<p>As a testament to &ldquo;practice what you preach&rdquo;, we undertook

  what we consider a fair and equitable hiring process which our executive

  director

  Karen <a href="/blog/2021/oct/15/equitable-hiring/">described

  in detail on our website</a>. We

  lead by example &mdash; with transparency and casting a wide net to avoid just hiring within our circles.</p>

<p>We also updated our website &mdash; hopefully, you'll find it easier to

use and that it better conveys our mission and work.  Our chat platform moved

to <a href="/blog/2021/jun/21/chat-options/">XMPP</a>. Bridging to IRC and

Matrix is supported, so you are welcome to join with whatever client you like

(unlike other “Loose” options).  Throughout the seemingly-endless video

chatting during the pandemic, we have been one of only two FOSS organizations

who insist on using FOSS video chat platforms like Big Blue Button.  We are

committed to using free software for communication and demonstrating that

organizations of all sizes can make the same commitment.</p>

</div>

<h3 id="WritingAndSpeaking">Writing and Speaking</h3>

<div data-read-more="Find out about our writing and speaking engagements&hellip;">

<p>Software Freedom Conservancy team members published important writings

  this year to both share essential historical context and modern

  interpretations.  Denver Gingerich wrote about

  the <a href="/blog/2021/mar/25/install-gplv2/">installation requirement for

  the GPLv2</a>. Bradley M. Kuhn documented the historical record in his

  related piece

  about <a href="/blog/2021/jul/23/tivoization-and-the-gpl-right-to-install/">&ldquo;Tivoization&rdquo;

  and Your Right to Install Under Copyleft</a>. Bradley also explained

  how <cite><a href="/blog/2021/jun/30/who-should-own-foss-copyrights/">It

  Matters Who Owns Your Copylefted Copyrights</a></cite> &mdash; which

  garnered a lot of great community conversations. In another vein, Sage

  Sharp of Outreachy wrote a tremendous piece

  titled <cite><a href="/blog/2021/apr/20/how-to-apologize/">So you want to

  apologize&hellip; Now what?</a></cite> &mdash: which has helped explain the

  entire life cycle apologizing for your own behavior. We can all learn from

  this piece about how to act more humanely in our shared spaces of

  production.</p>

<p>This was another long year of online conferences. While the traveling was

 easier (by not doing it), we miss the face to face relationship building

  that we've come to expect from our big

  conference gatherings. We can't wait to get back to a sense of normalcy and

  at least have a little less latency between us.</p>

<p>Karen, our executive director, gave two keynotes this year, one at the <a href="/news/2021/mar/23/karen-lailec-2021/">Leuven AI Law &amp; Ethics Conference</a> and another at <a href="https://conf.linuxappsummit.org/event/3/contributions/71/">Linux App Summit</a>. Karen also spoke with Marina Zhurakhinskaya at <cite>All Things Open</cite> about the 10+ year history of Outreachy. Karen was also an invited speaker at <a href="https://heales.org/2021/05/28/conference-big-data-a-i-and-healthy-longevity-how-to-progress-faster-and-better-for-all-scientists-thursday-september-9-2021/">Big Data, A.I. and Healthy Longevity: How to progress faster and better for all scientists</a>.</p>

<p>Karen and Bradley were also co-organizers (with others) of the Legal &amp;

<p>We were also a sponsor of the

fantastic <a href="https://seagl.org/">SeaGL</a> event. A community focused

conference that does an incredible job giving opportunities to first-time

speakers (suitable for community members of all walks of life). They hosted

their conference on the Matrix platform, which further proved it's possible

to run a virtual conference with free software.</p>

</div>

<h3 id="HelpUs">Help us Continue this Work</h3>

<p>We are beyond thankful for the ability to continue our work &mdash; which

  only continues due to <strong>your financial contributions</strong>. We

  recognize that not everyone has the same financial leeway to donate as they

  have in the past. But please consider giving what you can so that our

  organization can continue to advocate and support the rights of all

  software users. We work hard and efficiently, and accomplish so much with

  our small staff. We hope — through our hard work, creativity, and

  passionate dedication — that we've demonstrated over the years how

  Software Freedom Conservancy continues to be the beacon of change for

  software freedom that the world needs. <a href="/donate/">Please consider

  donating now!</a></p>

<div style="overflow: auto">

<div class="picture-small right">

  <img src="/img/scaled-LLW-2015-Conservancy-Supporters-by-Carlo-Piana-CC-0.jpg" alt="Zack, Karen, John and Jim pose, mostly wearing the vintage t-shirt!" />

  <p>Vintage-shirt-wearing Sustainers pose with Karen! <br/>From left: Stefano &ldquo;Zack&rdquo; Zacchiroli, Karen M. Sandler, John Sullivan, and Jim Wright</p>

</div>

<div data-read-more="A note on t-shirts&hellip;">

<p>We're all sick of hearing about supply chains, global shortages, and

  deliveries being delayed. But we must tell you up-front that since we have

  a small staff we try to batch our t-shirt orders, and given the realities

  of the pandemic, we are often a few months behind on t-shirt deliveries.

  Those owed t-shirts from early 2021 renewals should receive them by years'

  end.  Meanwhile, we're working on a new t-shirt design for this year; check

  back here for an announcement later in the fundraising season!  All

  renewals during this fundraising season will receive the new shirt!  We so

  appreciate everyone's patience! </p>

</div>

<h3 id="VintageT">Vintage T-Shirt Promotion</h3>

<div data-read-more="Would you like a last chance to receive a vintage Conservancy t-shirt?  Find out how&hellip;">

<p>If you're a Sustainer, you've already received or will soon receive a

  t-shirt in our 2018 design shown here.   But,