Group: Free Javascript Action Team

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Currently, web applications like Google Docs are transmitting programs written in JavaScript and other languages to users, without unobfuscated source code and without any ability for users to modify them. This means that even in free software web browsers, users are running nonfree programs. Richard Stallman wrote about this in The JavaScript Trap.

The FSF is starting a campaign to get important Web sites working without proprietary JavaScript. Learn more and take action!

We're putting pressure on webmasters to make their sites work without proprietary JavaScript. They can do this by switching to free JavaScript libraries, or by modifying their sites so they don't need JavaScript at all to run. Our tactic is to organize lots of people to contact the webmasters and request the change. The first target Web site is Regulations.gov, which the American government uses to take feedback on proposed regulatory changes.

If you'd like to stay involved with the campaign, join the low-volume JavaScript Action Team mailing list. If you'd like to become more active in the development process, please view the Group:JavaScript Developers Task-Force.

Action items related to this group

  Modification date"Modification date" is a predefined property that corresponds to the date of the last modification of a subject and is provided by Semantic MediaWiki. Content languageThis property is a special property in this wiki. Action name Action description Ongoing?
Action items/Google Groups: Free your JavaScript 4 December 2016 19:09:55 Google Groups: Free your JavaScript Suggest Google to free the JavaScript used in Google Groups. true
Action items/Para BB.com.br: Liberte seu JavaScript 19 June 2016 19:24:59 pt-BR Para BB.com.br: Liberte seu JavaScript Sugira ao Banco do Brasil (BB.com.br) para que libertem o JavaScript usado no site deles. true
Action items/Para BR-Linux.org: Liberte seu JavaScript 19 June 2016 13:27:58 pt-BR Para BR-Linux.org: Liberte seu JavaScript Sugira ao BR-Linux.org a libertar o JavaScript usado no site deles. true
Action items/Para PoliGNU: Migrem para fora do Google Groups 4 December 2016 20:14:20 pt-BR Para PoliGNU: Migrem para fora do Google Groups Sugira ao PoliGNU, grupo de estudos de software livre da PoliUSP, para que migrem para fora do Google Groups. true
Action items/Para VivaoLinux.com.br: JavaScript e distros não livres 6 June 2016 19:09:20 pt-BR Para VivaoLinux.com.br: Liberte o JavaScript e corrija a lista de distribuições Sugira ao VivaoLinux.com.br a libertar o JavaScript usado no site deles, e sugira que eles removam as menções que indicam distribuições de sistemas não livres como livres. true
Action items/Para a Unimestre: Liberte o JavaScript 19 April 2017 19:56:14 pt-BR Para a Unimestre: Liberte o JavaScript Sugira à empresa Unimestre, para que libertem o JavaScript presente no sistema acadêmico Unimestre. true
Action items/To CloudFlare: Free your JavaScript 25 June 2016 13:14:29 To CloudFlare: Free your JavaScript Suggest CloudFlare to free their JavaScript. true
Action items/To Distil Networks: Free your JavaScript 21 June 2016 22:26:48 To Distil Networks: Free your JavaScript Suggest Distil Networks to free their JavaScript, or to allow people who dislike their non-free JavaScript to use sites protected by them. true
Action items/To Followzup.com: Free your JavaScript 10 March 2017 21:22:19 To Followzup.com: Free your JavaScript Suggest Followzup to free the JavaScript used throught all the website. true
Action items/To Jamendo.com: Free your JavaScript and use Opus by default 6 June 2016 17:11:41 To Jamendo.com: Free your JavaScript and use Opus by default Suggests Jamendo.com to free their client-side JavaScript code, and to distribute audio encoded with Opus by default. true
Action items/To freenode: Leave CloudFlare 25 June 2016 13:14:16 To freenode: Leave CloudFlare Suggest freenode to leave CloudFlare. true

Sample message to Reddit

Submit at http://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Freddit.com. This is just a sample message. We recommend you keep the links, but please add a subject line, some details about your use of Reddit and/or why you care about free JavaScript. 

Hi Reddit admins. Thanks for all your work.

The Free Software Foundation recently pointed out (https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/freejs-reddit) that while Reddit's source code is available on your GitHub page, some of its JavaScript isn't served as free software, with the necessary links to licenses and source code. Unfortunately, this means that to access Reddit, I have to download and run proprietary code.

