This is a book about community and technology. It is a book that represents a collective effort, much like the technology we build together. And if this is in fact your first encounter with our community, you may find it strange to think of a community as the driving force behind technology. Isn't technology built by large corporations? Actually, for us it is almost the other way around.

The authors in this book are all members of what you could label the software freedom community. A group of people sharing the fundamental experience that software is more empowering, more useful, more flexible, more controllable, more just, more encompassing, more sustainable, more efficient, more secure and ultimately just better when it comes with four fundamental freedoms: to use, study, share and improve the software.

And while there is now an increasing number of communities that have left behind the requirement for geographical proximity by means of virtual communication, it was this community that pioneered that new age.

In fact, the Internet and the Free Software Community were codependent developments. As the Internet grew, our community could grow with it, but without the values and technology of our community, I have no doubts that the Internet would not have become the all-encompassing network that we now see enabling people and groups around the world.