well that sucks. apparently the ALA/Freedom To Read Foundation have trademarks on the phrase "free people read freely", which i use in a lino print i made into stickers a few years ago.

i got the phrase from a 2023 speech by librarian and former ALA leader Tracie D. Hall. i didn't think to check if it was trademarked because, lol, what a wild thing to trademark. turns out the trademark had been granted two months before i made the print.

it's no big deal from a business perspective — i don't sell these stickers for much more than they cost, because i mostly just think it's an important message that i want to help people share. i've probably given away at least as many as i've sold, which i guess is now what i'll have to do with the rest.

anyway if you were wondering what happened to the stickers, now you know.

This long read in The Verge does a remarkable job of describing how Wikipedia's editing community works, the project's strengths and weaknesses, and the threats it faces.

I’ve spent the better part of two decades dealing with people trying to dox and harass the volunteers who make Wikipedia the incredible resource it is today.

I liked it better when they weren’t in Congress.

Letter from House Oversight Committee Chairs James Comer and Nancy Mace

I also spent six years on the same (volunteer!) Arbitration Committee from which Oversight is now demanding private communications. Even just threats like this one, regardless of followthrough, will it so much harder for them to do their thankless work.

Lawsuits like this one are not something to celebrate just because you hate Fox News.

I'm not normally one to agree with Fox, but they're right in their statement that suits like this are "designed to chill free speech critical of [Newsom]."

The DOE “book banning hoax” press release claimed that challenged books are “age-inappropriate, sexually explicit, or obscene”. Only 13% of banned books in 2023–24 included “on the page” sexual scenes—but 36% featured PoC characters and 25% featured LGBTQ characters.

"The recent elections also feel like a cultural tipping point towards, once again, prioritising free speech," said Mark Zuckerberg.

Doublespeak.

As I wrote the other day:

I’ve been banging the drum about the need for a federal anti-SLAPP law for a long time now, and one has just been proposed. Call your Congresspeople!

More on the bill from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.