FreeMedia

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The Fedora Free Media Program is a volunteer initiative by local Fedora Ambassadors and contributors to distribute Fedora Media (DVDs) for free to individuals who can't afford to buy or download Fedora. There is no funding from Fedora for this initiative. The media comes from volunteers from around the globe that coordinate their efforts using Fedora Infrastructure. The number of discs is limited to the resources of those volunteers. We are constantly looking for more Fedora Ambassadors or contributors to participate. If you have any question about the FreeMedia program, consult Susmit, Neville or Frank.

Where to get media
Please do not write directly to program coordinators asking for media. To request media use the Form.

Getting help
If you need help troubleshooting once you've received the media, please have a look at http://fedoraproject.org/get-help.

The following sections describe how the FreeMedia program works in detail.

How FreeMedia Works

At the begining of each month a Form to Request Media is opened. This form captures requests from all people. This form does not include those countries that are listed as embargoed in the Export Matrix List. After the form has been closed, the volunteers pick the closest request so the shipping costs are kept low.

Time line

1. When one user requests Media, a ticket is opened. The user receives an email confirming that the ticket is open.
   • Tickets may be closed due lack of description. The user will receives an email stating that the ticket has been closed
   • As we depend on voluntary resources, we cannot assure that every ticket will be fulfilled.
2. When a FreeMedia Team Member accepts a request the ticket is commented and the user receives an email.
3. The Member can take some time to burn the media and take it to the post office, sometimes up to ten days.
4. When a FreeMedia Team Member sends the media, the team member closes the ticket and the user receives an email stating that the Media is on its way.
   • Shipping the media can take some time depending on where in the world the FreeMedia Team Member resides.

Policy

• One media per person per release + source media if requested.
• Any duplicate requests will be cancelled.
• If you're a Fedora Ambassador or Fedora Contributor, you will not receive any DVD via this program. Freemedia does not provide disks for events.
• Please note that this is a volunteer initiative by local Fedora Ambassadors or Contributors.
• Please note we can't ship media to U.S. embargoed or restricted destinations. See Fedora Export Control Product Matrix
• Per Fedora Project Board's recommendation , physical media with source code is available upon request.
• Media is produced by volunteers, we don't ship media with commercial grade labels or printing.

Private requests

• The only way to get free media shipped via postal mail is the freemedia form.
• Generally private requests for media shipping SHOULD NOT be accepted by fedora project contributors.
• Contributors SHOULD do the following when they gets private requests:
  • If the requester lives near the contributor's place, the contributor may ask the requester to meet in person and get the media burned.
  • If not, the contributor should use reply.

Form

Before you fill in the form, please remember that this program runs with limited resources. We ask that you use the form only if you cannot download media, attend an event, or get media elsewhere such as magazines carrying free disks, online vendor or local vendor. You can ask to an Ambassador (map) to point you in the right direction taking into account local options. By limiting form usage to people who are truly in need, we can make sure that our efforts are properly prioritized. As this is a voluntary effort we provide home made media, do not expect elaborated labels and printing. Thank you!

Here is the FreeMedia form. If you receive a CLOSED message, it means that we have filled all the requests we can handle this month, and you can try again next month.

Helping US

Join us

Freemedia is a wonderful idea and coordinates small contributions from people around the world to deliver media to those who otherwise would not be able to enjoy Fedora. All this is made using Fedora Infrastructure. If you like this concept, and you like Fedora, you can easily become a member. We ask for two disk monthly plus shipping, please consider Join the Freemedia team.

We appreciate all of the support and interest we have received so far, and we hope that more volunteers will step forward to help us increase our capacity and accept a larger number of requests.

Donation

You can help us making a Donation to the program.

History

• For historical records, visit Fedora Free Media Program Archive page.