches or keychains featuring the copyleft & Creative Commons meme MooGNU: https://archive.org/details/M00GNU
• Sticker of Freedo, the Linux-libre mascot
• Sticker that says: "Linux-libre Inside"
• Sticker of GNU and Freedo 100% Freedom (Made from the image of GNU & Freedo from the FSFLA Linux-libre site)
• Sticker of the Breaking Windows Art
  • +1 maybe a remake though IngeGNUe 18:25, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
• More anti-Microsoft stickers
  • -1 Juanmabv (talk) 06:48, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
• For cars: plastic window stickers (usually the ones that go on the inside) and some of the magnetic trunk/bumper decorations
  • +1 Juanmabv (talk) 06:48, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
• GNU key-sticker to cover the Windows logo.

* +1
* +1 Juanmabv (talk) 06:48, 23 September 2016 (EDT) 

• A big GNU head sticker like http://www.unixstickers.com/stickers/linux_os_distribution_stickers/gnu-project-distribution-large-shaped-sticker
• A sticker with joke that says "Libre Tea or /dev/null" based on the catchphrase "Liberty or Death"

Posters, signs

• "Privacy is impossible without free software" poster - requested by 3 people

* -1: too language / US-centric

• A detailed Emacs reference poster
• The GPL preamble

Clothes and bags

• Bring back the Classic Typing GNU, with GPL Preamble on the back.
  • This was last in the shop in 2005? And mine is old, and worn out.
  • +1 Juanmabv (talk) 06:48, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
• GPL shirt with some part of "PARTIES PROVIDE THE PROGRAM "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED

OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE." Zakkai (talk) 15:43, 20 October 2015 (EDT)

