Howdy all,

From the Ford Foundation [0] comes a report this month about the public infrastructure that everyone in modern society relies on: free software.

The report is named _Roads and Bridges: The Unseen Labor Behind Our Digital Infrastructure_ [1], where they refer to free software as “shared code”: Everybody relies on shared code to write software, including Fortune 500 companies, government, major software companies and startups. In a world driven by technology, we are putting increased demand on those who maintain our digital infrastructure. Yet because these communities are not highly visible, the rest of the world has been slow to notice. Just like physical infrastructure, digital infrastructure needs regular upkeep and maintenance. But financial support for digital infrastructure is much harder to come by. In the face of unprecedented demand, the costs of not supporting our digital infrastructure are numerous. No individual company or organization is incentivized to address the public good problem alone. In order to support our digital infrastructure, we must find ways to work together. You may even recognise some of the names who helped Nadia Eghbal in her work of writing this comprehensive report. This looks like a good resource for talking with people in a position to fund free software. [0] http://www.fordfoundation.org/about-us/ [1] http://www.fordfoundation.org/library/reports-and-studies/roads-and-bridges-... http://ur1.ca/picgc -- \ “I watched the Indy 500, and I was thinking that if they left | `\ earlier they wouldn't have to go so fast.” —Steven Wright | _o__) | Ben Finney