Episode 207: FOSSY 2023 with Karen Sandler

Guest Karen Sandler Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes Hello and
welcome to Sustain! Richard is in Portland at FOSSY, the Free and
Open Source Software Yearly conference that is held by the Software
Freedom Conservancy. In this episode, Richard is joined by Karen
Sandler, Executive Director at Software Freedom Conservancy. Today,
they discuss the various aspects of organizing a conference,
emphasizing ethical considerations, precautions taken, software
freedom, community involvement, GNOME pronunciation, and highlight
community contributions and the balance between using open source
and proprietary software. They explore topics like DRM, exemptions,
coordination on renewals, the challenge of “trafficking provision,”
and the global influence of U.S. law. Hit download now to hear
more! [00:00:35] Karen discusses the challenges of organizing the
conference but praises her staff. [00:01:18] Richard and Karen
discuss conference inspiration, focus on software freedom, and
avoiding corporate noise. There’s an overview of talks and
speakers, and a discussion on the correct pronunciation of “GNOME.”
[00:03:46] Karen mentions attending the keynote session, Red Hat
Enterprise Linux, and reflects on the complexity of organizing with
ethical considerations. [00:04:22] Richard asks Karen if there’s
any controversies she’s had to weather at the conference, and she
talks about COVID precautions, collaboration with charities,
ethical practices in organizing, and how high school students have
contributed to the event’s success. [00:06:53] Richard questions
Karen about the balance between using open source and proprietary
software for practicality. Karen emphasizes the need for thoughtful
decisions about using proprietary software, reflecting on the
realistic choices to ensure software freedom. [00:09:14] Karen
mentions having a nice coffee chat session with Kyle Wiens, and
working together on 1201 materials, referring to the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). She further discusses about how
the 1201 provision affects people. [00:11:27] The conversation
takes a shift to discussing the trafficking term. They begin
discussing potential legislation and the frustrations around
applying for limited exemptions. [00:12:28] Richard questions why
they focus so much on U.S. law instead of working in a country
without restrictive laws. Karen explains the global impact of the
U.S. law and how other countries often follow suit. [00:14:15] They
discuss the lobbying impact of big companies and how they can
influence laws even in small countries. Also, Karen shares being
grateful for the ability to criticize and work within the system,
the idea of working in another place, and the need for a global
movement. [00:15:25] Find out where you can learn more about
Software Freedom Conservancy and Karen. Links SustainOSS
(https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter
(https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor)
SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/)
podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS
Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Open
Collective-SustainOSS (Contribute)
(https://opencollective.com/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Twitter
(https://twitter.com/richlitt?lang=en) Karen Sandler Twitter
(https://twitter.com/o0karen0o?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor)
Software Freedom Conservancy (https://sfconservancy.org/) Open OSS
(https://openoss.sourceforge.net/) GNOME (https://www.gnome.org/)
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act)
Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/)
Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound
(https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr
Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest:
Karen Sandler.