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FOSS Donations

This is a personal collection of donation pages for FOSS projects and other adjacent efforts, because I'm tired of keeping them on a text file that might get obliterated the next time I attempt to perform an "exotic" operation to my computer.

I think this list could help others (and I doubt making this list public on a pseudonymous GitHub account will change my security posture against current nation state adversaries).

I'll try to keep this updated, but I don't make any promises that this list will always be free of dead links.

Some general guidelines:

  • The list order is alphabetical.
  • This is the order of credit/debit card donations:
    • Direct (sort of rare, especially tax deductible)
    • Open Collective, which is tax deductible but has transaction fees
    • Liberapay, which is tax deductible but has transaction fees
    • GitHub Sponsors, which is not tax deductible but at least covers the transaction fees so that recipients keep the full donation amount
    • PayPal, but only if other methods are scarce
    • Patreon, which isn't great for FOSS development but still mentioned if not many methods exist
  • Highlight Monero or Zcash, if available

Warning

As Casey Neistat would say in his smartphone reviews, this is a very biased list (i.e., absolutely not neutral), as my opinions have ended up leaking out throughout the list. As a fair warning, inserting my opinionated thoughts was done in a nonlinear fashion, so the order might not make any sense to outside readers.

Disclaimer

I have not been sponsored to list any of these projects. If I use certain software or hardware listed here, then I will mention that fact when applicable and appropriate. I also use these with my own money, if price is applicable.

Other informational tangent

I want to donate to as many open source software projects (and adjacent ones) as much as I can. Figuratively, I've been seeing the writing on the wall to donate to FOSS projects for some time now. Slowly but eventually, I've come to the inevitable personal decision that I have to at least donate some money to all of the FOSS projects I've benefited from. However, there are many more than I can remember in my mental memory/RAM (which fails for most lists longer than 5 items), so I'm putting them here. Also, this isn't my only call to action to donate, but I've seen a call to do so in February 2022 from Techlore, as an example (before I became extremely bored with Henry's videos, as his co-hosted Surveillance Report podcast is much better than his own channel's videos right now in late 2022 - and now I'm even starting to simply skim Surveillance Report URL lists, instead of actually listening to the 30 minute or longer episodes).

Fundable

These projects accept direct donations in some shape, fashion, or form.

Accrescent

Accrescent is an app "store" and repository that is designed to have seamless updates and the UI/UX robustness of the GrapheneOS App store. (I use the term "store" lightly, as you don't actually purchase, unlike proprietary apps from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store; but I ultimately don't have a better term. Let's move on before we end up like Kurt Gödel when thinking about the incompleteness of human language - although I'm aware that Gödel starved to death due to refusing to eat food not prepared by his wife after a close colleague of his was assassinated during the rise of the Nazi Party.) Keep an eye on this project, as it has reached the public alpha stage in mid-December 2022.

  • Credit/debit card

Aegis

Aegis is the best TOTP app on Android (i.e.: read as Google Authenticator compatible) for the 6-digit 2FA code that changes every 30 seconds. Aegis allows for locally encrypted backups and works with Seedvault backups (which is available on GrapheneOS, CalyxOS, and LineageOS/DivestOS).

  • Credit card through Buy Me A Coffee
  • Cryptocurrency methods (Bitcoin... and Nano? Sorry, I'm mentally too old to deal with cryptocurrency coins that aren't egalitarian, such as Monero.)

antiX Linux

AntiX is interesting, as it is one of the few current Debian-based Linux distributions that voluntarily supports 32-bit architecture computers when its upstream Linux parent Debian only has 32-bit support out of obligation and desktop Ubuntu has dropped 32-bit support since 2017-2018. Be mature and ignore the visible anti-fascist messaging, or just don't use this if you're not mature enough to handle differences in ideology. (Clearly more than 90% of American politicians are incapable of this - no wonder why the U.S. government can't achieve anything nowadays. Maybe Plato was correct and we should conscript government leaders, instead of electing them.) antiX is systemd-free, though that's probably out of necessity to successfully run on 32-bit machines than out of disdain for systemd as a computing "aesthetic".

