Software Freedom Conservancy needs our cash

[Ian Jackson <ijackson@chiark.greenend.org.uk>]

As reported here:
  https://sfconservancy.org/supporter/

Conservancy is an amazingly good thing.  They are the only
organisation doing GPL enforcement for non-FSF projects.  They are
facing financial problems because one of their major donors has
withdrawn.  Conservancy's determination to make the GPL stick, by
lawsuit if necessary, is not popular amongst rich corporates.

I have just signed up.  I think any Debian contributor who believes in
copyleft, and can afford it, should probably sign up too.

If, like me, you work on copylefted software in your day job, or you
hope to do so in the future, the GPL is for you not just an important
tool to help change the world, but also an assurance of your personal
autonomy.


Could Debian as a project sign up ?  Conservancy is a 503(c), like
SPI, so perhaps we in Debian could commit a modest regular funding
stream to Conservancy.

Debian depends heavily on GPL'd software and most of the
Debian-specific tools we have written over the years are copyleft.  We
depend on our copyleft being enforced to ensure that all users of
Debian (including users of Debian derivatives) have the freedoms that
our community (and our Social Contract) promise.

Debian's presence in the list of sponsors would be valuable as an
example, too.


Ian.