Riseup.net needs your help!
Riseup.net is a voluntary tech collective that has been in operation since 1999.
I'm using my platform to help spread the word, because according to a recent news report they have encountered money issues and may be forced to close their doors soon.
We cannot allow this to happen!
The services that riseup provide are absolutely vital to the exercise of free speech in an increasingly surveillance oriented world.
Recently they sent out an email explaining that the are running out funds and this could put the whole project in danger. Costs are higher because not only do they provide software, but also infrastructure and those costs have been far more than could be expected.
Quoting the linked article...
Based on estimated costs, Riseup says it will be unable to pay for its services starting next month. Administrators are now asking users to donate at least $1, if possible.
The network, which provides free & secure email accounts, email lists, VPNs, and an online XMPP chat service, claims to service over 150,000 email accounts, 7.2 million users subscribed to over 14,000 email lists, and God knows how many XMPP users.
These are only a fraction of the total number of users Riseup has been servicing for free in the past 17 years.
Riseup has gained huge traction after the Snowden revelations, with many people flocking to the network because of its ability to provide anonymous and encrypted communications.
Just like Tor, Riseup is popular with dissidents and criminals alike. In January 2015, Spanish authorities arrested eleven people just for using the service.
It might seem inconsequential, but if you and every Riseup user gave us just one dollar, that would fix our current financial problem.
The fact is that we now live in a world where you can now be considered guilty and forced to prove your innocence for merely associating with people on the wrong side of those in power.
Riseup.net is something vital yet completely unsung. I've been a silent supporter since they first began accepting bitcoins. I support them because they provide tools for real social change to dissidents and conscientious objectors globally in order to promote a better world.
According to their own website, Riseup...
provides online communication tools for people and groups working on liberatory social change. They are a project to create democratic alternatives and practice self-determination by controlling our own secure means of communications.
You know this anarchy, voluntaryism, ideal political stuff you keep talking about here?
These guys have been living it, for longer than many of the people reading this have been alive!
Steemit and Riseup both promote the same value systems. But whereas steemit works well in countries where you can safely express yourself, Riseup is meant for change in countries where freedom of speech is actively suppressed. They provide tools that work well in places where being an individual and speaking up can get your head chopped off by the local warlord.
I'm asking everyone who reads this to please go to riseup.net and donate whatever you can to lend them some support. Every penny counts!
They take bitcoin right now, but I'm contacting them, inviting them to steemit, I encourage you to as well.
In the meantime all SBD from this posting will also be sent directly to them as bitcoin when it comes in.
Riseup! And be the change!
p.s. It looks like there is also a user @riseup on steemit but he/she does not appear to be affiliated.
Come on whales, help them out with a few up-votes. It's not going to cost you anything.
Thanks for that. I agree completely. An upvote costs us absolutely nothing and if we can't use that power to provide financial support for something like riseup.net, then we have have a serious problem to consider here.
Well Said
I've promoted this post, and encourage others who believe in this cause to do the same.
Thanks beanz! You're awesome!
I've never heard of it but hope it gets the help it needs
Looks like it's starting to get a little traction. Only 5 more hours to go!
I'm in the UK not sure it's used here. got my fingers crossed for them
These guys are not voluntaryists. I wish them the best but let's be honest.
This is going to quickly become a "no true scottsman" argument.
The fact is they contribute labor and resources voluntarily in order to promote and encourage free association between parties who choose to associate voluntarily in order to make whatever changes they feel they need to in their own world, to make the world a better place.
Purists talk about these things and then try to tack on extra stuff as though any movement defined by a concept of self determinism would ever consent to a leader.
The core message is the same. You must be the change you want to see and this means taking positive action.
All they do is facilitate it without judgement.
One look at their logo tells you, if you didn't already know, that they are an-coms - communists.
They may not be state communists but they're far, far away from voluntaryists and almost certainly find us voluntaryists to be highly distasteful, to say the least.
No, it's really not.
What's more, the last time I checked they were not accepting just any old activism group as users of their service. They discriminate, which is their right.
