About
Free & Open Source Society
Hello, we are YFOSS, a group of people passionate about free/libre and open source software (FOSS)!
The “open source” part is easy. This refers to code being publicly accessible (think of Codeberg, GitHub, and similar sites).
The “free” part is a little harder. This refers to “freedom” in a more abstract sense — being able to use software around you as you see fit, giving you agency and control over it — and also a very concrete one in the four fundamental freedoms.
So, “why FOSS”? To put it simply, because you should be able to utilise and engage with tech on your own terms, rather than having these dictated to you. With increasing complexity and opaque big tech companies, we believe this mission is only becoming more important.
Also, using open source software is fun! Whether you are a FOSS veteran, or want to see what it’s all about, we would love it if you got involved.
The “open source” part is easy. This refers to code being publicly accessible (think of Codeberg, GitHub, and similar sites).
The “free” part is a little harder. This refers to “freedom” in a more abstract sense — being able to use software around you as you see fit, giving you agency and control over it — and also a very concrete one in the four fundamental freedoms.
So, “why FOSS”? To put it simply, because you should be able to utilise and engage with tech on your own terms, rather than having these dictated to you. With increasing complexity and opaque big tech companies, we believe this mission is only becoming more important.
Also, using open source software is fun! Whether you are a FOSS veteran, or want to see what it’s all about, we would love it if you got involved.
Our Online Space
So where do we actually hang out? On Matrix, an open and federated chat hosted on our own york.pub servers!That bit matters. Most societies host their community on a platform that controls everything, sees everything, and can steal everything; we host ours on hardware in York. It’s the four fundamental freedoms above, applied to the place we talk to each other.
Being federated, our server talks to the rest of the Matrix network. Some private rooms still require an @york.pub account though, so sign in with your University of York login before bringing an account from elsewhere.
You’re welcome on Discord too, but know what you get. Only #general and #announcements are bridged and everyone talking from Matrix arrives through a webhook relay with no profile picture because Discord fetches avatars over an address our servers don’t expose. Custom emojis don’t cross either.
Discord is the window. Matrix is the room. Come and join us properly!
Join our Matrix Space
New to Matrix? Read the guide.