• AGPL t-shirt with QR code for the source
• FSF polo shirt with a GNU head eating a Bitcoin on the front, and the QR code (with the string "fsf.org" encircling the code) and bitcoin address of the Free Software Foundation on the back. Free Software allows users to control their programs, and bitcoin allows users to control their money. Whoever sees someone wearing the shirt, will research the "FSF", learn about the cause, verify the bitcoin address (in order to ensure the QR code does not belong to a scam artist), and will then... hopefully, proceed to make a small bitcoin donation. --Pegzmasta (talk) 16:28, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
• Zip hoodies. (+1)
  • I second this. I really prefer zip-up hoodies b/c of constantly going from inside to outside and back (college) --Pyrosamurai (talk) 00:22, 30 January 2016 (EST)
• Beach towel with GNU logo -- Michel Van Eeckhout - 19 February 2013
  • +1 Juanmabv (talk) 06:48, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
• Tote bag (+1)
  • I'd like to have 100% cotton bag like here: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5020/5527614798_82ffaa8edf_o.jpg. I've bought one at Chemnitzer Linux Tage already, but I'd like to have couple other similar bags. I like to show it, when I go to grocery store.
  • Southern California Public Radio has some really wonderful re-usable bags. You might contact them for a recommendation. See the "grocery bag" on this page: https://scprcontribute.publicradio.org/gift_selection.php
• laptop / netbook bag --Graziano Sorbaioli - 9 July 2010
  • +1, would be nice if we made sure it could fit the current respect your freedom laptops. Would love to see it with the GNU or FSF logo. Maybe the "Free Software Free Society" quote too. Satchmoz - 9 September 2016
  • I like this one. I can have one of these.--OsamaK 22:09, 5 August 2010 (UTC)
  • +1, perhaps with a shoulder strap attached, as well as mini compartments to carry pens, headphones, and manuals, too? --Pegzmasta (talk) 17:39, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
• Sturdy multi-use plastic bags painted with promo graphics--Rm 19:47, 13 July 2010 (UTC)
• Bags, backpacks, posters and more with all the logos of FSF, EFF, CC GNU, (Canonical), GNUzilla IceCat, VLC, etc... I'd be happy to walk around with a laptop backpack full of those! --Nat90 23:02, 21 August 2010 (UTC)
  • I second this. Mostly the FSF and GNU logos though. --Pyrosamurai (talk) 00:22, 30 January 2016 (EST)
  • +1 Juanmabv (talk) 06:48, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
• knit hat
• Baby gear
• tie and/or shirt and/or socks for the unfortunate GNU lovers evolving in more corporate environment
  • Call them Freedom Socks.
• Halloween costume of Freedo for adults (and why not also for kids), it would be a great way to initiate discussions related to software freedom on that day and would be very visible. Mve 08:31, 10 November 2014 (EST)
• Cotton T-shirts with messages about freedom plus a GNU reference. They can be serious or funny. E.g.:
  • Front: (large text) I am a hacker. (smaller bullet points) I solve interesting problems so you don't have to. I respect the freedom of my users. I defend that freedom with Copyleft. I run GNU/Linux. Back: Free Software Foundation logo Mtraceur 22:44, 16 April 2012 (EDT)
  • It's free software and it gives you freedom!
  • Che Stallman from openclipart -- Jcubic 03:38, 28 March 2013 (EDT)
  • My computer is running software which respects me.
  • Call me $WHATEVER, but my computer obeys me.
    • +1 Juanmabv (talk) 06:48, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
  • Freedom is an important thing. Because of that I use GNU.
    • +1 Juanmabv (talk) 06:48, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
  • No, I won't use that privative software.
  • GNU Emacs User (or) Emacs User
    • I second this. (After the Emacs mugs selling out in 24hrs, I think the case is made for the viability of this.) Ciaran 16:51, 11 May 2012 (EDT)
    • A funny t-shirt about belonging to the Church of Emacs -- boltronics
      • +1 Juanmabv (talk) 06:48, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
  • Dynamic Duo: the GNU and the Penguin in flight t-shirt
  • GNU and Freedo 100% Freedom T-Shirt (Made from the image of GNU & Freedo from the FSFLA Linux-libre site)
  • Just the GNU head logo. Like the old dark-red on red t-shirts but in slightly more contrasting colours. Ciaran 14:48, 1 August 2012 (EDT)
    • +1 Juanmabv (talk) 06:48, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
  • Gnu Head tee shirt in white and/or with logo on the back.
  • FSFS shirt and LibrePlanet shirt with Happy Hacking coloring (black shirt with bright green lettering) (ziriako@gmail.com) August 09. 2012
  • This on a t-shirt: https://lukeshu.com/dump/PEACE_LOVE_FREEDOM.png (source files) ~ Lukeshu 14:40, 4 March 2014 (EST)
• I would love to see T-shirts with the logos of various free software projects. The problem if you order them individually or print them yourself is that you're paying high unnecessary costs for shipping / printing small quantities. If I could order a batch of T-shirts of my favorite projects from the FSF, it would be much more efficient and convenient. A fraction of the revenue gained through the selling of these shirts should go directly to the projects. Some projects (not all GNU) I'd like to wear on my shirt: Emacs, GnuPG, OpenSSH, GnuTLS, GCC, Guile, Coreboot / Libreboot, LUKS, Octave, Tor, Postfix, … --Moritz (talk) 16:30, 22 September 2016 (EDT)
  • +1 Juanmabv (talk) 06:48, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
• Though not the newest campaign any more, I think that you won't find me on facebook would make for an awesome T-shirt. --Moritz (talk) 16:30, 22 September 2016 (EDT)

Ethical tshirt suppliers to consider sourcing from

It seems to me very important that FSF sources goods as far as possible from ethical sources. It would seem contradictory to have a completely free operating system on your computer, yet be wearing a T-shirt that was made by a nine year old in a sweat shop. As can be seen below, there are now plenty of ethical suppliers to choose from. T-shirts should be traded on fair trade terms or better, preferably made by a workers co-operative from organically grown cotton supplied by small independent or co-operative farmers.

