“Since 2006, on May 19th, we celebrate the Open Discussion Day, a day to promote open communication systems and protocols.

Imagine an internet where it is only possible to send emails to people who used the same email provider as you, or only view websites that are hosted on your internet provider's servers. Naturally, these barriers go against the principles of the internet, and thankfully those days are long gone. Well… nearly.

Many people still rely on instant messaging and other networks which lock them in, and prevent them from chatting with their friends on other networks (except where certain “business deals” are made). This is against the spirit of freedom of choice, and works in favor of the network providers, not you, the user.

So imagine an IM network where you are able to choose where you want your account, and who your contacts are. You are in control, and you can even run your own server if you want to!

Thankfully such networks exist, they are free to use, and they don't restrict you to one provider or one client. XMPP (formerly named Jabber) is an example of a popular open network and protocol.

Here you can learn why it's important to use open systems. You can also read about how Jabber/XMPP works and how to use it.”

http://opendiscussionday.org/

This is a good day to avoid using closed systems such as WhatsApp or Skype, tell your friends why, and use only libre/federated systems. Even if it's just for the day.

And if you're interested, we have a jabber/XMPP room for pump.io at pump.io@muc.jappix.com, and a general spanish language free-networks-related room at redeslibres@salas.mijabber.es ;)

And this is all year long!