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| − | = Volunteering at the Free Software Foundation Office = | + | == Volunteering at the Free Software Foundation Office == |
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| − | The FSF is always in need of some help around the office. If you are in the Boston area and want to help out, we'd love to have you come by. Our office is located at | + | The FSF is often in need of some help around the office. If you are in the Boston area and want to help out, Please send an email to sales@fsf.org. If there's a task that suits you, we'd love to have you come by. Our core office hours are 10am-4m weekdays and our office is located at |
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| − | <pre>51 Franklin Street, 5th floor
| + | 51 Franklin Street, 5th floor<br /> |
| − | Boston, MA 02478 | + | Downtown Crossing<br /> |
| − | USA</pre>
| + | Boston, MA 02110<br /> |
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| − | Our office hours are 10am-6pm weekdays, but it is generally a good idea to send an email to sales@fsf.org to give us a heads-up that you are coming by.
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| | ==== Benefits ==== | | ==== Benefits ==== |
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| − | Many people who have volunteered at the FSF have been accepted as interns, and some of those interns have become employees the FSF. Also, spending time here is a good way to meet the staff, but please note that the staff have work to do, so they often can't talk for very long. Lunch is an hour long at 1:00, and a good time to chat. | + | Many people who have volunteered at the FSF have been accepted as interns, and some of those interns have become employees the FSF. Also, spending time here is a good way to meet the staff, but please note that the staff have work to do, so they often can't talk for very long. Staff typically take lunch between noon and three PM or so - this can be a good time to chat. |
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| − | = Time Dependent Volunteer Opportunities = | + | == Recurring tasks == |
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| − | We have some volunteer opportunities that are time dependent, such as our biannual membership mailing. Those will be announced to our local volunteer mailing list (please email [mailto:sales@fsf.org sales@fsf.org] to get on the list if you aren't already) but should be listed here as well.
| + | These are things that we periodically need help with: |
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| − | = Help Any Time =
| + | * Bundling Stickers [[Group:FSF:office volunteers/bundling stickers|(Instructions)]] |
| | + | * Making Sticker Packs [[Group:FSF:office volunteers/making sticker packs|(Instructions)]] |
| | + | * Helping with Shipping [[Group:FSF:office volunteers/helping with shipping|(Instructions)]] |
| | + | * Scanning Old Files [[Group:FSF:office volunteers/scanning old files|(Instructions)]] |
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| − | These are things that we always need help with. They are tasks that are on-going or repeating, so if you ever have free time and want to help out, please join us at the office.
| + | == Other Tasks / Projects == |
| | + | * Become part of our online debate team to help reiterate the message and correct misuse of terms and concepts. [[Group:LibrePlanet_Rapid_Responders| (Find more info)]] and [[https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/fsf-community-team join]] |
| | + | * We are always looking for more translators |
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| − | * Bundling Stickers
| + | == Time Dependent Volunteer Opportunities == |
| − | * Making Sticker Packs
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| − | * Helping with Shipping
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| − | * Scanning Old Files
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| − | == Bundling Stickers ==
| + | We have some volunteer opportunities that are time dependent, such as our biannual membership mailing. Those will be announced to our local volunteer mailing list (please email [mailto:sales@fsf.org sales@fsf.org] to get on the list if you aren't already) but should be listed here as well. |
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| − | Since the FSF often sends out large sticker packs to free software conferences around the world, it's really helpful to have sets of 100 for each sticker type in stock.
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| − | | |
| − | ==== Starting Out ====
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| − | If you'd like to to do this job, find the sticker boxes in the closet next to the scanning machine. It is at the back of the office, on the right.
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| − | Find sticker types that don't seem to have a lot of bundles, and grab a whole bunch to compile.
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| − | ==== Tips ====
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| − | * For individual stickers, it's helpful to count out 5 piles of 10, stack them together, and then make another stack that is the same height right next to it. Put those stacks together, and you have 100 stickers, give or take. Then you can use the same comparing method to quickly make more stacks that are about the same size.
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| − | * For stickers on rolls, you can count out 5 stickers, then fold the tape back and forth at that length several more times. You should have a total of 10 folds on the end that only has folds and no ends, to get 100 stickers. Once you break off your 100, you can fold the stack of stickers four times in a zig-zag so that you end up with a neat little stack.
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| − | ==== Finishing Up ====
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| − | Take your sets of 100 and put a rubber band around each set. Put them back in the box. Thanks!
