Tag: Open source

  • FOSS for the third sector

    FOSS for the third sector

    Afallen Partner David Clubb was asked to give his thoughts about how Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) could help the third sector. This article was first published by Newid.

    Header photo: courtesy of Marcus Winkler.

    What is open source software?  

    Free and open source software (FOSS) is a category of software that follows the principles of freedom, specifically defined by four core freedoms:    

    • The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose  
    • The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish  
    • The freedom to redistribute copies so you can ‘help your neighbour’  
    • The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others  

    While the underlying principles are crucial, what matters most to Third Sector Organisations like yours is the practical benefit: with FOSS, you’ll never face the risk of rising licence costs or surprise changes in terms. This gives you greater control and stability for your operations.  

    Adopting FOSS allows you to modify and adapt software to your needs. This is a great benefit for organisations operating in Wales as it makes it easier to translate the user interface into Welsh. Doing so is an essential consideration given our policy environment and the needs of our users.  

    Advantages and disadvantages of open source software  

    While the four freedoms inherent in FOSS ensure its cost-effectiveness and customisation potential, there are additional benefits that make it an attractive choice for Third Sector Organisations.  

     Some of these advantages include:  

    • Security: The transparent nature of FOSS code can lead to increased scrutiny, resulting in more eyes on the code to spot mistakes and enhanced security for end-users.  
    • Community engagement: FOSS projects often foster vibrant communities of users and developers who go above and beyond to support newcomers. This collaborative spirit is particularly rewarding when you’re able to pay it forward by sharing your own expertise with others.  

    Although the relatively lower levels of commercial support can mean relying on the community for help, this highlights the importance of considering the vitality and activity level of the underlying community when choosing FOSS software. Fortunately, there are straightforward ways to refine your search and ensure you select well-supported open-source solutions.  

    Finding alternatives to commercial software

    FOSS solutions can rival and sometimes surpass their commercial counterparts. However, the biggest hurdle for non-profit organisations is typically identifying suitable FOSS alternatives that match or improve upon their current commercial tools. That’s where Alternativeto.net comes in, a dedicated search platform focused on software and web services.  

    For instance, if you’re looking for an alternative to Adobe Illustrator, simply visit Alternativeto.net, enter “Adobe Illustrator” into the search bar, and explore the available options. Inkscape stands out as the clear leader among FOSS alternatives to Adobe Illustrator, boasting over 2,000 likes, as well as being software that I can personally attest to!

    Alternativeto.net’s filtering system allows you to narrow down your results by selecting only FOSS alternatives, giving you a clear indication of each software’s popularity. This can help you make an informed decision when choosing between different FOSS solutions, ensuring that you select one that is well-supported and popular among users.  

    Rather than trying to anticipate every software need of Third Sector Organisations in Wales, I highly recommend exploring Alternativeto.net and seeing if any suggestions can help you save money or improve functionality. This experimentation is an investment in education and learning, essential for growth and development. Given Wales’ productivity gap with respect to the other UK nations, adopting an exploratory approach like Alternativeto.net can serve as a catalyst for Third Sector Organisations in Wales to develop their internal capacity and expertise.  

    Self-hosting your own online services  

    So far we have only covered software that can be installed on individual machines. However, it’s equally important to consider tools that can benefit your entire organisation.

    This is where we venture into the world of ‘self-hosting’ where Third Sector Organisations might initially feel apprehensive. However, there are some brilliant tools to significantly simplify the process of hosting online services.  

    One self-hosting solution I’m particularly fond of is Pikapods. This service offers an affordable, monthly subscription model that simplifies the deployment and maintenance of various online FOSS services for your organisation. It covers applications such as helpdesk systems, discussion forums, and accounting software. I’m currently using Pikapods for web analytics, messaging services and mailing list management.  

    I’m also a big fan of Softaculous, which is often bundled with web hosting services. This tool makes it incredibly easy to install FOSS packages like WordPress websites, invoicing tools, e-commerce platforms, and internal social media networks for organisations. If you’re not already using Softaculous, I recommend asking your web provider if they offer access to this feature.

    How can FOSS revitalise old computers?  

