As 2017 draws to a close, Richard M. Stallman, President of the Free Software Foundation (FSF), offers his thoughts about why you should become an FSF Associate Member.

Becoming an Associate Member reflects a long-term commitment to supporting free software projects, licenses, and advocacy that helps the FSF's staff and volunteers focus on the big picture and work toward software freedom for all. Join today.

Why you should join the Free Software Foundation

There are many organizations that usefully promote free software, but no other organization we know of stands for software freedom as firmly as the Free Software Foundation. If freedom in your computing is important to you, please join the Free Software Foundation.

Richard M. Stallman at the European Dialogues in Spain, November 2016

There are many organizations that criticize Digital Restrictions Management (DRM). No other organization we know of campaigns against DRM as firmly and strongly as the Free Software Foundation. If you fighting DRM is important to you, please join the Free Software Foundation.

There are many organizations that develop free software licenses, but they don't make protecting users' freedom the principal goal, as the Free Software Foundation does. If defending users' freedom is important to you, please join the Free Software Foundation.

There are many organizations that maintain lists of free programs, but no other organization has a list like our Free Software Directory. If guidance on what programs you can trust is important to you, please join the Free Software Foundation.

There are many organizations that certify products for various criteria, but no other organization certifies computers and peripherals that Respect Your Freedom as the Free Software Foundation does. If guidance on what to buy for freedom is important to you, please join the Free Software Foundation.

Many organizations try to promote "open source," and they may do useful, practical work. But they don't go deeper into the ethics of software like the Free Software Foundation. If looking deeply at software freedom is important to you, please join the Free Software Foundation.

We won't stop. We will keep fighting until freedom wins. But we need your support in order to have more effect, so please... join the Free Software Foundation!

Richard M. Stallman
President

Photo: CC BY-SA 3.0, courtesy of the European Dialogues.