GNU Bucks

[Photo of a GNU
Buck]

Free system distributions are committed to distributing information for practical use—like software and documentation—only when it's free. They go through a lot of effort to prevent nonfree materials from getting in—but a lot of software goes into a distribution, and packages are frequently updated, so it's difficult to check everything. People who help with this verification work by finding and reporting nonfree components in one of these endorsed distributions can be rewarded with GNU Bucks.

This page is maintained by the Free Software Foundation's Licensing and Compliance Lab. You can support our efforts by making a donation to the FSF. Have a question not answered here? Check out some of our other licensing resources or contact the Compliance Lab at [email protected].

GNU Bucks are issued in one denomination—pi—and signed by Free Software Foundation president and “Chief GNUisance” Richard Stallman. We also maintain a list of people who have received GNU Bucks. This is all just our way of saying thanks to people who have helped contribute to the goals of the free software movement.

If you've found materials in the distribution—like software, documentation, fonts, or even graphics or music—that don't meet our guidelines for free distributions, we'd really appreciate it if you could report it. That way, we can help ensure that these distributions are always free for everyone to share. It's a great way to contribute to the free software community that has brought all this together. Just follow the instructions below.

Short Instructions

In order to be recognized by our GNU Bucks program, you need to file a detailed and actionable bug report with one of our endorsed distributions about materials that do not meet our guidelines, and send us a copy at [email protected]. You will receive recognition after the maintainer has confirmed that the bug is valid.

Detailed Instructions

To help make sure everyone's on the same page, here's a little more information about what we're looking to see in this program, and why:

You need to file a detailed and actionable bug report: Simply saying that the distribution includes nonfree program X is a start, but without knowing what you're seeing, it can be difficult for maintainers to confirm that problem. Please strive to include the following:
- Which version of the distribution you found the problem in. Please note that if the problem has already been fixed, we cannot provide a reward for it, since the report is no longer actionable.
- A list of file(s) which do not meet the guidelines.
- A list of package(s) that include these file(s), if appropriate for this distribution.
- An explanation of why the files do not meet our guidelines. For example, if the files are distributed under a nonfree license, say which license that is, along with a reference to the license text and information to illustrate that it applies to them.
This isn't a list of information you absolutely must include—we recognize that there may be cases where it isn't feasible or meaningful to provide all of this information. But as much as possible, you should try to provide this level of detail. The more information you include, the better.
You need to file the report with one of the endorsed distributions: The maintainers are the ones who will decide how to take action, so they're the ones who need to be notified. This also helps ensure that the reports from this program represent real problems in endorsed distributions.
Send us a copy: If you are sending a report by email, please CC: [email protected]. If you are filing the report in a bug-tracking system, please send along a link to that report when it's done. This enables us to keep track of when people should be recognized, and share information about valid reports with other endorsed distributions. See below for information about where to report bugs for each distribution.

Where To Send Your Report

Below is a list of where you can report bugs for all of the distributions we endorse. Web addresses point to bug trackers or forums you can use—note that you may need to register before you can submit a report. After you file the bug, please send a link to it to [email protected]. If an email address is provided instead, you can send your report there directly, and CC: [email protected].

BLAG: https://blag.fsf.org/query
Dragora: [email protected]
Dynebolic: http://bugs.dyne.org
gNewSense: https://savannah.nongnu.org/bugs/?group=gnewsense
libreCMC: http://librecmc.org/librecmc/wiki?name=Bugs
LibreWRT: http://bugs.librewrt.org
Musix GNU+Linux: https://ourproject.org/pm/task.php?group_project_id=138&group_id=191&%20func=browse
Parabola: https://labs.parabola.nu/
Trisquel: http://trisquel.info/en/project/issues
Ututo: http://bugs.ututo.org/

Thanks!

While we do listen to feedback from distribution maintainers to determine what reports are eligible for recognition, ultimately the decision about who receives a GNU Buck rests with the FSF. If you have questions about the program in general, or about the eligibility of a particular bug, please write to us at [email protected].

Thanks for taking the time to submit a report. We understand the amount of effort that goes into it—it's a valuable contribution to free software, and we're grateful to those who offer it.