    As they say: 

    “The most sustainable device you can own is the one you’re currently using”

    Unfortunately, many technology companies design their products with a finite lifespan in mind, discontinuing support for security updates and effectively mandating that devices be replaced rather than refurbished or repurposed.  

    Linux offers a solution to this. Linux is a FOSS operating system that powers the vast majority of global servers, including the systems on board the International Space Station where reliability is vital. It is also increasingly being seen as an effective alternative to Windows or Mac operating systems and is becoming an important gaming platform in its own right.  

    Linux might sound technical, but you don’t have to be technical to use it. In practice, Linux systems can work as well as, or better than Windows or Mac. They are very well suited to older machines that struggle with the requirements of the latest Windows operating systems.  

    For example, Linux systems:  

    • Can be comparatively lightweight in their hardware requirements, generally needing less RAM and CPU power to attain similar levels of performance  
    • Are generally more secure due to the openness of the operating system, and the relatively small number of viruses created for it 
    • Do not come bundled with lots of unnecessary or annoying additional software  

    Many organisational tasks are now carried out in the cloud via a browser. This reduces barriers for organisations considering adopting Linux as an alternative operating system for older machines. So adopting Linux is a more sustainable and secure way of reducing IT equipment costs while minimising your environmental impact by repurposing equipment you already own.  

    Ubuntu and Linux Mint are good distributions for beginners as they are user-friendly and have large communities of support. For something that resembles Windows more closely, you could try ZorinOS. Here’s a recent guide for how to install Linux on one of your organisation’s old computers.

    My top tips  

    1. Encourage your colleagues to experiment with different tools or systems in a safe environment, for example by using hosting providers that automatically backup the systems on a daily basis  
    2. Always consider a FOSS alternative when thinking about using software to solve a problem or offer a new service. Alternativeto.net is the go-to site for this research 
    3. Be prepared to seek support online if you get stuck. Many people who work on FOSS projects are happy to offer free support. 
    4. If you’ve experienced a big ‘win’ through adopting FOSS, share your experiences with other Third Sector Organisations to help generate wider benefits for Wales  
    5. Follow the Tech4Good Cymru page on LinkedIn to hear about events in the sector, and to network and learn from like-minded organisations  

    My favourite FOSS tools  

    • Linux operating systems  
    • LibreOffice for all office-related work  
    • Inkscape for graphic design  
    • The Firefox browser  
    • Open source social media platforms such as Mastodon and Pixelfed  
    • Logseq for journaling, learning, meeting planning and as a personal CRM  
    • Zulip for team messaging  
    • NextCloud as an alternative to Microsoft or Google cloud services

    Conclusion  

    FOSS offers a way for Third Sector Organisations to reduce the costs of doing business and delivering services. FOSS is inherently customisable, greatly simplifying the process of translation or providing other customisations necessary for staff or service users.  

    Whilst FOSS could bring the challenge of unfamiliarity for many users, there are thousands of active communities ready to support new participants. This provides a learning opportunity, which can help drive productivity.  

    Given the very low cost of trying FOSS in the workplace, why not give it a go; you may surprise yourself with what can be achieved using tools that welcome participation from anybody, no matter their social status, background or financial means.

  • Supporting Mastodon in Wales

    Supporting Mastodon in Wales

    One of Afallen’s values is championing the use of Creative Commons and open source solutions.

    This is because we believe – and the evidence supports our view – that a cooperative and co-production approach provides bigger overall benefits to society than a purely commercial economy.

    Our first White Paper outlined the potential for Wales that could accrue from supporting open source.

    In practising what we preach, we have embraced two open-source social media platforms; Mastodon (like an open-source version of Twitter), and Pixelfed (similar to Instagram but free and open source).

    Afallen Partner David Clubb has been a moderator on Toot.Wales, the Welsh instance of Mastodon, since 2018, and is now on the governing body.

    Toot.Wales is nearly five years old, and David recently gave an interview to S4C about his experiences with the platform – and why it’s been growing so quickly over the last year.

    If you would like to find out more about the benefits of an open-source approach to your organisation’s operations and communications, you can get in touch with David via email, or of course, via Mastodon on Toot.Wales!

