"You, the reader, are hereby invited to participate in a celebration of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) on August 28th this year. On that day we will stage public events to inform the general public about the virtues of FOSS. We invite you to form local teams and set up tables in town centers, shopping malls, or wherever there are likely to be lots of people on a Saturday.
"Average computer users are not aware of FOSS, and at this point there is no reason they would be. Even worse, certain proprietary software companies, unwittingly aided by the press, have spread disinformation about FOSS. Recent coverage has been especially disappointing, with spurious connections being made between programmers and virus writers; this shows a clear lack of knowledge in the mainstream press. In order to counter this trend, FOSS users and enthusiasts must make more positive contributions to the mainstream debate. We should provide positive stories to write about, not simply respond to the latest FUD. A global day of FOSS celebration will give us an opportunity to present our case to the media and directly to the public..."