  • Donate prompt at bottom of homepage
    • Credit/debit card through PayPal

Arch Linux

Arch Linux is a do-it-yourself Linux distribution, though realistically most people don't go too crazy with their respective Arch Linux installs. Arch Linux comes with systemd, but the init system can be replaced with another, though this isn't really official (and you're better off installing Artix Linux if you want to be systemd-free). Of course, being systemd-free doesn't matter because of the Arch Linux community template for Qubes OS. As we say in yoga, if Arch Linux is feasible and compatible with your practice (i.e., realistically achievable with your current tradecraft), then go for Arch Linux - it's definitely an experience to remember, even if you only do it once on bare metal. Arch Linux would definitely be one of the ideal Linux distros for me to install the linux-hardened kernel on, without compiling the linux-hardened kernel itself (no hate on Gentoo). If you come to any of my Linux talks in the future and start spewing vitriolic and subjective hatred on systemd, then I will throw you out (along venue rule lines and local laws, of course) - I am too old for that kind of childish behavior. Go back and watch some alt-right Linux YouTubers if you can't be mature enough during my Linux talks when I'm trying to encourage nontechnical people to use Pop!_OS, Linux Mint, or elementary OS. Anyways, the AUR (the Arch User Repository) is one of the strong points of Arch Linux (or any AUR compatible Pacman-based distro): you can install many packages that aren't even available for Debian-/Ubuntu-based distros with little to no fuss. (There is one notable and personal example: installing Linphone on Arch Linux is a seemingly impossible task... I hope someone packages Linphone properly for native Arch Linux repos at some point in the future. This is one of the few examples where Debian-/Ubuntu-based distros are better than Arch Linux, though edge or corner cases like these are extremely rare.)

  • Donate page
    • Credit/debit card
      • As a word of advice, be careful of the name you choose when donating with a credit card - your name will be forever be displayed as a donor, if you're the type that wants to be a privacy, security, and anonymity extremist like Michael Bazzell.
  • Arch Linux also has commercial sponsors and contributors
    • Most notable is Nitrokey

archive.today

archive.today is the lean and mean alternative to the Wayback Machine. There are some sites that archive.today won't work on or isn't all that helpful, but I can't remember any at the moment. I do remember that archive.today can save Amazon reviews and product pages, which the Wayback Machine can't. However, this isn't a comparison of archive.today with the Wayback Machine. I'm sure that internet sleuths should look into archive.today for internet investigations, such as for lost media investigations (which is a subset of lost works). archive.today is excellent for bypassing certain paywalls, such as The New Yorker and The Boston Globe. However, I doubt that archive.today will ever be as popular as the Wayback Machine anytime soon. However, if archive.today can save a page, then it won't be taken down due to copyright strikes - unlike the Wayback Machine. (This explains how the newspaper paywall bypass mentioned earlier can still stand.) Jorge from blameitonjorge - I'm looking at you: it's basically your obligation to start introducing archive.today as another tool to the Lost Media Wiki.

  • Liberapay
    • Strangely I could only find this by reading about Liberapay on Wikipedia
  • PayPal

Bromite

This non-Tor browser has ad blocking, so this makes web browsing on an Android device more bearable. (I'm looking at you with contempt, Vanadium - which can only be used on GrapheneOS devices and lacks dark theme rendering of web pages and always-on Incognito mode. I don't give a hoot if installing Bromite via Droid-ify breaks the Android security model - as long as Michael Bazzell recommends some form of F-Droid, I'll keep my F-Droid repository apps updated via Droid-ify. Shut your mouth, and either improve F-Droid or make a better competitor to F-Droid.)

CalyxOS and the Calyx Institute

Nicholas Merrill is really one of the few Americans not sleeping on the consequences of the Patriot Act after the 9/11 attacks, trying to fight the good fight to preserve civil liberties. Just take a quick glance at the respective sections for news from the ACLU, the EFF, and the Freedom of the Press Foundation and you'll quickly see attacks on civil liberties post-9/11 every single day. Though out of scope for this "listicle", the future could be very dark if we wait around for the government to (not) save us like Superman with legislation the people actually need. (Did you not play Injustice 2?) Anyways, I'm putting CalyxOS here out of obligation, but not because I personally am benefited from CalyxOS directly. In this case, it's always good to have options for alternative Android OS's, even if I feel like CalyxOS's software engineering severely lags behind that of GrapheneOS. However, although I cannot speak to the Calyx Institute's work with essentially consulting with other NGOs on safe internet usage, I think the Calyx Institute membership mobile 4G/5G Wi-Fi hotspot is one of the few ways to obtain any form of ISP service with any semblance of privacy post 2022. If I have a Mr. Robot-inspired TV show, then I'd definitely use the Calyx Institute mobile Wi-Fi hotspot for the Darlene Alderson-inspired nomadic cracker character. (Obviously this hotspot wouldn't be activated near sleeping locations and sensitive opsec locations, but you get the gist.)