  • Learning to learn

    Learning to learn

    I’m late to the VUCA party – the acronym was coined in 1987 to reflect Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity1. I’ve since come across it a few times in relation to the nature of society, with particular regard to the rate of change in the digital world and the natural environment.

    It’s hard to disagree; the Climate Emergency will cause much larger fluctuations in our ecosystem than we have been used to, requiring us to throw out much of our experience of dealing with relatively benign and predictable climatic conditions, and forcing our communities and organisations to be able to deal rapidly with complex (rather than complicated!) systems2.

    This will require new forms of leadership, governance and system management. It will also require us to produce young people (or old!) who have new ways of learning that build on new digital tools for information management; and new ways of acting that build on soft skills of empathy, understanding and story-telling.

    I’ve been thinking about this recently with a specific example. I’m a keen user of Logseq, a non-linear note-taking app that is quietly creating ripples in communities of learners and practitioners online. Having experienced the power and elegance of the platform I’ve added it to the list of open source projects to which I contribute financially.

    My Logseq information space after 10 months

    Some people describe it as a ‘second brain’. One is enough for me, but there have been instances where it’s helped me recall people, organisations or concepts in a way that my real brain would have struggled.

    Logseq – or other non-linear note-taking apps – can be used systematically to build insights and understanding. And it could be part of a digital curriculum in Wales. Why not start in primary school?

    Some readers might think this is far-fetched, but my experience from letting my own daughter loose on the platform shows that the concept is quickly understood, and in that one case study has led to near-delight in seeing how the information space evolves and grows.

    A primary school student’s first attempt playing with Logseq

    I know next to nothing about formal education. But with the things I’m doing at home (including encouraging learning the Dvorak touchtyping method3), I’m hoping to help shape people who think beyond ‘normal’; see that systems are often in place due to inertia, and that there are a myriad of ways of approaching problems or situations, some better and some doubtless worse than ‘business as usual’.

    How to take these conversations to ‘real’ educators, to see whether there’s any benefit to wider society. Is there a benefit? How can educators participate in this new digital world of learning?

    I have very few answers. I will try with my own children, and I am enthusiastic to work with others to consider how these concepts can become part of a more mainstream discourse in education. Could Wales leap-frog other countries in the rate of adoption of these new tools?

    Greater VUCA demands more powerful ways to handle data and work with others. We must move more quickly to equip the people of Wales with the tools to match the challenge.

    References

    1: Volatility, uncertainty , complexity and ambiguity, Wikipedia
    2: The difference between complex and complicated systems is covered by Dave Snowden and summarised here
    3: My brother introduced me to this keyboard layout in 2007 and I haven’t looked back since. Wiki article here.

  • Reaping the open source benefit for Wales

    Reaping the open source benefit for Wales

    Digital infrastructure and services underpin much of our modern existence. In work and leisure, with family and friends, we inhabit – to ever-greater extents – a digital world. This world, much like the ‘real’ world, is characterised by huge disparities in access and opportunities.

    Many digital opportunities are jealously guarded by global corporations that create walled gardens within which we communicate, share, and create huge wealth for others.

    However, if we scratched just a tiny bit below the surface, we would see that there are myriad opportunities available to almost everyone, if we could only understand how to take advantage of them.

    In Afallen’s first White Paper, published at today’s inaugural meeting of the Senedd Cross-Party Group on Digital Rights and Democracy, we set out why Wales must take advantage, not just of the digital opportunities through adopting different technologies, but in the fundamentals that underpin the digital world.

    Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) underpins the majority of global digital infrastructure, from the WordPress platform that underpins nearly half of global websites, to Apache and Nginx servers carrying more than half of global web servers, to the mushrooming sector of the Internet of Things.

    The economic benefits are huge; a study recently commissioned by the European Commission estimated a return of €4 for every Euro invested into FOSS. That’s partly why the EU has a dedicated open source strategy, and why officials view FOSS as the future for the EU.

    However, there are a whole host of reasons for supporting FOSS, aside from the economic. These include environmental sustainability; equality of access; and better educational and career outcomes.

    Another reason, specific to Wales, is that FOSS is strongly aligned with the Future Generations Goals and Ways of Working. By my reckoning, a FOSS strategy would support no fewer than five of the Goals.