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| − | | |
| − | == Making Sticker Packs ==
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| − | The FSF store sells sticker packs of 15. If you'd like, you can try to grab at least one of each sticker type (except for the metal GNU/Linux Inside and other rare stickers). You can find individual stickers in the shipping area next to the conference room. There are also stickers in boxes in the sticker closet. Put 15 assorted stickers in white FSF envelopes. Finished envelopes go onto the shelf covered in stickers. You may want to check first to see if there are a lot of these envelopes made out already.
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| − | ==== Make sure to include at least these stickers ====
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| − | * Free Software Foundation Logo
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| − | * GNU head
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| − | * Eliminate DRM
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| − | * Dynamic Duo
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| − | * GPLv3
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| − | * A more accurate depiction of Apple's 1984 commercial
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| − | * iBad - Bad for your freedom
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| − | * Defective By Design Anti-Sony Stickers
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| − | == Helping with Shipping ==
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| − | The FSF gets orders from its [http://shop.fsf.org/ store] on a regular basis. If you would like to help fill some of these orders, you can find the requests in the small printer at the back of the office, next to the closet containing stickers. Each order prints two pages, so keep the pages in pairs. Then ask someone to unlock the store closet, and get the requested items.
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| − | ==== Please Note ====
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| − | * Read the listed version for books and reference cards, as the FSF sells new and old copies. If no version is listed, give the latest version. Also, some people buy books signed by rms. Those are in a box on the floor, to the right of the door. Don't give out signed copies if they were not ordered.
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| − | * If the shirt is not specified as 'Ladies', then please don't ship a ladies' shirt. Some ladies' shirts are different colors, but others look quite similar. You can check the tag to tell the difference.
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| − | * Sometimes order names include '(Package of 10)' and list another quantity. In that case, the the amount to ship is the quantity times 10.
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| − | ==== Common Cryptic Names ====
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| − | * Book bundle: Free as in Freedom book and Free Software, Free Society book
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| − | * GNU head: shirt with a GNU head on it
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| − | * Sticker pack: pack of 15 stickers (grab the ones from the shipping center, not the store closet, since those have 50.)
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| − | * GNU Emblem Classic Pin: golden and black pin. These are in tiny plastic baggies on the sticker shelf at the shipping center.
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| − | * DD: Dynamic Duo stickers (a GNU and Penguin)
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| − | ==== Short Supplies ====
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| − | If there is short or missing stock in any item, tell Don, and he may be able to get you more.
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| − | ==== Customs Forms ====
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| − | If an order is shipping with International First Class Mail, you need to fill out a customs form for the order. (Other international orders are taken care of online by Don.) The slips are on the lower right shelf above the shipping station, next to the conference room. The From: address needs to be stamped with the FSF's address. Write the shipping address for the order in the fields below. You may need to cram a line or two together to leave line open at the bottom. This is so there is room for Don to sign the form.
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| − | ==== Finishing Up ====
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| − | Once you have everything, put the order items in stacks on the wooden table at the shipping station. Place the two pages and any needed customs form for that order on top of the items you have gathered. If there isn't much room, you may stack the orders, as long as the order pages and forms separate them.
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| − | Try to make sure that your order is correct. Even so, your stack will be reviewed before shipping. Thank you!
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| − | == Scanning Old Files ==
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| − | The files the FSF is scanning are copyright '''assignments''' and employer/other '''disclaimers'''. These are the legal documents that people sign when they contribute to the GNU project. A disclaimer is permission given by an employer (or school) to let an employee assign their work to the FSF. Right now, the FSF has a nice big stack of them that need to be scanned into .pdf format, so that they can be found quickly when contacted about a possible issue. The FSF hired a company to scan them in all at once, but they did it in an disorganized fashion, and without splitting or naming files in a helpful way.
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| − | ==== Strategy ====
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| − | The strategy is to scan in a stack of the presorted documents using the automated scanning machine in the back office. Then use a program called 'pdftk' to split up the digital scan into separate .pdf files named after each signer and the targeted GNU project.
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| − | ==== Important ====
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| − | It is important to maintain the order of files at all times during this scanning, checking and refiling process. Some documents were originally stapled, but to scan them, they have their staples removed. Not all of these assignments list the person's name on every page, so if the documents get mixed up, that would pose an issue. In any case, documents should be in a partially alphabetic order, which means they do not need to be resorted, unless you are asked to.
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| − | ==== Where to Start ====
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| − | This effort started with the oldest documents first, going from 'A' to 'Z' within each year. Ask Don where the previous volunteer has left off. If 1992 'R' was the last batch, then do 1992 'S'. The files are in black metal file drawers in the room after the FSF store. They are mostly clustered by year, and sub-sorted by letter. However, the order of years is not sorted in an obvious way. If the drawer you need to access is locked, ask Don or Jasimin for help.
