Group:Freedom Ladder/Stories

Freedom Ladder stories

We believe people's stories about the use cases of free software, and also on how they got into free software, as well as on the difficulties that sometimes need to be overcome, will help us better represent and address the multitude of audiences we want to speak to. It will show that free software really is for everyone, and for everyone there is a step forward.

How did you get into free software? What difficulties did you encounter adopting free software into your life? What successes, no matter how small, made a difference for your software freedom? You are invited to add to, spread and improve this important resource.

Fictional or real life experiences, it will be very helpful in the next phase of the freedom ladder campaign the FSF is developing!

Add yours!

Read more:

• The journey begins with a single step: climb the freedom ladder

• Support the Freedom Ladder campaign: Lessons we learned so far and what's next

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 * "X installed a freer OS because she had a graphic card
   that wasn't supported yet by fully free operating
   systems. She will try to get a RYF-compliant laptop later
   on."

 * "I got a relative to install LibreOffice and they loved it
   and told five of their friends who also did it."

 * "We refurbished an old computer too slow to run Windows, and
   installed a GNU/Linux distribution on it, avoiding its
   hardware obsolescence."

 * "X has just started activism and needs a software to
   publish a politically oriented fanzine and they used the
   Free Software Directory to help them find programs to be able to do that."

 * Llevo mi laptop llena de stickers de la FSF, los cuales han
 sido un apoyo para motivar a mis familiares en la adopción del
 software libre, (explicando las ideas de la libertad y dando el
 ejemplo). Incluso hoy mi hermano ya tiene GNU con linux en su
 máquina. ¡Todavía quedan pasos por dar en la Escala a la
 Libertad del software! También me he esforzado en llevar estas
 ideas a otros, fuera de mi grupo cercano y la experiencia me
 llevó a hacer mi propio Equipo de
 [https://libreplanet.org/wiki/LibrePlanet:Teams#South_America
 LibrePlanet].

 * Casey got a used "mini" desktop (HP ProDesk) from a friend,
 which was decomissioned at his work, and I now use it as my
 main computer to cut my electricity bill by a lot. I decided to
 install Manjaro, because it's very performant on lower-spec
 computers like this one, and also saves me even more
 electricity. Running Windows 10/11 on this computer wouldn't
 work that well, but using Manjaro instead works perfectly for
 both me and my little computer. (submitted 27 December)

* Many years ago I saw my brother installing Gnu/Linux on a computer, and I ridiculed him for not using Windows. Later, I was having trouble reinstalling Windows on a computer, due to a problem with a license key. I was tired of needing to call Windows tech support yet again, just to reinstall my OS. I happened to have a copy of Red Hat in a box, so I installed that. Over time, I have used other distributions including Mint, Debian, and Gentoo. Along the way, I learned about free software ideals and became a free software purist. For several years now I have been using Guix Gnu/Linux on most of my computers and have been very happy with it.

 * Just a year ago I was discussing WSL and Micro$oft with my classmate that is with Open-Source Software. I was fascinated about interoperability given by that subsystem. My friend was trying to attack M$ and I was trying to defend it. I still remember what he said among other arguments: "It's a bit like painting a beautiful white shirt brown just to roll it in the mud", and that Micro$oft does rule the majority of PCs as opposed to "Linux"'s community. That discussion made me think about all of things related to -- like I used to say -- "Linux". Those reflections and studies directed me even further than my friend is -- to the Free Software, FSF, and later to the twentieth-century hacker subculture. When M$ released W11, I decided to get active and as a start I presented a presentation about Free Software and hackers in my class.