    Systems map showing links between open source impacts, and the Future Generations goals

    But the biggest reason for wanting to champion FOSS is in the field of education. Imagine if learners of all ages in Wales were educated not just in using digital tools; but also steeped in an understanding of the very concepts that will make up the digital tools of the future. We could create a generation of users, producers, hackers and shapers that understand the fundamentals of code, and have the curiousity and the skills necessary to engage, modify and improve on that which has gone before.

    It might seem a tall order; but remember how a Russian cyber-attack first paralysed Estonia, a country of 1.3 million people, and then propelled it to become a global centre of expertise on cyber-security.

    If Estonia can do it, our devolved education system means that we can do the same for FOSS in Wales.

    So what are the next steps for us? In the White Paper I suggest three initial approaches to help embed FOSS within the policy and education landscape in Wales.

    Firstly, our digital strategy needs to explicitly recognise the value in FOSS as a distinct component of ‘digital’ overall. The first anniversary of Wales’ digital strategy is nearly upon us; what better time to reflect on the growing body of evidence, and the policy goals of our nearest economic trading partners, than to incorporate FOSS within the main policy statement for the sector?

    Secondly the Curriculum for Wales should specify FOSS as a component within digital competency, helping pave the way for educators to introduce the concepts and practises of the sector within our learning centres.

    Finally, we must make good use of infrastructure which already exists and is helping to spread good practice in digital across the public sector. The Centre for Digital Public Services could help public sector bodies pilot, and then potentially adopt, FOSS-based ways of doing things that may help with the delivery of a whole host of public goods and services.

    Embracing FOSS will enable the citizens of Wales to not only participate in a rapidly-developing global digital economy with new skills, expertise and confidence; but also to help lift others by contributing to the sum total of human knowledge, freely gifted to all.

  • Welsh Government’s approach to ‘digital’

    Welsh Government’s approach to ‘digital’

    Welsh Government’s approach to digital is being described through a series of blog posts.

    I’m really encouraged by this approach to a new for Wales – and for public services in particular.

     I like the way that a blog is being used to describe each of the ‘missions’ which underpin the strategy, and I think that there are many positive aspects (and potential outcomes) from the missions. 

    But….so far, there’s been a notable omission from any of the narrative for me – and that’s any explicit mention of .

    Open source software (yes, and even hardware in some cases), underpins most of the world’s IT infrastructure and systems. It liberates, educates, and is a tool to lower barriers and costs for billions of existing and potential digital users globally.

    In the context of Wales’ Future Generations legislation, it’s a slam-dunk for many of the goals, and more so in many cases than closed-source tools.

    At the outset of a digital strategy development cycle, we have the incredible opportunity to embed a philosophical and practical commitment to using, supporting, developing and championing open source technologies. With the devolution of education, we also have the opportunity of developing this theme through formal education in schools, colleges and universities; and through informal routes such as Code Clubs.

    I’ve previously written about the dangers to democracy from untrammelled use of ‘corporate surveillance’ platforms. The other side of that coin is the growth of the open source social media world – the ‘Fediverse’ – which points to a more responsible, respectful and kinder online world.

    It’s not beyond imagination that Wales becomes a standard-bearer for open source solutions, playing a significant role in global contributions to software and hardware. The outcomes for us – and for the world – could be huge. Look what happened when Estonia developed a strong Governmental interest in digital and cybersecurity!

    I look forward to seeing future blog posts from Welsh Government, and I hope that open source starts becoming a more visible component of future updates!

  • Open source social media will save our democracy

    Open source social media will save our democracy

    Join Mastodon homepage

    Open source social media will save our democracy

    In an opinion piece in yesterday’s Guardian newspaper, Carole Cadwalladr describes how Facebook is the virus that has enabled the catastrophes of both Brexit, and the ascension of Mr. Trump to the White House.

    Facebook allows lies to spread virtually unchecked. It permits those people with the most money and least scruples to disseminate falsehoods to those most susceptible. And it allows this with no prospect of holding individuals or organisations to account.

