Free Software Magazine: Free Software and Politics in Yankeetown

“The picturesque village of Yankeetown on Florida’s Nature Coast
has been the recent target of a large time-sharing resort
condominium development proposal. Several townsfolk looked into the
development and discovered what appeared to be corrupt practices in
the town government. A loosely organized group of citizens decided
to coordinate and share information via a web presence. Beyond any
expectations, the picture albums, message boards, and mailing lists
they used have been the catalyst for gaining state-wide attention
and have led to direct intervention from the Governor’s office.
This article describes the technical implementation and evolution
of this grassroots movement, showing how a variety of basic free
software tools were assembled to create a tool for political
change…”

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