Send me attachments I can read, use open standards!

There are many ways to share documents, files and data over the Internet. Among them, emails are often used because people can communicate from one mail server [1] to another without any difficulty. Why does it work so simply? Because emails are designed to use a set of open standards [2], based on the Internet protocols.

However, sometimes people send attachments along with their emails, and it happens frequently that the attachments cannot be read by the recipients. For example, many attached files are documents produced by word processors and it can be impossible to read them correctly if you do not have the same word processor. Many proprietary word processors use proprietary file formats [3]. In 2002, a campaign was started to put an end to Word attachments. But the same is true for all kinds of documents and files: texts, spreadsheets, slides, videos, etc.

When you attach a file to an email, please make sure that your correspondent will be able to read your files correctly. It is a basic principle of courtesy. And there is an easy way to make this possible: use open standards. If you do so, your correspondent will have the possibility to choose which program he or she wants. Open standards guarantee sustainability and interoperability for your data, making sure you will be able to access them in the future, even with another software, on another platform or operating system.

Moreover, by promoting open standards you will help everyone: sharing documents can be as easy as sending and receiving emails! If you receive an email using proprietary file formats, don’t hesitate to share this page and explain why it is important to use Open Standards.

1. ^ Mail servers transfer emails from one computer to another. For more information, you can check Wikipedia
2. ^ Open Standards are protocols and file formats that can be freely used and implemented, and are designed in an open process. For more information, see the Open Standards definition.
3. ^ Microsoft Word by default saves your files in the “.doc” format or the “.docx” format. If you share these documents with people using different word processors, they may not work properly. Good alternatives for Microsoft Word are documents in .RTF or in .ODT (use the “Save As” feature)

You can help us improve this message on FSFE’s wiki. This work is licensed under the terms of creative commons BY-SA.

Any person can save documents in open document formats, which are based on Open Standards, and be sure that people will be able to read those files, independently of the software they use. Anyone can build applications that read and write files in these formats. The Internet was built upon Open Standards, and that’s why you see so much innovation online.

On Document Freedom Day, we will raise awareness for Open Document Formats and Open Standards by organizing activities all over the world together with partner organizations and volunteers.

During the whole month of March, we will spread the word on open document formats and Open Standards. We will publish information, talk to the press, tell our friends about it, and spread the DFD logo all over the Internet.

There are many ways to take part on this campaign, so pick one and join us:

• Put a banner in your website, linking to DFD website. You can find banners in our Artwork Website.
• Publish a blog post on Document Freedom Day, or Open Standards, and spread the word about the campaign. Send us      a link, and we’ll include it in the DFD website.
• Use your microblog to spread DFD news and articles! Tag them using !dfd or #dfd2010
• Organize an activity in your city on March 31st. For ideas on activities, check the Document Freedom Day website.
• Donate money to DFD. Your contribution makes Document Freedom Day possible!
• Become a partner organization. Contact our Campaign Team on how to do that.

Want to find out more about Open Standards?

Document Freedom Day is about helping you to really own your data. You shouldn’t be tied to particular applications for living your life in the digital world, and you shouldn’t have to use any specific software to deal with your government, your school or anyone else.

For more information on Document Freedom Day, visit our website: www.documentfreedom.org

Contact:

Fernanda Weiden
DFD Campaign Coordinator
Email: weiden -at- fsfeurope.org
Tel:   +41 76 4021866

In a world where records are increasingly kept in electronic form, Open Standards are crucial for valuable information to outlive the application in which it was initially generated. The question of Document Freedom has severe repercussions for freedom of choice, competition, markets and the sovereignty of countries and their governments.

“We are happy to see our community getting bigger this year”, says Ivan Jelic, DFD Coordinator. “We expect large variety of activities organized by DFD teams, from speeches and informative events, to university document liberation or open standard promotion in local governments.”

The DFD team will do its best to gather all the information about this year activities, organize them and publish on DFD web pages. If you have material about local document liberation activities, please send mail to: contact AT documentfreedom.org

How you can get active

The Document Freedom Day is a collaborative effort.

You can make a difference by linking to http://documentfreedom.org, generate your own artworks or use the ones available at http://documentfreedom.org/Artwork

You could also print out some of the DFD leaflets at http://www.documentfreedom.org/Artwork#Leaflet and give them to your co-workers, family or friends. And if you feel creative, consider taking pictures or small video testimonials that show the world what Document Freedom means to you!

About the Document Freedom Day

The Document Freedom Day (DFD) is a global day for Document Liberation with roughly 250 active teams worldwide. It is a day of grassroots effort around the world to promote and build awareness for the relevance of Free Document Formats in particular and Open Standards in general.

Document Freedom Day is supported by a large group of organizations and individuals, including, but not limited to ANSOL, Ars Aperta, BrOffice.org, COSS, Esoma, Estándares Abiertos, FFII, Free Knowledge Foundation, Free Software Foundation, Free Software Foundation Europe, Free Software Foundation Latin America, Funambol, Google, IBM, NLnet, ODF Alliance, Open Forum Europe, Open Source Initiative (OSI), Opentia, OSL, iMatix, Red Hat, Sun, The Open Learning Centre.