    Whilst Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms have enabled a blossoming of connection, conversation and shared ideas; they have also created a bitter, divisive, polarised digital world where shareholder value is enhanced most by highlighting division and minimising harmony. Quiet, reasoned thoughts are filtered out by algorithms designed to maximise clicks, retweets and likes. Volume is king.

    Many people want to make a difference but they don’t know how. But there is an antidote to the virus of misinformation and hatred. That antidote is open source social media, and it’s already spreading at the fringes of the online universe.

    Open source social media

    Open source social media doesn’t permit advertising. It doesn’t sell data. It prohibits hate speech and intolerance*. And it’s moderated by users, not resourced at the behest of global tech giants. 

    More worryingly for the incumbents, the hotbeds of innovation are no longer in the mega-corporations with their teams of thousands in the offices and boardrooms of (mostly) America. They are in the open source equivalents, with code freely available for thousands of supporters and volunteers across the globe to build and improve. 

    From the perspective of Wales’ Future Generations Act, anybody using, promoting or supporting these open source platforms is supporting the goal of a Globally Responsible Wales. From a worldwide perspective, that same user or supporter is increasing the freely-accessible sum of human knowledge. 

    One clear example of this innovation is the federation between open source platforms (also known as the Fediverse). Federation is the ability to connect different social media platforms, so that posts and updates become mutually visible.

    This means that if you post a photo on Pixelfed (ethical version of Instagram), it pops up in your feed on Mastodon (ethical version of Twitter). Likewise websites, blogs and updates on the ethical equivalent of pretty much every ‘surveillance capitalism’ platform you can think of can cross-post to each other, enabling much more streamlined conversations and updates.

    What are the downsides (and upsides)?

    Let’s deal with the elephant in the room; the big downside of the new open source Fediverse is that user numbers are far, far lower than for the established platforms.

    This is hardly surprising; there’s a headstart of fifteen years or so for many of the tech giants. And the science behind social media means that there’s an agglomeration effect; once most of your friends are engaged on a platform, it takes a significant effort to leave them behind and start something new.

    For me personally it meant (mostly) leaving my Twitter account of several thousand followers, and starting a fresh new Mastodon account on toot.wales, one of many ‘locality’ type instances across the world. 

    I instantly ‘lost out’ on the instantaneous stream of updates from my many friends and colleagues, and on the rough-and-tumble of (what passes for) debate there. There’s likely an impact on my ability to promote my new business, Afallen, through that network, too. 

    However, what I have found is a new community of online friends and collaborators. I’ve witnessed almost zero hatred or bullying. And I’ve relished using platforms which don’t harvest my personal data in order to sell them to companies who may – in many cases – place profit above the public good.

    The truth is that the community of users in Mastodon (and the other platforms) is growing steadily – see the example below for activity on toot.wales. At some tipping point – I’m convinced – the growth will start to become exponential, and then the users who became active first will see the biggest benefits.

    Weekly interactions on the toot.wales platform

    But the biggest benefit of all will come when people start to leave the platforms of the tech giants en masse, lessening their influence as the custodians of online debate and information-sharing, and contributing to a kinder, gentler and more thoughtful world of public discourse.

    Further information

    If you’re interested in finding out more about the ethical, privacy-conscious alternatives to the mainstream social media platforms, head to switching.software.

    *Almost all ‘instances’ of open source social media ban hate and intolerance. Those that don’t are generally blocked, so the hatred is restricted to a small portion of the Fediverse

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  • Can Wales lead the world in ‘safe’ social media?

    Can Wales lead the world in ‘safe’ social media?

    Mastodon logo

    Can Wales lead the world in ‘safe’ social media?

    Social media has energised the way in which we interact, communicate, promote and understand. As with any tool, it has the ability to be used for good, or for ill.

    I don’t intend here to detail the way that social media is used to abuse, to pillory, to demean and to spread hate. Nor is this a treatise about whether it’s democratically healthy for social media to be used by political parties or corporate entities to micro-target individuals or small communities with messages which may only be loosely based on fact, or indeed a complete fiction.

    Instead, I want you to take a moment to imagine participating in a social network free from hate; one which doesn’t answer to shareholders; and where paid advertising directed by surveillance capitalism is not possible.