I'm writing to request that you make the likely very simple changes needed so that Reddit can be fully accessible without the user running any nonfree JavaScript. It would be excellent if you could make a public announcement that Reddit will plan to do this by the end of January.

The FSF has publicly stated that it would be more than happy to help the Reddit developer community with this, providing expert guidance and resources. You can contact the FSF at campaigns@fsf.org to start a conversation about making Reddit work without any nonfree JavaScript.

More info about the need for free JavaScript on the Web is available at https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/javascript-trap.html, and you can see http://www.gnu.org/software/librejs/free-your-javascript.html for instructions on freely licensing your JavaScript.

Making reddit work without nonfree JavaScript would be a strong next step in embodying the values of transparency and freedom that the reddit community, as well as the free software community, espouses.

Ideas for focus

When adding sites to the list below, if you know how best we can reach the site's decision maker(s), please mention that also.

Focus Notes Relates to
Andrew Wommack Ministries
  • Contact info can be found at Contact Us.
  • Also uses non-free formats for TV Archives would appreciate if they provided Ogg or WebM.
 Websites that only provide non-free formats
Indiegogo
FirstGiving
Wix
NASA
Twitter
  • No public email ID, but can be contacted via the feedback form.
  • Will be easy to put public pressure by the use of hashtag and tagging @twitter in tweets.
Gandi Provides domain names and servers to freedom-promoting projects but uses some non-free JS on their website.
Disqus Action items/Para BR-Linux.org: Liberte seu JavaScript
eBay
Eventbrite
LinkedIn
LastFM
Fronter (Pearson LMS)
DuckDuckGo
MoveOn.org
Slashdot
Gmail
Google Maps
YouTube
Google Docs
hCAPTCHA Sites using hCAPTCHA fail the LibreJS test. This impacts all CloudFlare sites (well over 10% of the entire web). Side effect: this not only forces execution of non-free software to use the website, the graphical CAPTCHA also prevents some free software browsers from functioning. E.g. lynx is a free browser that't rendered dysfunctional when an hCAPTCHA is encountered. Tor users, who are generally targeted arbitrarily.
reCAPTCHA
National Whistleblowers Center See this page.
Unimestre
  • Student information system from a Brazilian organization of the same name. While the system is mostly on the server-side, some parts are made to be used with client-side JavaScript. All the teachers and students (from various colleges and universities) are victims of the non-free JavaScript.
  • The link references to the organization website. Not their software.
  • Some examples of affected colleges or universities: [1] [2]
WikiWikiWeb
iCIMS Recruit
  • The iCIMS Recruit software provides proprietary JavaScript to many online job applications.
  • While a minority of companies are still offering paper applications, many companies only allow people to apply on the Web. Nobody's economic security should have to depend on running proprietary JavaScript.
  • Complain to iCIMS, Inc. on their contact form.

Other things you can do

Here is a basic outline for things that need to be done. Please edit and add your suggestions, and discuss ideas on the Talk page.

  • Install GNU LibreJS, a plug-in for Firefox-based browsers that detects and blocks nonfree JavaScript.
  • Modify browsers to allow users to run their own modified Javascript programs for particular sites that they visit.
  • Write browser extensions that notify users about nonfree Javascript.
  • If you write Javascript, follow the suggestions in Stallman's article, The JavaScript Trap, for clearly and freely licensing your code.
  • Build community repositories of free JavaScript programs useful for popular sites.
  • Raise awareness of this issue by publicizing Stallman's article, writing about the problem yourself, and talking to friends and colleagues about it. Watch this wiki page and help organize the effort.
  • If you see mention of JS freedom, add a link to the Promotion section of this page.

Promotion

List places where discussion about this issue is happening, and join in, calling for free JavaScript.

Resources

  • Noscript - Filter javascript based on domain white/blacklists.
    • Script surrogates are designed to replace undesirable scripts with user-specified alternatives.
  • Greasefire - Firefox-compatible addon to search userscripts.org and install userscripts, displays userscripts which can be used on the currently viewed page
  • Greasemonkey - Firefox-compatible addon to execute user-supplied javascript on certain pages
  • openJSAN.org - JavaScript Archive Network is a comprehensive resource for JavaScript libraries and software.

FAQ

To view frequently asked questions regarding Free JavaScript, please see the Free Javascript FAQ page.

References


"issue" is not in the list (interest, location, project, school) of allowed values for the "Organized around" property.

This page was a featured resource in March 2018.


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