[ for immediate release and distribution ]
Fellow Me: No more Vienna Manipulations!
When FSFE's president first brought attention to the manipulation of the "Vienna Conclusions" published by the Austrian government for the United Nation World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) as part of the World Summit Award (WSA) in his blog, many people were shocked.
When details of how Microsoft and IFPI managed to remove Free Software and insert promotion of Digital Restriction Management (DRM) in its stead became known, more media took notice.
On Friday, 2 December 2005, GROKLAW now published [1] the entire story and its evolution, causing many people to voice their frustration and anger in the comments about this obvious disrespect for democratic procedures and the blatant way in which it was conducted.
Several people have expressed their desire to do something against such conduct and let others know how much they are disgusted by it. So Georg Greve, president of FSFE, has provided [2] a way in which you can let everyone know what YOU think about this, a button saying "Fellow Me: No more Vienna Manipulations!" to link to the story and/or Fellowship site at http://www.fsfe.org. This button has already been picked up by a couple of companies and individuals.
Help to make others aware of what happened to this prestigious United Nations document! Express your feelings about the way the Vienna Conclusions were turned into the "Vienna Manipulations," let everyone know this is NOT the way you want politics to be done, and help make sure to prevent this kind of manipulation in the future by joining the Fellowship of FSFE [3] and encouraging others to do the same.
Please help us make sure this will not be accepted by silent consent, and that our disagreement will not be forgotten!
[1] http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20051130185547876 [2] http://www.fsfe.org/fellows/greve/freedom_bits/fellow_me_say_no_to_vienna_ma... [3] https://fsfe.org/en/fsfeuser/register
About the Free Software Foundation Europe:
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), founded 2001, is a charitable non-governmental organisation dedicated to all aspects of Free Software in Europe. Access to software determines who may participate in a digital society. The the Freedoms to use, copy, modify and redistribute software - as described in the Free Software definition - allow equal participation in the information age. Creating awareness for these issues, securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people Freedom by supporting development of Free Software are central issues of the FSFE.
Further information about FSFE's work can be found at http://fsfeurope.org, get active yourself at http://fsfeurope.org/contribute/