    Now I want you to take a step further; I want you to imagine that same network, where you can share a picture (same way as Instagram); share a blog post (same way as Medium); share a micro-blog (same as Twitter); share a video (such as with YouTube) – and all the content from all those different platforms is brought to you in one place.

    Hang onto your hats – it’s already here! 

    Unbeknown to most internet users, there’s a quiet revolution taking place on the fringes of the social web which merits close examination. 

    Fed up with pleading to Twitter, Facebook, Google and other internet giants to take action on abuse and to act on genuine privacy concerns, the open source community has created solutions which herald the dawning of a new era of accountable social media.

    And Wales could be at the vanguard of this revolution, thanks partly to some imagination and drive from a boy from Barry who made it in New York, Jaz-Michael King.

    The Fediverse

    Proposed Fediverse logo

    Before diving into how to join the revolution, it’s worth talking about how the Federated Universe (Fediverse) operates.

    Unlike the existing social media monopolies, the Fediverse has no central company controlling the flow of content, and deciding what to permit or ban.

    Instead, there’s a plethora of small sites – ‘Instances’ – which operate semi-autonomously from one another, but which are linked (federated) so that content can be viewed simultaneously on all federated platforms. Authors retain ownership and control of their content, while citizens can pick and choose the content and people they wish to connect with, free from profit-driven algorithms and their associated echo chambers.

    So somebody posting a photo on Pixelfed (a federated photo-sharing site, which looks and feels just like Instagram) will instantly share that image with all their followers, on whatever ‘Instance’ they’re based.

    Likewise, someone posting a micro-blog on a federated account (such as Mastodon) will share that post with all their followers across all whole ‘Fediverse’.

    No more hate?

    Whilst it would be a stretch to say that hate has no place within the Fediverse, it’s certainly no exaggeration to say that it is a far more pleasant place than most conventional social networks.

    That’s because most Instances have rules which forbid unpleasant behaviour. The decision about what constitutes acceptable behaviour is up to the administrators or the community of that individual Instance, but if unpleasant behaviour consistently appears unchallenged on a specific Instance, it’s possible that all other Instances could sever ties, effectively inoculating the rest of the Fediverse from the content that’s being posted in the ‘bad’ Instance.

    Indeed this has already happened in July this year, where an Instance supporting far-right speech was de-federated by many other instances, significantly limiting its ability to interact with the rest of the Fediverse. The success and growth of the Federation as a movement has been significantly driven by the growing dissatisfaction and loss of trust that the international corporate networks cannot (or will not) manage, and that smaller, locally-driven communities are more able to effectively self-manage.

    Wales leading? 

    So – how could Wales be leading the charge?

    No alt text provided for this image

    Enter Toot.Wales, the brainchild of émigré Jaz-Michael King. Toot.Wales is Wales’ own instance of the micro-blogging site Mastodon. Fully bilingual by default, it is also on the verge of deploying its first mobile app for Android (with ios development underway).

    Toot is also the host for Wales’ own answer to Instagram, via Pix.Toot.Wales, and for a ‘lite’ blogging experience via Blogs.Toot.Wales.

    I often see people on Twitter complaining about certain functionalities not being available, including the most basic need for a Welsh language interface; about tools to control or limit abuse, about access to one’s own data and the right to delete it or download it. 

    My response is: leave the network. The influence we have with the owners of Twitter, Facebook or any other mainstream social media platform is vanishingly small. If complaints by users have implications on profit, they are unlikely to become a corporate priority. Regulation is possible, but is cumbersome, hard to enforce and likely to date quickly.

    So we must vote with our feet. We have within our own hands, literally and metaphorically, the means to turn our backs on networks which value profit over privacy, and to champion an open source ethical alternative.

    I believe that Wales can demonstrate to the rest of the world that it’s possible to take a stance on this issue. Already facing a crisis in media, we should no longer submit to the whims of global corporate giants. With so much of the information we receive being more or less completely out of the control of the people of Wales, this is one area where we genuinely can, and we should, be taking back control.

    —————————————–

    You can follow David Clubb on Toot.Wales and Pixelfed.

    One response to “Can Wales lead the world in ‘safe’ social media?”

    1. Linux mobile; safer phones for children? – David Clubb

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