In a report published by the Free Software Foundation, staff members detailed their experiences
Free Software Advocates Gather at HOPE 2026 in New York
In a report published by the Free Software Foundation, staff members detailed their experiences attending the HOPE 2026 conference in New York, where five representatives hosted workshops, delivered talks, and ran an information table for attendees. The delegation included deputy director Sean O’Brien, copyright and licensing associate Craig Topham, campaigns manager Greg Farough, GNU/Linux systems administrator Michael McMahon, and program manager.
The Tech TL;DR:
- Five staff members from the Free Software Foundation presented talks and workshops on email encryption, software licensing, and DDoS mitigation at HOPE 2026.
- The organization hosted a Saturday night member meetup in New York City in collaboration with Freedom Lab NYC and CAKE Wallet, drawing seventy-seven free software supporters.
- Presentations covered practical digital autonomy topics, including routing around app stores and maintaining infrastructure security on tools like Savannah.
Workshops on Encryption and Licensing Draw Crowds
Conference programming featured hands-on technical sessions led by foundation personnel. Greg Farough and the program manager conducted a workshop on email encryption utilizing the organization’s Email Self-Defense Guide, a curriculum slated for upcoming presentation at EncryptFest. Craig Topham led two separate sessions, focusing on how developers and users can determine a program’s specific free software license.
On the infrastructure and security front, Michael McMahon delivered a technical talk detailing the methods used to combat distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) bots. McMahon previously documented these defense mechanisms in technical posts covering the team’s use of a custom tool called reaction and the security hardening applied to the Savannah infrastructure. Meanwhile, Sean O’Brien partnered with Mikalai Birukou to deliver a presentation centered on routing around centralized application stores.
Foundation Members Meet in New York City
Beyond the official conference schedule, the foundation organized a Saturday evening member meetup in New York City. Produced in collaboration with Freedom Lab NYC and partially sponsored by CAKE Wallet, the gathering brought together seventy-seven free software supporters for discussions over pizza.
For the staff members, the conference provided a rare opportunity for in-person collaboration. Operating primarily as a virtual office, the team typically communicates via decentralized audio and chat protocols, relying on Mumble, Galene, and Gajim for XMPP communication. Throughout the weekend, staff members engaged with attendees who visited the table, purchased organization merchandise, or registered as brand new associate members.
Technical Implementation: Securing Communications
ServerName xmpp.example.org
SslCert /etc/certs/xmpp.crt
SslKey /etc/certs/xmpp.key
Ciphers HIGH:!aNULL:!eNULL:!EXPORT:!DES:!RC4:!MD5:!PSK
RequireEncryption True