  • One-time donation to the Calyx Institute
  • Internet Membership
    • A really good mobile 4G/5G Wi-Fi hotspot, especially if you live a nomadic life
    • Calyx Institute shines as a lawful good NGO performing social good services (for example, it runs Tor relays)
  • CalyxOS Membership
    • Seems very expensive - not to be a moralistic gatekeeper, but you, as a reader, are definitely capable of installing CalyxOS if you've found CalyxOS on your own and thus save lots of money by simply installing CalyxOS yourself (use the web installer if you have more relaxed security posture - I can't remember if CalyxOS ever put back the manual CLI installation instructions back)
      • Also, I feel like CalyxOS doesn't have much of a value proposition over GrapheneOS if your target install device is a currently OEM supported Pixel device still within Google's official timeframe; and only marginally so for all of the non-Pixel CalyxOS devices. However, I do acknowledge that I've had a extremely Google Play Services and proprietary Android app "vegan" opsec mentality with my phone since 2019 - so I can live very well cutting out Google Play Services from my Android phone without severe IRL usability consequences. For example, I'm pretty sure Slack works without Google Play Services, but I happen to have it installed (on a secondary user profile) with Duo Mobile that absolutely needs sandboxed Google Play Services to work (but without any push notifications - you'll need to manually open the app as before or during the activation of the Duo prompt).

Debian

Debian is the grandparent distro of many well-known Linux distributions: for example, Pop!_OS only exists, thanks to Debian. However, for personal desktop Linux usage, Debian hasn't really kept up with the times. Debian doesn't have any explicit instructions on how to verify your downloaded ISO files and you must look elsewhere; while early every other Linux distro and Qubes OS has explicit instructions on how to do so (well, maybe not LineageOS, but it's kind of a miracle that LineageOS announced LOS 20/Android 13 on the last day of 2022). Still, Debian Stable, despite being behind the times (and meddling with upstream packaging), is an undisputed monarch when it comes to deploying a real-world Linux server for companies and other entities; so, Debian isn't going away anytime soon.

  • Donation page
    • Credit/debit card
      • PayPal
    • No cryptocurrencies (interesting, as of December 2022)

DivestOS

DivestOS is a true soft fork of LineageOS, which attempts to offer the option to relock the bootloader on select devices if the user wishes to do so. (If you're seeing reports that relocking is not possible or irreversible, such as for the OnePlus One; then I would say it's not worth bothering to relock the bootloader for that particular device.) I think it ports the hardened memory allocator hardened_malloc from GrapheneOS. However, I still view DivestOS in the same way as LineageOS: good to give back some extended life beyond official OEM support to various Android phones, but not comparable for absolute impeccable adherence to upstream security patches like GrapheneOS. For those who truly want to invest in security, DivestOS is a stopgap measure for you to hold out while obtaining a currently supported GrapheneOS device. Regardless, I see the "value proposition" (not to be super corporate-y) of DivestOS... but also I cannot psychologically comprehend how all of these devices can be maintained by a single person. Yes, DivestOS is a one-person downstream project running on a shoestring budget. (Also somewhat similarly true of Wikipedia, the Tor Project, the Internet Archive, and Tails - in no particular order.)

  • Donation page of lead developer
    • Credit/debit card
    • Liberapay
    • Cryptocurrency (Bitcoin and Monero)

elementary OS

...

  • Donation prompt is alongside the "Download" prompt on the homepage
    • However, you can bypass this by entering $0, as this works on a "Pay What You Can" model
    • Though you should certainly donate if you have the money - there's no excuse

EndeavourOS

...

  • Donation page
    • Credit/debit card through Open Collective

F-Droid

F-Droid is the first app I install on any new Owner profile on an Android device in order to get Droid-ify and Aurora Store. (Sorry LineageOS for microG - I can't deal with F-Droid being installed as a privileged app anymore, as this will interfere with Droid-ify.) At least if I am setting up an Android device "in the woods", with none of my current electronic belongings, then I will have to install F-Droid after verifying the PGP signature on Linux (otherwise, if I skipped that, then I would be ok with downloading Droid-ify straight from GitHub with no verification). (Call me stupidly stubborn, but this is why I have no sympathy for you when you tell people online to use an RSS feed reader to update Android apps, but ignore the fact that every other person who just wants to live life will already be overwhelmed when you even set up a GrapheneOS phone on their behalf with respect to usability. Just like how Kakashi from Naruto ultimately learned to value the lives of his teammates over any given mission, I've come to value humane usability over legalist security worship.)

