[Fsf-friends] FSF announces support for the Free Ryzom campaign with a pledge of $60, 000.

Anivar Aravind anivar.aravind@[EMAIL-PROTECTED]
Thu Dec 14 15:13:57 IST 2006


Boston, December 13th 2006 - Free Software Foundation announces that it
will officially support the Free Ryzom campaign (www.ryzom.org) with a
pledge of $60,000.

The Free Ryzom campaign was established to purchase the online game and
universe known as Ryzom, property of the now bankrupt Nevrax company,
and release the entire game as free software.

As stated by Peter T. Brown, Executive Director of the Free Software
Foundation, the FSF considers the Free Ryzom campaign "a high priority
project for the free software movement". The aim of the campaign is to
publish the source code to the entire game under the terms of the
widely-used GPL, as well as publishing all of the artwork and other
content under similar free licenses.

The Free Ryzom campaign represents a unique opportunity for the free
software movement and the emerging free gaming field. A fully free
MMORPG (massively multiplayer online roleplaying game) engine and
client/server architecture would allow the development of a myriad of
universes, each one evolving its own philosophy and unique content - but
sharing in general technical improvements. If successful, this campaign
would allow any user to create their own universe and produce their own
content based on the Ryzom/Nevrax architecture.

Since the announcement by Nevrax of their bankruptcy, the Free Ryzom
campaign has drawn together a heterogeneous community of volunteers
formed by ex-employees, current players and free software sympathizers.
With the support of the FSF, it is now expected that the campaign will
be able to increase its bid to over 200.000€.

The campaign is also seeking to create a non-profit organization to run
and maintain the current game servers. Monthly fees would be spent on
service costs and game development. Pledges can be submitted at the Free
Ryzom campaign website (www.ryzom.org). Pledges must be made within the
next few days, since the deadline for the final bid is expected sometime
before Wednesday, December 19th, depending on when the judges make their
decision.

--

About the Free Software Foundation
The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting
computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute
computer programs. The FSF promotes the development and use of Free (as
in freedom) Software - particularly the GNU operating system and its
GNU/Linux variants - and Free Documentation for Free Software. The FSF
also helps to spread awareness of the ethical and political issues of
freedom in the use of software. Their web site, located at www.fsf.org,
is an important source of information about GNU/Linux. They are
headquartered in Boston, MA, USA.

About The Free Ryzom Campaign
The Free Ryzom Campaign is a community-based initiative formed to
purchase the MMORPG game Ryzom from the now-bankrupt Nevrax. Players,
former Nevrax employees, and free software sympathizers have partnered
with Olivier Lejade (former CEO of Nevrax, now CEO of Mekensleep) and
Valentin Lacambre (a well known personality related to the alternative
Internet movement in France) to purchase the game and release the source
code under the terms of the GNU GPL, and the content and artwork under
similar free licenses. For more information on their campaign, or to
make a donation pledge, please visit www.ryzom.org



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