FreeSoftwarePactFAQ

The European elections will take place May 22-25, 2014.

The platform to contact candidates is available, as well a the Pact in different EU languages and the Free Software Pact website.

Ongoing translations of the Pact and of the website can be found on the wiki.

If you have any questions, you can contact us via email : contact (a) freesoftwarepact.eu

How does the platform work?

The [platform http://freesoftwarepact.eu//europarl2014/] helps contacting candidates by allowing you to know who has been contacted, who has signed ...

How to register as volunteer

The link is available on the platform.

Please provide a valid email address as a confirmation email will be sent.

You can also take the responsibility of a candidate or of a country by clicking on the link. This allows you to make changes without having to wait for moderation. Responsibilities need to be validated manually, so please allow a few hours for it to work.

How to add a candidate

You can add a candidate by logging in, then clicking on a country, then on the "add a candidate" button. Newly added candidates will then be confirmed by volunteers.

We will try to add the names of all candidates once the information is available.

How to contact candidates

The idea is to contact candidates to ask them to sign the Free Software Pact. The candidates then needs to send be the pact (by email, fax, or postal mail).

The priority is to contact candidates who are the most likely to get elected (for instance, the first on the list in countries where the vote is done with lists) so that they can have the most impact during the next legislature.

All candidates are important though - let's not forget that the more people are aware of the issues regarding Free Software, the more promotion and information will be done.

The main steps

• make sure that the candidate has not signed the pact yet
• check whether the candidate has been added to the platform yet. If not, add him/her to the list, in order to make it easier to see which candidates have been contacted already. Please remember that you need to be logged in to add a candidate.
• have a copy of the Free Software Pact ready
• send an email, call or meet the candidate (or his/her staff) explainig what the Free Software Pact is and to offer them t sign it. Explain in your own words why Free Software is important and why they should commit to protecting and promoting it.
• add your contact action to the platform
• if the candidate agrees to sign the free software pact, tell them that they need to send it back (the information is written on the pact). If they give it back to you, you can