The list of DFD Teams is available at: http://documentfreedom.org/Category:Teams

Being part of DFD is easy. Our list of countries and cities may help you find a team near you to join. In case there are no teams at your place or near you, we encourage you to invite others to join you in creating one to organize local activities to become part of the global event. You can do this by filling out the form on our “Join” page.

If you registered a team last year, please edit your page and let the world know about your plans for DFD09. In order to be listed on our DFD09 page (where all the teams with planed activities will be listed), edit your page and add [[Category:DFD09]] at the bottom.

We would also like to let you know about the DFD Blog, which will allow us to interact and network even better. The blog is already online at blog.documentfreedom.org and will soon be supplemented by a planet. So this would be a good time to add it to your RSS feeds, and start spreading the news.

About the Document Freedom Day

The Document Freedom Day (DFD) is a global day for Document Liberation. It is a day of grassroots effort around the world to promote and build awareness for the relevance of Free Document Formats in particular and Open Standards in general. The DFD is supported by a large group of organisations and individuals, including, but not limited to Ars Aperta, COSS, Esoma, Free Software Foundations Europe and Latin America, IBM, NLnet, ODF Alliance, OpenForum Europe, OSL, iMatix, Red Hat, Sun Microsystems, Inc., The Open Learning Centre, Opentia, Estandares Abiertos.

The list of DFD supporting groups can be found http://documentfreedom.org/Who

The list of DFD teams is available at http://documentfreedom.org/Category:Teams

On 26 March 2008, the Document Freedom Day will provide a global rallying point for Document Liberation and Open Standards. It will literally give teams around the world the chance to “hoist the flag”:

A “DFD Starter Pack” containing a flag, t-shirt, leaflets and stickers is in preparation and is planned to be sent out in the first weeks of March to the first 100 teams that sign up. Sixteen teams already signed up during the preparation phase of the DFD prior to this release. Sign your team up now!

“We’re proud to support this global effort to encourage open and inclusive information exchange,” said Marino Marcich, Managing Director, OpenDocument Format Alliance. “Document freedom means creating, exchanging, and preserving your electronic documents without having to buy software from a particular vendor.”

“Data lock-in and subsequent vendor lock-in are some of the most severe issues users are facing today,” says FSFE president Georg Greve. “Yet most people only realise this connection when it is too late and they have effectively lost control over their own data. We are supporting the Document Freedom Day to help raise awareness for this issue by starting with something that affects pretty much all users of computers: text documents, spreadsheets and presentations.”

“Free document formats and open standards are important elements in the continued expansion of the global open source community,” said Tom Rabon, executive vice president, Corporate Affairs at Red Hat. “Red Hat strongly supports Document Freedom Day and encourages participation by all who look forward to the day when documents are controlled by those who own them, not necessarily by those who create the technology to access those documents.”

Simon Phipps, Chief Open Source Officer, Sun Microsystems stated, “As I explained in my paper “Freedom to Leave“, it’s fundamental in the emerging market for people to be free to use any software they desire to handle their data. I fully support the goals of Document Freedom.”

Alexandre Oliva of the Free Software Foundation Latin America (FSFLA) comments: “When you save your documents using a Free Open Standard format such as ODF, you’re also saving your own future, ensuring your continued ability to access, decode and convert their contents.”

Graham Taylor Director of OpenForum Europe: “OpenForum Europe applauds the announcement of Document Freedom Day. The whole essence of ‘openness’ is captured by the right of users, citizens, governments… to be able to freely access and exchange documents today and in the future. Nothing gives greater meaning to the prevalent danger of lock-in to proprietary solutions, and for the need for Government to act now.”

About the Document Freedom Day

The Document Freedom Day (DFD) is a global day for Document Liberation. It is a day of grassroots effort around the world to promote and build awareness for the relevance of Free Document Formats in particular and Open Standards in general. The DFD is supported by a large group of organisations and individuals, including, but not limited to Ars Aperta, COSS, Esoma, Free Software Foundations Europe and Latin America, IBM, NLnet, ODF Alliance, OpenForum Europe, OSL, iMatix, Red Hat, Sun Microsystems, Inc., The Open Learning Centre, Opentia, Estandares Abiertos.

The list of DFD supporting groups can be found http://documentfreedom.org/Who

The list of DFD teams is available at http://documentfreedom.org/Category:Teams

Further information

http://documentfreedom.org

Contact

 contact - AT - documentfreedom.org

 Graham Taylor      graham - AT - openforumeurope.org
 Ivan Jelic         jelic - AT - fsfeurope.org
 Kerri Catallozzi   kcatallo - AT - redhat.com
 Marino Marcich     mmarcich - AT - odfalliance.org
 Marko Milenovic    milenovic - AT - fsfeurope.org
 Terri Molini       terri.molini - AT - sun.com
 FSFLA		     info -  AT - fsfla.org