FlorisBoard

...

  • Credit/debit card
    • GitHub Sponsors for the lead developer Patrick Gold
    • Liberapay for Patrick Gold
    • PayPal for Patrick Gold

FreeTube

FreeTube is an Electron-based YouTube client that lets you watch YouTube videos and keep track of public YouTube channels without signing into a Google account on your browser, watching YouTube on the browser on the rather slowly loading youtube.com website, or even Invidious. (However, if there are Invidious issues affecting all Invidious instances, then FreeTube will inherit those same playback issues, as I've causally observed. For example, if subtitles aren't working on all Invidious instances, then subtitles also won't work on FreeTube.) YouTube's suggestion algorithm seems to keep working, even if you're using a VPN, since the YouTube site tracks users via browser fingerprinting - which is a deeper issue outside of the scope of my ever flawed evaluator armchair assessment of YouTube as a whole. I even believe this fingerprinting occurs on Invidious - but to a lesser extent. Actually, I'm hypothesizing that unless you use FreeTube behind a VPN, then tracking via fingerprinting still happens on FreeTube - unless you simply disable suggestions entirely in FreeTube's distraction-free settings. I follow enough YouTube channels to have my own self-curated "click hole" and I don't need YouTube's algorithmically generated to have the same feature.

  • Donation page
    • Liberapay
    • Cryptocurrency: Bitcoin and Monero

Gentoo

...

  • Donate page
    • Credit/debit card through PayPal

GhostBSD

...

  • Donate page
    • Credit/debit card through PayPal

GrapheneOS

The alternative Android OS that Snowden recommends, back in 2019 before Permanent Record was published and in November 2022. GrapheneOS lets you experience which settings in out-of-the-box stock Android come from are part of AOSP and which only exist with Google Play Services. GrapheneOS does custom Android OS correctly, even porting the latest Android versions to its stable release channels than even Google itself for out-of-the-box Pixels.

  • Info page
    • Credit/debit card via GitHub Sponsors to lead developer Daniel Micay
    • Various cryptocurrency options
      • Includes Monero

Internet Archive

Most known for the Wayback Machine, the Internet Archive is similar to Wikipedia in that it runs on a shoestring budget, with respect to the service and bandwidth it maintains compared to other for-profit entities, such as Google or Microsoft. Internet mystery investigators love the Wayback Machine, so learn to use it if you can't use yt-dlp on Linux.

KeePassDX

This is the Android version of KeePass. KeePassDX is influenced to be modern, like KeePassXC. This works great, especially if you simply want a copy your KeePassXC database protected with a YubiKey 4/5 NFC device to still work on your Android device, via either USB OTG or NFC.

KeePassXC

IMHO, KeePassXC is the best local password manager. It's included in Tails (well, the version that Debian Stable is stuck with, which isn't the fault of Tails) and looks much better than the Windows native KeePass. Need I need to say more? (If only SoloKeys could implement hmac-secret...)

  • Info page
    • Credit/debit card
      • Open Collective
      • Liberapay
      • PayPal
      • GitHub Sponsors
        • But only individual pages for the three lead developers
      • Patreon
        • Two different accounts for client and browser add-on

LineageOS

This was my first "real" custom Android OS, so there's some sentimental value for me when it comes to looking back at LineageOS. (Technically, I used a OnePlus One with CyanogenMod, until CyanogenMod shut down. CyanogenMod/LineageOS 13 for Android 6 was definitely a dark age, but LOS was basically fine to use LineageOS 14/Android 7 or LineageOS 15/Android 8 came out.) However, in 2022 and afterward, I've only depended on LineageOS (specifically the microG unofficial fork) for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite - but I'm slowly discovering that Samsung figuratively forces you to bend your back three times and hop through five and a half hoops to install a custom Android OS with a bootloader that can never be relocked, thanks to the e-Fuse from Samsung Knox security - thank you Samsung, I hate this. Anyways, although the Pixel Tablet lacks an audio jack, I've almost always at risk of accidentally making it fall or break by pulling on any audio jack device plugged into my tablet and thus destroying the tablet; but at least it will be hopefully projected to have GrapheneOS support.

