FSFE Potteries
Information
- Coordinators
- Description
- A local group for users of Free Software in the Potteries area.
- Joining
Please join the mailing list and introduce yourself!
- Location
The Potteries (including North Staffordshire and the surrounding areas, including Stoke-on-Trent, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Kidsgrove, Staffordshire Moorlands and parts of Cheshire).
- Meetings
A minimum of 3 evenly spaced over each year, usually on a Tuesday's on odd numbered weeks starting from 6:30pm in a room provided by Internet Central in Keele. We'd be setting up an iCal and/or RSS feed for these events, but we haven't got one yet!
Meetings
Scheduled
These meeting have had their dates, times, presiding persons, and topics all confirmed. Each of them should have been confirmed in an announcement with at least 25 days prior notice. In the unlikely event of a cancellation, usually only for reasons we can't control, we'll try to give at least 4 days notice. Please make sure you're subscribed to the mailing list for updates.
None yet, see the below section for possible dates that we might run the next meetings on.
Planning
These are ideas for future topics that we will schedule soon, or possible dates where we've not yet chosen the topic to first see if people can make that date. Once all the details are confirmed it'll become a scheduled meeting with at least 25 days prior notice via the mailing list, so make sure you're subscribed for updates!
Tuesday 4th July 2023 - Topic: n/a
Presiding: n/a
Location: CoCoLab (see the section below below)
Time: 6:30pm (main activities starting at 7pm)
- Give us your thoughts on which topic you'd like to see presented on this possible upcoming date!
Notes: Not available yet.
Tuesday 7th November 2023 - Topic: n/a
Presiding: n/a
Location: CoCoLab (see the section below below)
Time: 6:30pm (main activities starting at 7pm)
- Give us your thoughts on which topic you'd like to see presented on this possible upcoming date!
Notes: Not available yet.
Tuesday ??th ??? 202? - Topic: Open Firmware
Presiding: Steven Maddox
Location: CoCoLab (see the section below below)
Time: 6:30pm (main activities starting at 7pm)
- Looking at free software projects that replace proprietary firmware.
- Including looking at coreboot and Libreboot.
- As well as things that can be loaded from them such as iPXE and SeaBIOS.
- Hopefully some hardware and VMs we can play with that uses these.
Notes: Not available yet.
Previous
These meetings have already happened, so you can see what you might have missed, read any notes that were taken, and perhaps suggest repeating a topic in later years if you enjoyed it or would like an update on that topic. Please let us know your thoughts by subscribing to the mailing list.
Tuesday 14th February 2023 - Topic: I Love Free Software Day 2023
Presiding: Steven M
Location: CoCoLab (see the section below below)
Time: 6:30pm (main activities starting at 7pm)
- The 13th traditional celebration of 'I Love Free Software Day' as organised by FSFE!
- Our groups 1st celebration of this (due to COVID-19 preventing it for the last 2 years)!
- Meet like minded people, discuss the benefits of Free Software, and perhaps tell us what Free Software you're thankful for the most.
- Soft drinks and pizza will be provided at this event for free.
- We'll be running Trisquel GNU/Linux on the computers to try Free Software (including games!) for yourself.
Notes: Not available yet.
Tuesday 5th July 2022 - Topic: Free GNU/Linux distros
Presiding: Steven M
Location: CoCoLab (see the section below below)
Time: 6:30pm (main activities starting at 7pm)
- Looking at Debian-based distros like PureOS and Trisquel GNU/Linux.
- A look at Arch-based distros like Hyperbola and Parabola GNU/Linux-libre
- Other distros listed by FSF
- What is wrong with distros that are not completely free
Notes: Some notes have been written up for this meeting and can be downloaded here.
Tuesday 15th February 2022 - Topic: Checking for non-free software
Presiding: Darren M and Steven M
Location: Jitsi (use this link)
Time: 6:30pm (main activities starting at 7pm)
- A little bit on Free Software licenses.
- How to check what license your software has.
- Using tools like vrms.
- How the DFSG differs for checking purposes.
Notes: Some notes have been written up for this meeting and can be downloaded here.
Tuesday 12th October 2021 - Topic: FSFE sister and alternate organisations
Presiding: Richard B
Location: Jitsi (use this link)
Time: 6:30pm (main activities starting at 7pm)
- The FSF* network as a whole
- Break away groups like Free Software Fellowship
- The issues with RMS and the FSFE statement
- Differences between FSFE and FSF
Notes: Some notes have been written up for this meeting and can be downloaded here.
Tuesday 16th February 2021 - Topic: Free Software friendly conferences in the UK
Presiding: Darren M and Keira T
Location: Jitsi (use this link instead as the fsfe.org hosted one didn't work so well last time)
Time: 6:30pm (main activities starting at 7pm)
Talk about OggCamp 2019 and meeting FSFE there.