• http://www.zonafrancamasili.com/
• http://www.justshirts.ca/
• http://www.autonomieproject.com/custom.html
• http://www.greenolastyle.com/t-Wholesale.aspx
• http://www.justshirts.ca/index.shtml
• http://www.justiceclothing.com/thereis/justice/bulk.html

Hats

• A quality winter GNU, Libreplanet and FSF cap (bonnet in french) for winter ;-) --AurélienFreedom is not just a word, it's a duty! 12:05, 11 February 2012 (EST)
• Sell quality GNU, libreplanet and FSF baseball caps --Aurélien 19:27, 9 Febuary 2012 (UTC) (in fact suggested on irc ~ 1 or 2 years before :)
• FSF "SWAT" Hat, like EFF's --Kxra 16:38, 26 July 2010 (UTC)
• RUN GCC Beanie Elm0e (talk) 14:10, 23 September 2016 (EDT)

Discussion about the caps (from irc 2012)

So here is mix of discussion from irc #libreplanet with Johnsu01 / Broam / Aurelien / jgay

• Make 3 color of quality, 100% cotton caps with FSF logo and other with GNU letters
• black / white / grey
• make them 100% USA to spread the fsf in USA

example of place which need to verify if they are truly made in America or not:

- http://custom-hats.lids.com
- http://www.californiacustomcaps.com
- http://americap.com
- http://www.oxagile.com
- http://www.itransition.com

Libreplanet readers comments:

• I'd wear a cap with the GNU head, but not with G-N-U. A logo is subtle. Letters are too blatant. Too much like advertising. For cap colours, I'd go for browns, greens, greys, maybe blues. Nothing too bright or too contrasty, and not black. Black would be ok for the writing/logo. White is hard to keep clean. Even designs in white age very quickly. A previous employer once made black t-shirts with white trim on the neck and sleeves. They looked very smart at first but after a few months of use, the white turned greyish. Maybe a good way to choose colours would be to take note what colour of caps are worn during the next few free software events. That would tell us what our target audience wants to buy. Next best idea would be a poll. Ciaran 15:04, 3 August 2012 (EDT)
• I'm actually quite partial to black in almost all my clothing, especially as the base color. Perhaps red lettering w/ black base will be suitable as a replacement for white lettering, especially if it was a FSF cap/clothing. I'd also be totally be okay with straight-up "advertising" initialized logos too, since being subtle with GNU/FSF's existence hasn't really done the job so far. --Pyrosamurai (talk) 00:22, 30 January 2016 (EST)

Computers

Free (as in freedom) hardware to run our free software on! --Apollia 08:38, 29 May 2014 (EDT)

Hacker Emblem in Action -- gniibe, 17:20, 4 Aug 2014 (+0900)

Manuals

We're going to be printing a new book soon. Please add your ideas and add your vote for any that you think would be good.

• GNU Coding Standards +2
  • +1 Juanmabv (talk) 06:48, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
• Gnus manual
  • +1, Pegzmasta (talk) 17:08, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
• An intro to gnu-autotools for newbies
• Guile 2.* manual / seconded
  • +1 Satchmoz
• Hard copy of "GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual" seconded #704823
• GNU Bash manual.
  • +1 Juanmabv (talk) 06:48, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
  • +1
• Lilypond
• Bazaar
• Texinfo
  • +1 finally, a printed manual that teaches users how to create printed manuals with free software! --Pegzmasta (talk) 17:08, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
• GNU M4
• GCC 5.2
• GNU C Library 2.22
• GNU C++ Library v3
• GNU Assembler