  • Donation info on every page's footer, but small and hard to find:

Manjaro

...

  • Donation page
    • Credit/debit card
      • Open Collective
      • Distinction between "normal" X86_64 and ARM teams

Molly

Molly is a security hardened fork of Signal that offers a local message database encryption with a separate password (this is why I have to use KeePassXC to use a random 128 character password to unlock Molly), a FOSS variant (which avoid any proprietary libraries, unlike the Signal app for Android), removal of MobileCoin, and automatic blocking of Signal users not in your contact book. There once was a time when Signal truly cracked down on any third-party fork of the Signal client on Android, but things at Signal seem to have changed since 2020. (However, I won't dig any of that stuff up, because the neurotic minutia combing in those primary sources is genuinely painful to pull up.) That being said, you are trusting Molly, as it updates every two weeks (unless there are security updates), on top of Signal with respect to the total number of development entities to trust. For more info, see the 2022 Signal Configuration and Hardening Guide from Privacy Guides (which will probably be moved in the next two weeks to effectively remove all mentions of GitHub's "front end" with respect to contributors, even though you can't get rid of all of the contribution history for the site - and the blog - until the Privacy Guides team eventually does exactly that by moving everything to a new repository to do exactly what I thought those people would never dare to do).

Monero

Monero is an established cryptocurrency that is private by default (with an obfuscated blockchain) that has no artificial supply limit (unlike Bitcoin and many other cryptocurrency coins) and can be mined by any processor (so, no need to hoard GPUs in server farms or specialized processors just to mine Monero - so, yes: your X86_64 laptop can mine Monero, though IRL the speed honestly won't be very high...).

  • Donate Monero to the Monero Project: so, yes: there seems to be a "chicken and egg" issue here, but it's not my place to resolve this right now...

Parrot OS

...

  • Donate page
    • Credit/debit card
      • PayPal
      • Patreon
    • Cryptocurrencies (including Zcash, but no Monero)
    • Parrot Security Shop
      • but the language is in Italian?
    • Referral links

Qubes OS

Edward Snowden mentioned using Qubes OS in September 2016, December 2017, and in August 2019 (right before Permanent Record was published). The last mention calls out the usage of the Whonix gateway in Qubes OS. The overall UX is rough, as the second mention alludes to, but the security offered by Qubes OS is definitely real (as the only potential competitor Subgraph hasn't updated since September 2017).

Signal

Signal has been mentioned by Snowden many, many times - but I'll cover a few. The FBI already knew Snowden uses Signal in November 2015; Snowden had a "regular" PSA praising Tor and Signal in September 2016; Snowden suggests using Signal, instead of e-mail, for truly private communications in 2019 before Permanent Record came out; and Snowden says that he hasn't died from using Signal in January 2021. Signal isn't perfect - but Tor and Qubes OS are the same.

  • Direct donation page
    • Credit/debit card
    • Many cryptocurrency options
      • Zcash, but no Monero? C'mon!
      • Ironically, not even MobileCoin is accepted? Pathetic!

SoloKeys

SoloKeys is an open-source hardware security key for 2FA, which is for the older U2F protocol or the newer FIDO2 protcol of WebAuthn. This is a good alternative to YubiKey Security Key (but not the YubiKey 5 NFC for securing a KeePassXC database). There's nothing wrong with the security keys from Nitrokey, but those residing in the U.S. could simply source perfectly equivalent security keys from the Solo 1 series from North America rather than going across the Atlantic Ocean for a Nitrokey device. At the very least SoloKeys could help lower shipping costs to those in the U.S. and North America.

  • Credit/debit card via GitHub Sponsors
    • Though the most effective support is buying SoloKeys or contributing code

Tails

Praised by Snowden for a long time, Tails is a solid tool that is an entire OS that forces all web traffic through Tor and is much easier to use than Qubes with Whonix (if you're ok with turning off your computer and understanding the implications of the security and threat model of Tails - while not rocket science, this takes some getting used to).

  • Donation page
    • Credit/debit card
    • Cryptocurrency (including Monero)

Tor Project

The Tor Project maintains the Tor Browser, which Snowden has regularly praised. Honestly, if it's safe for you to use Tor, use Tor Browser at least once a week to do general web browsing not requiring login accounts to help users depending on Tor users to blend in - if everyone claims to be "Spartacus", then mass surveillance is rendered useless. Though to be clear, using Tor Browser is almost never as enjoyable as using a browser better suited for clearnet/VPN web browsing.