How COVID-19 prevented OggCamp 2020 and possibly again this year?
- Other technology conferences and unconferences near and far from the Potteries.
Possibly incorporating lightning talks (as seen at OggCamp) in to future FSFE Potteries meetings.
Notes: Some notes have been written up for this meeting and can be downloaded here.
Tuesday 6th October 2020 - Topic: Launch of FSFE Potteries
Presiding: Darren M and Steven M
Location: Jitsi (use this link)
Time: 6:30pm (main activities starting at 7pm)
- Look at e-mails from FSFE president Matthias Kirschner who's approved the group.
- Decide on a name for the group and get approval for it.
- Discuss promotional material FSFE has to offer and put a request in.
- Buy some merchandise for possible future prizes.
- Discuss how to organise and how a mailing list might be the best approach?
- Getting access to the FSFE wiki to list the new group and who has edit rights.
- Work out when meetings should take place and co-operation with other local groups.
Notes: Some notes have been written up for this meeting and can be downloaded here.
CoCoLab
The Keele CoCoLab (which stands for Community Computer Lab) is a name that several local groups, inclusing FSFE Potteries, use to describe a room which is useful for giving presentations, getting on with some work, training, and general lab tasks... due to it's large number of computers, phones and desks.
In reality the room is really is a part of the local ISP of Internet Central who allow their customers to use it as a 'Workplace Recovery Suite'. So if you ever bump into anyone at Keele asking to find the CoCoLab... they'll likely look at you strangely. Instead it's better to ask to find Internet Central who are based in the IC1 building (IC stands for 'Innovation Centre')... and you'll find that building just has a big 'IC' written on the side (so don't confuse it with IC2, IC3, etc...). Out of all the IC buildings on Keele Science and Innovation Park, you'll find IC1 is the closest one to the actual main part of the Keele University campus.
📍 Innovation Centre 1 building, Keele University, ST5 5NB, Staffordshire, United Kingdom.
🌐 Latitude: 53.003668 Longitude: -2.269742
🚗 Use the spaces marked 'Internet Central' in the lower and rear car park behind the building (as per the red arrow on the photo)... or alternatively you can use the Keele Campus “Pay and Display” parking (by the Students’ Union).
🚌 If you're coming from Stoke-on-Trent or Newcastle-under-Lyme then you’ll likely want the number 25 operated by First or if you’re coming from Cheshire you may want the 85 operated by D&G.
🚪 Ring the door bell next to the door with the big 'Internet Central' sign next to it, at the rear of the building (as per the red arrow on the photo).
About us
The FSFE Potteries local group began Tuesday 6th October 2020. Nothing much had particularly happened on that date other than a bunch of us getting together (via Jitsi Meet, due to the COVID-19 pandemic!) and deciding to start this FSFE local group, the general goals and ways it could work.
Today it feels like more and more the entire point of keeping software free is being eroded. Whether that be...
- So called "open core" tactics.
- Open source software not released under a FSF approved license.
- Software that's split so it's partly free, offloading the platform/architecture/packaging specific tweaks to the community.
- Microsoft's new found "Love" of Linux (and related communities).
We aim to bring back some much needed attention to why this movement began in the first place, at a regional level. To promote software that respects a user's right to use, study, distribute and modify it, and believe technology should be accessible to everyone. Feel free to come along to any of our meetings, we're friendly and enthusiastic, like to share news and ideas and can likely help if you're just trying to find out what free software would be suitable for you.
What we do
We are an active Free Software group that advocates for Free Software at a regional level. Working as a local group of the Free Software Foundation Europe and with the general assistance of FSFE Supporter Function Office (a nearby based non-profit that assists other non-profits and charities using Free Software), we draw attention to the social and political aspects of Free Software, share news and ideas, and plan future events and campaigns.
Resources
The Four Freedoms shows the essential four freedoms that make up what is called Free Software.
Convince your friends project documenting arguments and ideas for explaining to your friends why you choose to use Free Software.
Staffordshire Linux User Group is the local LUG in the area and is a worthwhile group to keep tabs on. We're aiming to co-host any presentations which revolve around purely Free Software topics or goals in order to reach a wider audience locally.
Potteries Hackspace is the local hackspace / makerspace in the area. Their projects regularly make use of Free Software, particularly running on Raspberry Pi's and Arduino's when used to control some mechanical construction!
Function Office is a non-profit organisation (with FSFE Supporter status) that advocates for other non-profits, charities and volunteering individuals to be more self-sufficient (and to keep their overheads low) in their use of digital tools and services. A promoter of the same goals as FSFE, Function Office more directly assists these other groups by offering free IT support and hosted services.
Internet Central is a local ISP that allows Function Office the free use of a room for regular events and meetings. Function Office is, under that agreement, allowing groups like StaffsLUG and FSFE Potteries to use the room for their events.