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| − | ==== The Scanning Process ====
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| − | Grab a the next section of documents and load them in the scanner. It is important that you remove every last staple. Also, remove any tape holding two sheets together. Remove any unimportant post-it notes. If you don't do these three things, the scanner will jam and possibly tear the pages. If you think the note has important information not already contained in the document, you can tape the non-sticky side down with a piece of scotch tape so the note doesn't stick out and jam the printer. Please move the note so it isn't over an area of the page that already contains text. There may be room on the back for it. Make sure the naturally sticky side is secure.
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| − | This is how to operate the scanner:
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| − | * Neatly stack the staple- and tape-removed pages face up with the top edge of the page pointing away from you. Put them in the autoloader at the top of the machine and adjust the plastic guides so that they sit firmly against the stack. If there are some slightly larger pages, you should adjust the guides a bit so that they fit without bending. Vertically center the the smaller pages, then slide the stack so that the left side is firmly against the machine entrance.
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| − | * Next, enter your email address and scan like this:
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| − | ** Press 'Fax/Scan' button. Press '2'.
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| − | ** Touch 'Com. Mode', 'PC', then 'Email' and 'Enter'.
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| − | ** Type in your email address.
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| − | *** If you mistype, touch the left arrow, and then the 'delete' button to delete the selected character.
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| − | ** Press the Green start button.
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| − | You should watch the scanning process at least the first few times you do this, so that you can quickly interrupt it by pressing the pink 'Stop' button if there is a jam in the machine. Otherwise, stay close by.
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| − | ==== In Order to Split ====
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| − | Next, you need to split the pdf file with pdftk. Here is the source of the script to use when splitting files:
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| − | <pre>
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| − | #!/bin/bash
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| − | # Please make the file name the last name of the contributor (first letter capitalized), then a period, then the name of the package in all caps.
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| − | # For employer disclaimers, add the word 'disclaimer' after the package name
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| − | pdftk A=temp.pdf cat A1-2W output Lastname.PACKAGENAME.pdf
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| − | # make sure to add the last scanned document as a comment at the end of this file
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| − | </pre>
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| − | * Copy and paste it into a new file named 'splitpdf'. After you save it, run the following command in the same directory as the file:
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| − | <pre>
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| − | chmod +x splitpdf
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| − | </pre>
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| − | ==== Editing ./splitpdf ====
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| − | Once you've done that, edit the file and change the arguments to the first command, instructing pdftk to create a single file for the pages that form a single document.
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| − | * The 'A=temp.pdf' part can be left unchanged. the 'A' is a variable that is used as a shorthand in the rest of the command, when referring to temp.pdf.
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| − | * 'A1-2W' Tells pdftk to select pages 1 through 2 and to rotate them 'West' (90 degrees CCW). Since you will be scanning both sides of the documents and not all documents use the back side, you will usually need to skip that side, after checking to make sure there is nothing written there. In that case, the first two-page document would be selected as 'A1W A3W', without the dash. (Odd numbered pages select the front, and even numbered pages select the back. They need to be rotated because pages are scanned and saved by the scanner rotated 90 degrees CW.)
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| − | * Change the output name, as instructed in the script above. If a document references multiple projects you can list them like 'Smith.GIMP-GLIB-EMACS.pdf'. Make sure to end the file name '.disclaimer.pdf' if it is a disclaimer. Also, sometimes a company will be the entity that assigns its own copyright, instead of assigning the copyright of its employees. In that case, the document is not a disclaimer. Put the company name in place of "Lastname", replacing spaces with dashes.
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| − | Then copy the first line and paste it on the next line, change the details for the next document, and repeat.
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| − | ==== Splitting the File ====
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| − | <pre>./splitpdf</pre>
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| − | Once you've covered all of the documents, run the script and check the resulting pdfs against the stack you scanned. '''Check your work''', make any fixes necessary, remove pdf files with incorrect names that will not be overwritten, then re-run the script. Once everything is correct, '''make a comment''' at the end of your splitpdf file saying where you left off scanning. Since you will be emailing that file too, it's a way for Don to keep track of the last scanned section.
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| − | <pre># I've finished scanning up through 1992 S</pre>
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| − | ==== Zipping it Up ====
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| − | Zip up the pdfs and splitpdf together.
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| − | <pre>tar czf 1992S.tgz *.pdf splitpdf</pre>
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| − | Then email the .tgz file to Donald. His address is his name AT fsf.org.
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| − | ==== Putting the Files Back ====
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| − | Please put files back where you found them. Do not lock the cabinets unless instructed. In other words, don't push in the gray metal projection at the top right of the cabinet. That way, you and other volunteers can access them without John searching for the right key.
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