The Free Software advocacy work I’m doing in southern rural Missouri kicked off back in June with the thought that I’d like to find oldish, unused computers and UpCycle them for free give-away after installing GNU/Linux Mint. Alongside of the UpCycling I wanted to offer support and training in the form of informational presentations that might also serve as general outreach to the community. As the project evolved in those first weeks I alse began to consider the possiblity of building a local user group that could share knowledge with one another and expand outward from there.
I’m in Fredericktown, a small town of 4,500 about 90 miles south of St. Louis. Like much of rural America it’s a fairly economically depressed area and Lots of folks here are either using older computers or have just switched to a mobile phone for their computing. UpCycling old hardware with a secure operating system that will allow contiuned safe use is a great solution for people who cannot easily buy a new computer. It’s also worth noting that, again true of much of the rural midwest, this area began largely as a farming community and that continues to some extent.
My initial plan was to work with the local branch of the Ozark Regional Library as well as with Madison County Recovery Allies, a non-profit that supports adults in the county who are working through drug and alcohol recovery. I spent June and July creating basic outreach materials: a small sub-site within the larger library website, flyers, promotional images and the first presentation for August which would be a simple Introduction to GNU/Linux Download ODP with a brief bit of history and explanation of the OS in use. This was followed in September by an Introduction to Privacy and Security which touched on GNU/Linux and Free Software as a secure, privacy respecting OS.
In August we recieved our first donated computers which were successfully upgraded and put to use in a small space for the clients at the recovery non-profit. Shortly after a few more were donated and upgraded. Those will be given away in October and November. In August I also began assisted upgrades for folks that owned an older, unsupported computer that they wanted to keep but upgrade for their continued use. 4 computers have been upgraded through that offering.
From these efforts I’ve been able to make contact with a handful of people interested in meeting and learning. I’ve just set up a Signal group for ongoing discussion of free software, computing and privacy/security between our events. We’ll also be using that group for planning future events. Currently that core group consist of four folks. It’s been slower going than I’d hoped but I suspect that over time we’ll be able to grow the group. My plan is to continue with at least one presentation per month along with two or more days a month that I’m thinking will be a sort of Office hours at the Library. I’ll promote those days as assisted GNU/Linux install days as well as a time and space for discussion and support for anyone that just wants to learn or hang out.
When I first proposed this project to the MCRA and ORL I had not considered the possiblity that it would be anything other than a local UpCycling effort. Yes, I wanted to offer support and training to new users but it had not occurred to me in those first few weeks that such a project could also serve as Free Software advocacy or connect in with the larger Free Software movement. I had not yet begun to think of myself as a Free Software activist yet, but, rather, just a local enthusiast that wanted to help other locals that were likely struggling financially. It wasn’t so much about advocating Free Software as it was helping local working people improve the privacy and safety of their home computing.
That very practical starting point grew as I learned more about the fact that there was an organized effort to share and advocate for Free Software and why such advocacy was important. I understood the economic benefits for working people as well as the importance of responsible resource use. But I’d not really grasped the full depth of the ethics that Free Software is based on or the wide-ranging implications for users and society. I’d not grasped that it was not just better computing.
I’ve unintentionally written this from the perspective of a new Free Software activist because, over the course of 5 months, I unintentionally transitioned from being a new GNU/Linux Free Software user to being a sharer to an advocate and an activist. I did not set out to join the the Free Software Foundation or create the Missouri Chapter of Beyond40.
It’s a slippery slope, but in a good way. I’m realizing that while I want to continue towards my initial goal of creating a local user group and that the visibilty of such user groups is its own form of advocacy, it’s not enough. That alone does not build the Free Software movement. We also need to make the argument, to prove the deeper points that inspire others to do the same. I can’t be the only activist in my community. I’ll need to persuade others that what’s needed is the building of a movement.
We also have to help connect the dots on the map. My community is just one of many in Missouri. We start with our local but if we’re not connecting beyond the local then we’re falling short. But the good news is that as we find our way forward building successes in our different communities we should be able to learn from one another. Similar communites might find success in similar methods, strategies and processes.