Other merchandise

• RMS or GNU Bobble Head.
• Free software definition card, like EFF's Bill of Rights card --Kxra 16:38, 26 July 2010 (UTC)
• METAL keychain --Graziano Sorbaioli - 9 July 2010
• laptop / netbook skins --Graziano Sorbaioli - 9 July 2010
• ball pens --Graziano Sorbaioli - 9 July 2010
• mugs --Graziano Sorbaioli - 9 July 2010
• A DVD archive of http://audio-video.gnu.org/ (not just a website mirror, but with some kind of convenient shell for selecting and launching video/audio)--Rm 19:47, 13 July 2010 (UTC)
• Trisquel DVDs (4.0)--Rm 19:47, 13 July 2010 (UTC)
  • I think this should be left to the original Trisquel project. Selling DVDs is an important way to fund the project.--OsamaK 22:09, 5 August 2010 (UTC)
• GNU Coins http://osstore.com/coins/GNU-FSF
• Iron-on GNU transfers
• travel mug for coffee
• license plate frames
• GNU-shaped pasta called "emacs & cheese" for hungry freedom lovers
  • +1 Ingenious! An analogy could be made on the back of the product that unlike software whose contents (i.e. source code) could be withheld from you, the contents (i.e. ingredients list) of food must be labelled! Knowing what's in our food helps us understand the effects of food on our bodies (promotes health); knowing what's in our software helps us understand the effects of programs on our computers (promotes freedom and security). --Pegzmasta (talk) 18:19, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
• Emacs button which says - "I am a Saint in the church of Emacs". Here is a sample : SaintButton
  • -1 Love the idea, but I can not access your image. I received this error:

— 403: Access Denied —

This file requires authorization:

You must be logged in and a member of this blog. Log in to proceed.

• Emacs reference card mug
• Emacs reference card poster
  • +1 Juanmabv (talk) 06:48, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
• Stuffed animal of Freedo, the Linux-libre mascot
• Ocsico Software Development OCSICO
• Flash drives of the GNU head with the FSF logo on the back & Freedo with the FSFLA Logo on the back. The Linux Foundation has something similar with Tux: Tux Flash Drive
  • +1 In addition, could we also add a mini GNU doll that acts like a USB holder like this: 32GB Monkey USB Flash Drive. The USB could be the medium for a live GNU/Linux free distro, making it not just a "U - S - B", but a "GNU - S - B." --Pegzmasta (talk) 17:59, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
• A GNU Maintainer Bundle (Bazaar, Texinfo, Guile manuals)
• Pocket protectors Gnu 4 Jan 2013
• FSF themed RFID
  • +1 --Pegzmasta (talk) 18:19, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
• free software gang cubicle banner (poster) --Kete 17:30, 8 September 2013 (EDT)
• phone etc with Free software installed on them
• a keyboard with a GNU-key, or a key-cap or sticker to replace the woe-key.
  • +1 Juanmabv (talk) 06:48, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
• custom software development qulix.com
• a WWSD (what would Stallman do) bracelet, it alludes on the evangelical WWJD (what would jesus do) bracelets
  • +1 Juanmabv (talk) 06:48, 23 September 2016 (EDT)
• Mouse pad with GNU / FSF / etc. imagery. FSF 30th logo might be nice.
• Skateboard decks with GNU, FSF, or any of our popular slogans/logos on them. (maybe via zazzle.com?) --Pyrosamurai (talk) 00:22, 30 January 2016 (EST)
  • Skateboarding is a pretty common way to get around at my college, so an easy way to advertise. Plus, we can put some of our more artistic and higher quality logos to good use this way. --Pyrosamurai (talk) 00:22, 30 January 2016 (EST)
• Gawk reference card

About how the store works

• Commit to Worker-Owned cooperatives! Kxra 18:19, 27 June 2012 (EDT)
  • +1 the most ethical source
  • Local printing for brochuces, pamphlets, flyers, ect: Red Sun Press
  • Book publisher: AK Press, Arbeiter Ring Publishing, Tara Books, Thomson-Shore
  • Apparel: Just Shirts
• Accept Google Checkout --Kxra 16:38, 26 July 2010 (UTC)
  • -1 Google Checkout has been discontinued. --Pegzmasta (talk) 17:59, 23 September 2016 (EDT)

Suggestions yet to be sorted

• For ethical reasons, stop selling items made out of leather.
• Offer a gnu.org Host to all Free Software / Distro type of project --Aurélien 9:44, 11 Febuary 2012 (UTC)
• Start a sort of campaigny thing called "You don't know me!" where non-technical end users can share why they like Free software(to combat misrepresentation by computer people in regards to what they imagine non-computer people want) Aeth3r 15:33, 14 August 2013 (EDT)

This page was a featured resource in December 2013.