docs/source/about.rst

   1 .. MediaGoblin Documentation
   2
   3    Written in 2011, 2012 by MediaGoblin contributors
   4
   5    To the extent possible under law, the author(s) have dedicated all
   6    copyright and related and neighboring rights to this software to
   7    the public domain worldwide. This software is distributed without
   8    any warranty.
   9
  10    You should have received a copy of the CC0 Public Domain
  11    Dedication along with this software. If not, see
  12    <http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/>.
  13
  14 =======================
  15  About GNU MediaGoblin
  16 =======================
  17
  18 .. contents:: Sections
  19    :local:
  20
  21
  22 What is GNU MediaGoblin
  23 =======================
  24
  25 In 2008, a number of free software developers and activists gathered
  26 at the FSF to attempt to answer the question "What should software
  27 freedom look like on the participatory web?" Their answer, the
  28 `Franklin Street Statement`_ has lead to the development of
  29 `autonomo.us`_ community, and free software projects including
  30 `Identi.ca`_ and `Libre.fm`_.
  31
  32 .. _Franklin Street Statement: http://autonomo.us/2008/07/franklin-street-statement/
  33 .. _autonomo.us: http://autonomo.us/
  34 .. _identi.ca: http://identi.ca/
  35 .. _Libre.fm: http://libre.fm/
  36
  37 Identi.ca and Libre.fm address the need for micro-blogging and music
  38 sharing services and software that respect users' freedom and
  39 autonomy.  GNU MediaGoblin emerges from this milieu to create a
  40 platform for us to share photos in an environment that respects our
  41 freedom and independence.  In the future MediaGoblin will include
  42 support other media, like video, and provide tools to facilitate
  43 collaboration on media projects.
  44
  45
  46 Why Build GNU MediaGoblin
  47 =========================
  48
  49 The Internet is designed---and works best---as a complex and endlessly
  50 resilient network.  When key services and media outlets are
  51 concentrated in centralized platforms, the network becomes less useful
  52 and increasingly fragile.  As always, the proprietary nature of these
  53 systems, hinders users ability to develop, extend, and understand
  54 their software; however, in the case of network services it also means
  55 that users must forfeit control of their data to the service
  56 providers.
  57
  58 Therefore, we believe that network services must be federated to avoid
  59 centralization and that everyone ought to have control over their
  60 data.  In support of this, we've decided to help build the tools to
  61 make these kinds of services possible.  We hope you'll join us, both
  62 as users and as contributors.
  63
  64
  65 Who Contributes to the Project
  66 ==============================
  67
  68 You do!
  69
  70 We are free software activists and folks who have worked on a variety
  71 of other projects including: Libre.fm, GNU Social, Status.net, Miro,
  72 Miro Community, and OpenHatch among others.  We're programmers,
  73 musicians, writers, and painters.  We're friendly and dedicated to
  74 software and network freedom.
  75
  76
  77 How Can I Participate?
  78 ======================
  79
  80 See `Get Involved <http://mediagoblin.org/join/>`_ on the website.  We
  81 eagerly look forward to seeing you!
  82
  83
  84 How is GNU MediaGoblin licensed?
  85 ================================
  86
  87 GNU MediaGoblin software is released under an AGPLv3 license.
  88
  89 See the ``COPYING`` file in the root of the source for details.
  90
  91
  92 Is MedaGobilin an official GNU project?  What does that mean?
  93 =============================================================
  94
  95 MediaGoblin is an official GNU project! This status means that we the
  96 meet the GNU Project's rigorous standards for free software.  To find
  97 out more about what that means, check out the `GNU website`_.
  98
  99 Please feel free to contact us with further questions!
 100
 101 .. _GNU website: http://gnu.org/