FSF voting members release and sign Code of Ethics

The voting members of the Free Software Foundation (FSF) have released and signed a voting member Code of Ethics as the FSF prepares to solicit nominations for its board of directors from FSF associate members.

The new voting member Code of Ethics parallels the Code of Ethics adopted by the FSF board of directors in December. It lays out ten principles that should guide decision-making for voting members as they exercise their duties, which include electing FSF board members and voting members.

Provisions of the Code include an acknowledgement of an unwavering commitment to software freedom and affirmations to act in good faith, uphold privacy, and not engage in harassment or discrimination when acting on behalf of the organization.

This prepares the process for nominating and reviewing board member candidates. Associate members of the FSF will be asked to actively participate in the process by nominating potential new board members. Eligible associate members will then also be invited to a semi-public forum in which the nominees will be discussed. The FSF intends to start the process of considering new directors using these procedures this year, and is currently deploying and testing the infrastructure for the discussion process.

"With the adoption of the voting member Code of Ethics, alongside the board member Code of Ethics, we have completed formalizing the ethical commitments for the process," said FSF president Geoffrey Knauth. "We look forward to launching this process in the months ahead as we work to attract new talent to keep the FSF moving into the future."

For more information on the board's governance work, and the new engagement process for board nomination and review, please visit the FSF Web page dedicated to this work at https://www.fsf.org/about/staff-and-board/board. For questions or comments, you can email campaigns@fsf.org.