Free Software Foundation Tamil Nadu (or FSFTN in short) ( ta, கட்டற்ற மென்பொருள் அறக்கட்டளை தமிழ்நாடு) is a not-for-profit organisation formed in 2008 as a part of Free Software Movement of India (FSMI). This organisation is a social movement that works towards enlightening the masses with the essence of

free software Free software or libre software is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions. Free software is a matter of liberty, no ...

and to liberate knowledge. FSFTN organises different workshops and seminars in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

among the youth to spread the idea of knowledge liberation. Presently FSFTN is active in campuses like

Indian Institute of Technology Madras Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is a public technical university located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. As one of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), it is recognized as an Institute of National Importance and has be ...

, Anna University, and

Madras Institute of Technology Madras Institute of Technology (MIT) is an engineering institute located in Chromepet, Chennai, India. It is one of the four autonomous constituent colleges of Anna University. It was established in 1949 by Chinnaswami Rajam as the first self-f ...

in and around

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Name

Free Software Foundation Tamil Nadu is the body working as a part of Free Software Movement of India and not the

Free Software Foundation of India The Free Software Foundation of India (FSFI) is the Indian sister organisation to the US-based Free Software Foundation. It was founded in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) (the capital of Kerala) in 2001 as a non-profit Company. The FSFI advoc ...

. It is often believed that FSFTN is the official chapter of

Free Software Foundation The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a 501(c)#501(c)(3), 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by Richard Stallman on October 4, 1985, to support the free software movement, with the organization's preference for software being distributed ...

. Recent

disclaimer A disclaimer is generally any statement intended to specify or delimit the scope of rights and obligations that may be exercised and enforced by parties in a legally recognized relationship. In contrast to other terms for legally operative langua ...

of Free Software Foundation Tamil Nadu makes clear that FSFTN is a part of Free Software Movement of India and they are not associated with either

anyway other than the

ideology An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied pri ...

Objectives

As per the FSFTN site the main objectives of the organisation are as follows: * To take forward free software and its ideological implications to all corners of our country from the developed domains to the underprivileged. * To create awareness among computer users in the use of free software. * To work towards usage of free software in all stream of

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

s and

research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

. * To take forward implementation and usage of free software in school education, academics and higher education. * To work towards

e-literacy Computer literacy is defined as the knowledge and ability to use computers and related technology efficiently, with skill levels ranging from elementary use to computer programming and advanced problem solving. Computer literacy can also refer ...

and bridging

digital divide The digital divide is the unequal access to digital technology, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and the internet. The digital divide creates a division and inequality around access to information and resources. In the Information Age in ...

based on free software and mobilising the underprivileged. * To work among developers on solutions catering to societal & national requirements. * To work towards a policy change favoring free software in all walks of life.

GNU/Linux Users Group (GLUG)

The GNU/Linux Users Group (GLUG) are the essential place for Knowledge sharing activities for Colleges and Regions co-ordinated by FSFTN. FSFTN has both Regional and College GLUGs. The GLUGs operate at various levels and is guided by the Core Committee Members of FSFTN. The functionalities and structure of GLUG are as follows, * Each GLUG will have a Representative who will co-ordinate the GLUG and take care of the activities of the GLUG * The College GLUG consists of only the College Students and a Staff Representative * The College GLUG organises activities and events inside the college and will aim to bring people involving them in Community Contributions, Projects, etc. * The Regional GLUG consists of members from the locality and gets involved in Knowledge Sharing sessions and bring in new people from various colleges in and around the region * GLUGs are the main point of contact for FOSS related activities and events in the locality * Each College and Regional will plan for

Software Freedom Day Software Freedom Day (SFD) is an annual worldwide celebration of Free Software organized by the Digital Freedom Foundation (DFF). SFD is a public education effort with the aim of increasing awareness of Free Software and its virtues, and enc ...

(SFD),

Education Freedom Day Education Freedom Day (EFD) is an international event launched by the Digital Freedom Foundation in 2013. It's annually observed on March 21. It is similar to other Freedom Days, namely Software, Hardware and Culture Freedom Day. The goal of EDF i ...

(EFD) and many such activities in a year. * GLUG members will represent their GLUG in the Summer Camp organised by FSFTN every year.

Activism

The Free Software Foundation Tamil Nadu was in the forefront of the protests against the inclusion of

proprietary software Proprietary software is software that is deemed within the free and open-source software to be non-free because its creator, publisher, or other rightsholder or rightsholder partner exercises a legal monopoly afforded by modern copyright and int ...

in the free laptop scheme by the Government of Tamil Nadu. On 6 February 2012, FSFTN organised a lecture on "Freedom, Free Software and Education" by the founder of

Richard Matthew Stallman Richard Matthew Stallman (; born March 16, 1953), also known by his initials, rms, is an American free software movement activist and programmer. He campaigns for software to be distributed in such a manner that its users have the freedom to u ...

at IIT Madras in

. On 19 February 2012, a

Mozilla Mozilla (stylized as moz://a) is a free software community founded in 1998 by members of Netscape. The Mozilla community uses, develops, spreads and supports Mozilla products, thereby promoting exclusively free software and open standards, wi ...

localisation seminar was organised by the Free Software Foundation, Tamil Nadu at IIT Madras. On 9 June 2012, FSFTN conducted a

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

against Intermediaries Guidelines Rules and spread awareness about the importance of a free Internet through posters, distribution of pamphlets and speeches by some of the volunteers at

Besant Nagar Besant Nagar is an upscale, exclusive residential neighbourhood in South Chennai, India. It is located along the coast of Bay of Bengal. The neighbourhood is inhabited by highly affluent population and is dotted with many upmarket restaurant ...

Beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

. In June 2013, FSFTN conducted 5 days workshop in collaboration with ILUGC at IIT-Madras on various technologies and discussed about social issues like "Internet Democracy","Gender Biasing" etc. On 23 April 2015, as part of Free Software Movement of India's call for campaign in support of NetNeutrality, FSFTN organised a walkathon in Besant Nagar Beach

References

External links