---
title: 'Free Software Foundation: Volunteer Empire'
osem_url: https://osem.seagl.org/conferences/seagl2016/program/proposals/186
beginning: '2016-11-12T16:30:00.000-08:00'
end: '2016-11-12T17:30:00.000-08:00'
presenters:
- name: Donald R. Robertson
  affiliation: Free Software Foundation
  osem_url: https://osem.seagl.org/users/80
  gravatar_id: 2f133afffafed026cc953d68abf8d91d
  biography: Donald Robertson, III, J.D. is the Copyright and Licensing Associate
    for the Free Software Foundation. He has worked for the FSF for over seven years
    in the FSF's Licensing & Compliance Lab, and has been involved in free software
    for over fifteen years. <https://www.fsf.org/about/staff-and-board>
---

People are often surprised to find out that the Free Software Foundation has fewer than 15 employees. Our outreach and activities would not be possible without the thousands of volunteers who make our work possible.
Managing the multitude of individual volunteers and volunteer projects has its own difficulties, but also incredible rewards. Tailoring structure, communication, and instructional materials for each type of volunteer and project is key for keeping a well run volunteer empire. We will explore this tailoring through the lens of some of the largest and smallest volunteer projects that the Free Software Foundation facilitates.

### Description:

The talk will focus on three particular aspects of the work that Free
Software Foundation volunteers provide to the world, going into detail
about how the scope and nature of each project requires different tools
in managing.

* Massively Multi-Volunteer On-line Projects: The GNU Project
 * Published Instructional Materials
 * Volunteers as leaders: GNU Project Maintainers
 * Lowering the cost of contributing: make the process simple
* Special Ops: The GPL License and Compliance Lab team
 * Internal documentation
 * Volunteers as shepherds: Preceptors of the Queue
 * Maintaining close-knit communications
* The Walk in: turning one time volunteers into long term collaborators
 * Having tasks (and their instructions) ready for new volunteers
 * Having task progression - simple one off actions up to long running projects
 * Maintaining contact and enthusiasm
* How you can help - join the FSF volunteer empire

### Speaker Bio

Donald is an attorney, and speaks on free software legal issues and activism. He handles copyright assignments and GPL compliance at the FSF. Previous talks include:

* From TPP to saving WiFi, the FSF fights for you, at LinuxfestNW 2016<https://www.linuxfestnorthwest.org/2016/sessions/tpp-saving-wifi-fsf-fights-you>
* Trading Freedom: The Threat of International "Trade" Agreements Like TPP, TTIP, and TISA, at SeaGL 2015 <https://seagl.org/schedule/2015>
* The Free Software Foundation Licensing & Compliance Lab; We Fight for the User, at LinuxFest Northwest 2015 <https://linuxfestnorthwest.org/2015/sessions/free-software-foundation-licensing-compliance-lab-we-fight-user>
* From Creation to Compliance: A Free Software Legal Primer at, Linuxfest Northwest 2014 <https://linuxfestnorthwest.org/2014/sessions/creation-compliance-free-software-legal-primer>
* Seminar on GPL Enforcement and Legal Ethics 2014 <https://www.fsf.org/events/seminar-on-gpl-enforcement-and-legal-ethics>
* Software License Compliance Audits: Establishing Audit Protocol in the Agreement and in Practice at ACI:Software Agreements - Cloud, SaaS, Open Source & Licensing 2013 <https://www.americanconference.com/softwarelic/agenda>
* Licensing & compliance: a collective effort, at Libreplanet 2013 <https://libreplanet.org/wiki/LibrePlanet:Conference/2013/Sessions>