But let's be freaking honest here and state up front that they are not voluntaryists, they don't like voluntaryists and they almost certainly discriminate against voluntaryists when deciding how to apportion their meager IT resources.
So don't try to tell me I'd be donating to voluntaryists. That would be factually incorrect.
Upvoted. Followed.
Thanks! I'm following you now as well!
voted up! Please post within steemit.chat
Thank you for upvoting!
I'm traveling and tethered to my cellphone for internet access.
I can't hop in steemit.chat until this evening. If anyone else would like to hop in there and post it, I would be very thankful actually!
I've posted this on the Steemit Facebook page. I use riseup.net myself and I believe it is very important.
Thank you so much for doing that!
In the end, this service really needs to evolve or die. But here is a little more information:
' ' Based on estimated costs, Riseup says it will be unable to pay for its services starting next month. Administrators are now asking users to donate at least $1, if possible.
The network, which provides free & secure email accounts, email lists, VPNs, and an online XMPP chat service, claims to service over 150,000 email accounts, 7.2 million users subscribed to over 14,000 email lists, and God knows how many XMPP users.
These are only a fraction of the total number of users Riseup has been servicing for free in the past 17 years.
Riseup has gained huge traction after the Snowden revelations, with many people flocking to the network because of its ability to provide anonymous and encrypted communications.
Just like Tor, Riseup is popular with dissidents and criminals alike. In January 2015, Spanish authorities arrested eleven people just for using the service.
-It might seem inconsequential, but if you and every Riseup user gave us just one dollar, that would fix our current financial problem. ' '
Thank you for finding that!!!
When I was writing the post I had seen that exact message up somewhere but couldn't locate it when it came time to snip it into my post.
No problem, you go ahead and include it in the post if you like. This isn't a very flashy article so far, so I'd probably consider fattening up some of the text and including a picture of Snowden as well.
Thanks for the advice. I'd hesitate to use snowden's image here. Because I don't see anywhere they've ever claimed he was a user. In fact we know he was using lavabit and lavabit shut down their services rather than turnover his info.
What they are saying is that since the Snowden revelations their user base has gone through the roof, but their finances have not been able to keep pace and they can't pay their bills because of it.
I will however take your advice and add that snip to the article. Wish I could find some better graphics etc. But the whole point of this movement is that it is low key by design. They don't spend money on fancy things like art, just important stuff like software and infrastructure.
Ok made some quick updates. I'm traveling though and can't make major changes until this evening, so I really hope this is enough.
I like the changes you made. You used good judgement on the Snowden issue as well.
You said, "In the end, this service really needs to evolve or die."
I'm really curious to know what you mean? What sort of evolution are you demanding?
The same kind of developement I see happening in the crypto space etc. A market based developement that involve profit at some level and a creative way to sell their product. I'm not likely to donate money to someone, when they are not interested in "making" money; in other words bettering their services at a "profit".
At this point in time, I see a group that out of their charity is almost loosing their power to help, very little developement and very little incentive to do so.
This post has been linked to from another place on Steem.
About linkback bot. Please upvote if you like the bot and want to support its development.
I just saw @someguy123 post about this as well.
Thanks! I really appreciate it and I crosslinked.
Ya know, there is absoutely no reason, we can't all be raising funds for them.
Frankly I'd rather see riseup.net get the entire kitty for a few days, with the whole front page of trending full of people raising money for them. Than to see another make up tutorial, etc for awhile.
Exactly.
If you're reading this, @someguy123 is also running the exact same fundraiser.
https://steemit.com/steem/@someguy123/calling-all-users-riseup-are-having-a-financial-crisis
Please make sure to toss him an upvote as well.
If we as a community can give $10k for a makeup tutorial, I'm sure we can find at least that much for a critical piece of the freedom side of the internet.
Also please feel free to steal my blog directly if you like, make it your own and post it with #riseup you don't even need to attribute me. Just get the message out.
Let's see if we can fill trending with the riseup message instead of another makeup tutorial.
You are absolutely free to crosslink here, you will get at least my upvote.