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#+TITLE: Fripost \ndash the Free Email Association
#+SETUPFILE: includes/level-0.org
Technology has never been neutral. The ownership structure of technology
companies and their endeavour for profit ensures that usage of their services
for work and communication will never be free.
At the same time, only a fraction of the everyday Internet users have knowledge
and resources enough to create free alternatives on their own. The question is
also: What can reasonably be expected from an average user in terms of
engagement in their privacy and freedom?
For any one individual, the goal of user freedom may be unattainable. Together,
we can move mountains.
We are proud to present the Association for Free Email, Fripost. Fripost has
since late 2010 delivered a free and reliable email service, with a distributed
network of servers.
#+HTML: <div class="divider"></div>
* Join Now
We are happy do declare that the membership fee has been decreased. Since the
yearly meeting in Mars 2012 we lowered the entrance fee from 300 to 200
SEK. Fripost consists of all members together, and the only way to strengthen
our strives is to become more. A lowered fee has been one of the wishes of
Fripost's members, and a lowered fee also lowers the threshold for to free your
mailing.
You become a member by sending 200 SEK to the association
- Through bank payment,
- PayPal, or
- By cash payment at one of the association's meetings.
200 SEK -- A small price for freedom
Details are found at the [[file:medlemskap.org][membership page]].
Paying the membership fee corresponds to the smallest effort members commit to
in the association, but we expect members to take larger part in the work of
Fripost. That means, for example, to sometime show up at the association's
activities, or take part in the
[[https://lists.fripost.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo][mailing lists]]
or at [[https://wiki.fripost.org][Fripost's wiki]].
Donations are also appreciated. Fripost suggests that one can join and at
the same time contribute with 300 SEK. To do so, pay 500 SEK to one of the bank accounts
or use the special PayPal button.
#+HTML: <div class="divider"></div>
* Fripost \ndash Free Mailing
Free your mailing!
The Internet is the most important communication medium in the majority of the
industrialised world. For those who take user freedom seriously it is saddening
to see how the Internet has changed from being a highly distributed network to
the increasingly privatised web we encounter today. A few strong parties control
major segments of important infrastructure that millions of users depend on
every day.
** Software as a Service
A concept introduced in the spirit of centralisation is Software as a Service
(SaaS). SaaS means that users perform their computer work on or through a
network server on the Internet or a local network. Examples of SaaS are Amazon
Cloud and Google Docs. One of the main problems with SaaS is that the users has
no control over their data.
** Privacy and Surveillance
With large clientele comes a lot of power. Large transnational operators, such
as Google, are profiting from efficient use of privacy invading
schemes. Together with e.g. Google's email service one also gets things that was
probably not asked for: advertisement, semantic analysis of email contents, and
spying. One part of Google's marketing strategy is to sell the collected
information to third party.
** The Free Email Association
Fripost was founded in order to take back a small, but important, part of our
Internet life, namely the email communication infrastructure. We gather around
several servers that receive and stores the members' email. The reliability of
the service is of course of great importance.
Apart from reliability, also integrity preserving, democratic participation and
transparency are the watchwords of Fripost. The association will never be
interested in the content of its members' emails or other dealings. The
association never supplies information regarding members activities to third
party. Fripost keeps logs, and that is a part of all responsible service. But
these logs are only for reliable maintenance, and will never be used for other
purposes.
All work within the association is voluntary. The association is administrated
by a democratically elected board, and the server administrators are chosen on
democratic grounds.
** What's the Difference?
With mail services on today's market, users have no power over their mailing,
and must follow suit the provider's all whims. In that sense, those services can
never be regarded as free, as in freedom. However, the email service provided
through Fripost is free! This because of the co-ownership of the association's
means and the democratic structure of non-profit organisations. No private
for-profit corporation can offer that, at whatever price.
Through collective organisation, Fripost render it possible for individuals to
bring yet another part of their computer usage under their own control.
User freedom is possible!
** Participate
The membership fee, 200 SEK, is a small price for freedom.
Fripost is based on voluntary work. There are always things to do for those who
want to get involved. As said before, paying the membership fee corresponds to
the smallest effort members take in the association, but we expect members to
take larger part in the work of Fripost: sometime show up at the association's
activities, or be active on the association's [[https://wiki.fripost.org][wiki]],
[[https://lists.fripost.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo][email lists]], and
chat channel [[https://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=#fripost][#fripost]] on
[[http://www.freenode.net/][freenode]].
Many of Fripost's members also participate by just configuring their email
clients and free their mailing.
Members are as active in the association as they like, and all members have the same
possibilities to take part in the association's democratic process.
** More Information
Fripost's official language is Swedish. however, many members, also in the
administrators team, are non Swedish speakers. Therefore by-laws and similar
documents are written in Swedish, but documentation and such is all in
English. Documentation is in English also because of that one of the main ideas
with Fripost is to encourage others to follow Fripost's initiative. Fripost's
documentation is a good way to get started.
More sources of information
- [[https://fscons.org/2010/infrastructure/distributed-email-system.html][Abstract of a talk]], given by Gustav Eek and Stefan Kangas at FSCONS, November
2010
- [[https://wiki.fripost.org][Fripost's wiki]], which contains ideas, instructions, and minutes
- [[http://git.fripost.org][The Git repositories]]
For further questions see [[file:kontakt.org][contact page]] for how to get in contact with Fripost.
Fripost started as a project within Göteborg Fellowship of FSFE, but is now an
independent association.
A version of this text is available as a [[file:material/leaflet.pdf][leaflet]], which you can print and use to
spread the word.
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