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The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) was founded in July of 1990 to ensure that the principles embodied in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are protected as new communications technologies emerge.
From the beginning, EFF has worked to shape our nation's communications infrastructure and the policies that govern it in order to maintain and enhance First Amendment, privacy and other democratic values. We believe that our overriding public goal must be the creation of Electronic Democracy, so our work focuses on the establishment of:
EFF's Open Platform Proposal advocates that the nation's telecommunications infrastructure providers offer affordable, widely available transmission of voice, data and video information. The telecommunications infrastructure must promote broad access and enable citizens to receive and publish a diversity of information. In addition, a competitive environment must be ensured to preserve the core principles of common carriage, universal service and open standards.
In the near term, EFF supports the implementation of services such as ISDN and ADSL, currently available digital technologies, for sending voice, data and video at reasonable cost to consumers.
EFF supports federal funding to promote the development of network tools and applications that will make the Internet and the NREN easier to use. Although the NREN will be made up of services from commercial providers, government also has a vital role to play in making grants to institutions that cannot afford to pay for Internet connectivity.
EFF has been working to ensure that common carrier principles are upheld in the information age. Common carrier principles require that network providers carry all speech, regardless of its controversial content. Common carriers must also provide all speakers and information providers with equal, nondiscriminatory access to the network.
EFF chairs the Digital Security and Privacy Working Group, a coalition of over 50 organizations--from computer software and hardware firms, telecommunications and energy companies to civil liberties advocates--that work on sound privacy policies in telecommunications. For example, the group has worked to oppose the FBI's Digital Telephony proposal and government-mandated encryption policies.
EFF is working to convince Congress that all measures supporting broader public access to information should be enacted into law. EFF supports an Electronic Freedom of Information Act and other legislation to make information more accessible to citizens in electronic formats.
EFF supports both legal and technical means to enhance privacy in communications. We, therefore, advocate all measures that ensure the public's right to use the most effective encryption technologies available.
EFF sponsors legal cases where users' online civil liberties have been violated. The Steve Jackson Games case, decided in March of 1993, established privacy protections for electronic publishers and users of electronic mail. We continue to monitor the online community for legal actions that merit EFF support.
EFF provides a free telephone hotline for members of the online community who have questions regarding their legal rights.
Members of EFF's staff and board speak to law enforcement organizations, state attorney bar associations and university classes on the work that we do and how these groups can get involved.
EFF, in conjunction with the Consumer Federation of America and the American Civil Liberties Union, coordinates and sponsors the Communications Policy Forum (CPF). CPF enables nonprofit organizations, computer and communications firms, and government policymakers to come together in a nonpartisan setting to discuss communications policy goals and strategies.
EFF works with local organizations that support online communications issues. In September of 1993, EFF will cosponsor a cryptography conference with a group in Austin, Texas. Earlier this year, EFF sponsored a summit of groups from around the country to discuss common goals. We also participate in an online mailing list for organizations that share our interests.
EFF is a funder and organizer of the annual Computers, Freedom and Privacy conference, where academics, civil libertarians, law enforcement officials and computer users all meet to discuss the privacy implications of communicating online. Each year at the conference, EFF presents its Pioneer awards to individuals who have made significant contributions to computer communications.
EFF maintains several communications forums online. We have our own Internet node, eff.org, which houses our FTP and Gopher sites and our discussion areas, comp.org.eff.talk and comp.org.eff.news. EFF also maintains conferences on the Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link (WELL), CompuServe and America Online.
General information requests, including requests to be added to the
EFFector Online mailing list, can be sent to
If you receive any USENET newsgroups, your site may carry the newsgroups comp.org.eff.news and comp.org.eff.talk. The former is a moderated newsgroup for announcements, newsletters, and other information; the latter is an unmoderated discussion group for discussing EFF and issues relating to the electronic frontier.
For those unable to read the newsgroups, there are redistributions via
electronic mail. Send requests to be added to or dropped from the
comp.org.eff.news mailing list to
A document library containing all EFF news releases and other publications
of interest, including John Perry Barlow's history of EFF, Crime and
Puzzlement, is available via anonymous FTP from ftp.eff.org.