  • Donate page
    • Credit/debit card
    • Cryptocurrency (including Monero): https://donate.torproject.org/cryptocurrency/
      • which you can be truly anonymous (at least Monero with respect to transaction metadata) and give no other PII for cryptocurrency donations

VSCodium

VSCodium is a fork of Visual Studio Code that remove's Microsoft's first-party telemetry. Yes, even Big Tech has to ruin FOSS, and it's always up to the hacker community to push back against the Big Tech vectoralists. (If you use the AUR on your compatible Pacman-based distribution, then don't be a weirdo like me and use the source building vscodium package like me - instead, just use the binary vscodium-bin package.)

Whonix

...

  • Donate page
    • Credit/debit card through PayPal
    • Cryptocurrency (including Monero)

Wikipedia

  • Donation page
    • This happens to be the English language and US country page
    • Find the donate link on the homepage to correctly generated donate page for your locale

Not fundable

These projects can't be funded with traditional direct donations.

Alpine Linux

Alpine Linux is a "darn small" Linux distribution, even more so on a technical level than the default Arch Linux install. The only shortcomings of Alpine is that there aren't a lot of packages to choose from and there's nothing analogous to the AUR for Pacman distributions closer to Arch Linux than Parabola or Hyperbola. Alpine is used to run Docker images - if that is a tool you frequently use.

  • Alpine Linux has corporate sponsors
  • Alpine Linux has list of actions one can do to support the project
  • Alpine Linux has a page (likely incomplete) of main developers you may directly donate funds to

Betrusted

...

Droid-ify

Droid-ify installs F-Droid repository apps without any permissions - unlike F-Droid. F-Droid isn't perfect by any means, but Droid-ify improves the UI and UX of F-Droid. Still, Droid-ify doesn't fix any of the fundamental issues of F-Droid. (If you want to keep an eye on a future app store that has the unmatched power and seamless experience of GrapheneOS's App store with the possibility of having the availability of F-Droid without its inherent security shortcomings, then get to know the Accrescent app store.) That being said, I do not care what Privacy Guides has to say if Michael Bazzell pays no mind to that group and Neo Store's UI feels as cluttered (if not more cluttered) than the Google Play Store itself. (If Molly lets its users decide between using the auto-updater and the F-Droid repo like actual adults, then I can manage my decision as as adult as well.)

Kali Linux

...

LibreWolf

I have never used the user.js profile from Arkenfox, because I previously depended on the prior Firefox hardening guide from Privacy Guides (which was carried over from the Privacy Tools days). Then, when this was no longer necessary in 2021 (c.f. this additional 2022 video from Techlore as well), I haven't bothered to set up any new instance of Firefox properly. Instead, I simply use LibreWolf, which has all of the Arkenfox settings out of the box. (LibreWolf on Linux is awesome, because updating LibreWolf is a breeze and even updating the AUR manually for Pacman-based distributions with paru is ok - but allegedly the Windows version doesn't auto-update?) Anyways, LibreWolf doesn't accept donations, but at least readers can spread the word about LibreWolf - as it has all of the privacy "tweaks" one has to manually perform anyways on "vanilla" Firefox.

linux-hardened: the hardened Linux kernel

This is the hardened version of the Linux kernel. Currently, this is only of interest to me if I had to install Arch Linux on bare metal - as there I haven't figured out a reliable method for Pop!_OS to completely stop installing the generic Linux kernel and requiring it as a system dependency; and the hardened Linux kernel doesn't matter in Qubes OS.

  • ArchWiki info
  • I suppose the most significant contribution is to maintain the code - if you have the relevant skills. To be honest, this is the type of project where people self-sort themselves, as mentioned in the book The Cathedral and the Bazaar.

Linux kernel

The Linux kernel is the colloquial "engine" that powers Linux. We don't need to do the whole Richard Stallman "GNU+Linux" thing, though Linux is analogous to only the engine of a car and nothing else. However, I am hesitant to stick steadfast with the GNU Utils (or any other window manager/desktop environment as the graphical interface), since there are people with legitimate needs reimplementing the GNU Core Utilities and the GNU C Library and all that technical jazz. Let's just be pragmatic and just use "Linux" to refer to Linux distributions - as anything else GNU or otherwise to make the OS livable, just like seating and the rest of a car, is created to support the Linux kernel.

