FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Real questions we’ve actually been asked, plus the basics.

What is FKPF?

The Free Knowledge Preservation Foundation is an independent effort to keep free and open source software, its licenses, and its documentation accessible over the long term — by archiving real, working copies, not just links to where something used to be.

Is FKPF affiliated with the projects it preserves?

No. FKPF is an independent third party. Preserving a project doesn’t imply endorsement by it, and the reverse is also true — a project not yet being preserved isn’t a judgment on it, it likely just hasn’t been added yet.

How is the Preservation Score calculated?

Automatically, from five categories already on each entry: mirror redundancy, documentation, reproducibility, license clarity, and metadata completeness. Nobody rates an entry by hand. The full breakdown is on the Preservation Score page.

What does "Verified" mean on a software entry?

That FKPF actually re-downloaded the declared file(s) recently and checked their SHA-256/SHA-512 against the checksum the project itself published. It’s re-checked on a recurring schedule, not a one-time claim.

Do you use torrents or IPFS?

Not yet. Right now mirrors are plain HTTP(S) links. It’s a reasonable question, though, and one we’ve thought about: the long-term Guardian Node design is meant to be transport-agnostic, so BitTorrent, IPFS, or something else entirely could sit alongside HTTP later without changing what’s actually being preserved. Nothing here should be read as a promise of a specific timeline.

Can I run a Guardian Node?

Not yet — the program is still being designed. See the Guardian Nodes page for what’s planned, and Contribute for what you can actually do today.

Is this project run by a bot, or is it AI-generated?

FKPF is a real, independent project. If a specific account or message claiming to represent FKPF looks suspicious, don’t take it on faith — verify through the Contact page before trusting it.

Who is behind FKPF?

A small, volunteer effort at this stage, not a registered organization with staff. The Manifesto explains the reasoning and the intent in full; we’d rather be transparent about being early than overstate what currently exists.