Send a note to
The WELL is host to an active EFF conference, as well as many other related conferences of interest to EFF supporters. Access to the WELL is $15/month plus $2/hour. Telecom access is available through the CompuServe Packet Network for an additional $4.50/hour. If you have an Internet connection, you can reach the WELL via telnet at well.sf.ca.us; otherwise, dial +1 415 332 6106 (data). The WELL's voice number is +1 415 332 4335.
Our forum on CompuServe is also open. `GO EFFSIG' to join. Many of the files on ftp.eff.org, as well as other items of interest, are mirrored in the EFFSIG Libraries.
EFF hosts a Special Interest Group on America Online as part of the Macintosh Communications Forum (MCM). `GOTO Keyword EFF' to join. Many of the files on ftp.eff.org, as well as other items of interest, are mirrored in this forum. In addition, EFF sponsors an interactive discussion on this forum the second Saturday night of each month at 9:00 p.m. ET.
I wish to become a member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. I enclose: $__________ Regular membership -- $40 $__________ Student membership -- $20 Special Contribution I wish to make a tax-deductible donation in the amount of $__________ to further support the activities of EFF and to broaden participation in the organization. Documents Available in Hard Copy Form The following documents are available free of charge from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Please indicate any of the documents you wish to receive. ___ Open Platform Proposal - EFF's proposal for a national telecommunications infrastructure. 12 pages. July, 1992 ___ An Analysis of the FBI Digital Telephony Proposal - Response of EFF-organized coalition to the FBI's digital telephony proposal of Fall, 1992. 8 pages. September, 1992. ___ Building the Open Road: The NREN and the National Public Network - A discussion of the National Research and Education Network as a prototype for a National Public Network. 20 pages. May, 1992. ___ Innovative Services Delivered Now: ISDN Applications at Home, School, the Workplace and Beyond - A compilation of ISDN applications currently in use. 29 pages. January, 1993. ___ Decrypting the Puzzle Palace - John Perry Barlow's argument for strong encryption and the need for an end to U.S. policies preventing its development and use. 13 pages. May, 1992. ___ Crime and Puzzlement - John Perry Barlow's piece on the founding of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the world of hackers, crackers and those accused of computer crimes. 24 pages. June, 1990. ___ Networks & Policy - A quarterly newsletter detailing EFF's activities and achievements. Your Contact Information: Name: ___________________________________________________________________ Organization: ___________________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ Phone: (____) _______________ FAX: (____) _______________ (optional) E-mail address: _________________________________________________________ Payment Method ___ Enclosed is a check payable to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. ___ Please charge my: ___ MasterCard ___ Visa ___ American Express Card Number: ____________________________________________ Expiration Date: ________________________________________ Signature: ______________________________________________ Privacy Policy EFF occasionally shares our mailing list with other organizations promoting similar goals. However, we respect an individual's right to privacy and will not distribute your name without explicit permission. ___ I grant permission for the EFF to distribute my name and contact information to organizations sharing similar goals.
Print out and mail to:
Membership Coordinator Electronic Frontier Foundation 1001 G Street, N.W. Suite 950 East Washington, DC 20001 (202) 347-5400 voice (202) 393-5509 fax
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization supported by contributions from individual members, corporations and private foundations. Donations are tax-deductible.
Get GUMMed"The Gurus of Unix Meeting of Minds (GUMM) takes place Wednesday, April 1, 2076 (check THAT in your perpetual calendar program), 14 feet above the ground directly in front of the Milpitas Gumps. Members will grep each other by the hand (after intro), yacc a lot, smoke filtered chroots in pipes, chown with forks, use the wc (unless uuclean), fseek nice zombie processes, strip, and sleep, but not, we hope, od. Three days will be devoted to discussion of the ramifications of whodo. Two seconds have been allotted for a complete rundown of all the user- friendly features of Unix. Seminars include "Everything You Know is Wrong," led by Tom Kempson, "Batman or Cat:man?" led by Richie Dennis "cc C? Si! Si!" led by Kerwin Bernighan, and "Document Unix, Are You Kidding?" led by Jan Yeats. No Reader Service No. is necessary because all GUGUs (Gurus of Unix Group of Users) already know everything we could tell them."
--- Dr. Dobb's Journal, June '84
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