  • Homepage
  • There are many people working on the Linux kernel, but feel free to contribute code for the most impactful contribution back to the Linux kernel, if you have the skill and know-how (I know - this is a "the chicken or the egg" problem, but it's the best I have right now)
  • This is the day job of Linus Torvalds and many others to develop and maintain the latest/current stable version - including Greg Kroah-Hartman, who maintains the current/stable the Linux kernel. So, as of late December 2022, the latest versions are either 6.1 or 6.0.

OnionShare

Developed by computer security engineer and journalist at The Intercept Micah F. Lee (the same man who maintains the torbrowser-launcher for Linux distributions), you can share files over Tor with OnionShare. There are some other features, but those are more advanced than file sharing.

  • Contributing back to its code on GitHub is the most effective way to help OnionShare.

System76

System76 is one of the most pragmatic "I need a solution right now" for computer hardware that is manufactured (as much as possible now) and assembled in the U.S., compared to other large corporations making laptops in Asia. (I'm looking at you, Dell.) The original 2018 Bloomberg story about how China put "evil" chips on boards of Super Micro Computer Inc. servers has details that are heavily disputed, as Amazon and Apple pretend that everything is ok while the FBI is likely giving the "public" version that's very different from the version that IC sysadmins see from Heartbeat - but you already knew that if you read Permanent Record. However, regardless of who is lying (or if the whole ordeal itself is fabricated, as a counter analysis from The Intercept indicates), the fundamental issue still stands: how do you secure U.S. supply chains? If there is an solution, then it's slow and requires years of working trade knowledge of simply manufacturing ICs and other PCBs within U.S. borders - an industry that hasn't exactly flourished since the 1990s. Yes, this could alleviate some of the chip shortage that's been raging since at least 2019 (yes, it started earlier before the COVID-19 pandemic started), but even U.S. manufacturing wouldn't stop NSA interdiction of mailed computing equipment. Don't believe me? Watch both videos from the raison d'être post for Betrusted/Precursor and ironically mail interdiction becomes much easier for TAO to perform. In fact, once on Twitter (before half of those tweets were deleted), you'll find out that Ariadne Conill, a main contributor to Alpine Linux, cannot simply order ThinkPads from Lenovo, as the package will mysteriously be redirected to Langley, VA from China, where the CIA headquarters is located (and the NSA effectively works from there, too). Apparently this is what a U.S. citizen is awarded with when they maintain a Linux distro and works at Chainguard to secure software supply chains for the greater good. I think JFK's most famous quote from his inaugural address requires a significant amount of reconsideration when asking the question of how little the collective U.S. appreciates your work when asking what one can do for the U.S. in 2022, all in the name of "national security". Anyways, Bernie Sanders is correct - the [CHIPS and Science Act](CHIPS and Science Act) (also known as the "semiconductor spending bill") is a scam that helps the IC cartels profit and Andrew Huang agrees (and I'm actually surprised that Sanders came to the same conclusion as Huang). Also, mail interdiction's seems like an expensive operation (even in late 2022) and more fitting for targeted surveillance rather than mass surveillance (the latter being much easier to fend off), so, realistically speaking with a holistic approach, I doubt placing poisoned ICs onto PCBs is happening on a massive scale. The Launch 1 series keyboards have QMK firmware and both the mechanical and electrical designs are on GitHub. (I have the Launch 1.) (Interesting, there's QMK firmware for the IBM Model M and some Unicomp keyboards.) Open source firmware and mechanical/electrical designs of System76 laptops and desktops will happen... when it happens.

  • Buy System76 hardware for the most direct support

Pop!_OS

Pop!_OS is System76's Ubuntu-based Linux distribution, which fixes many things (with respect to software engineering and aesthetics) wrong with Ubuntu. Eventually System76 will put its in-house designed COSMIC desktop environment on Pop!_OS in 2023 - so, at least I have something to look forward to in 2023.

  • Show symbolic support with $1/month
    • Click on the SUPPORT POP button to create a System76 account

yt-dlp

yt-dlp is a fork of youtube-dl that avoids the worldwide rate limiting, since youtube-dl didn't seem to recover with respect to software development speed after the RIAA legal bullying in November 2020 for some reason.

  • There is a donation page for main contributing developers, where you can donate to each developer individually. This is a bit more difficult to figure out how to distribute funds, but it can be done if one is sufficiently motivated to do so.