Freedom comes with many costs, not least responsibility. Social, psychological, financial, bodily, emotional: known and unknown costs, often to bystanders, turn any strategy to gain and protect freedom into an ambiguous quest. Sometimes it isn't clear what freedom means. Many people use and produce bits of free knowledge, but any serious attempt quickly runs into tremendous barriers, in every field. Participants receive unequal welcome due to gender, language, cultural or economic differences. Occasionally, the production of intangible assets may intersect with broader historical movements, redefining their meanings and exposing their participants to unlimited costs.

Considering the costs borne by millions to obtain, for example, freedom from slavery or freedom to vote, free knowledge movements seem rather safe and straightforward. By contrast, to consider the costs of free culture, free software or open scientific research may look adventurous, or perhaps just presumptuous. But this is what we will attempt to do, with appropriate humility. This book wants to discuss how free knowledge movements are built and the real costs attached to them. Activists, artists, designers, developers, researchers, and writers involved with free knowledge movements have worked together to see further than the fog of our news feeds and produce some sense from our different experiences.

This book is born in an attempt to free Bassel Khartabil Sadafi, loved and celebrated Internet volunteer detained in Syria since 15 March 2012. His name has been deleted from the Adra Prison's register where he was detained, on 3 October 2015. We have not received any information about his current status or whereabouts since.

Contributors: Adam Hyde, Anasuya Sengupta, Barry Threw, Ben Dablo, Christian Grothoff, Christopher Adams, Clémence de Montgolfier, Clément Renaud, Donatella Della Ratta, Ethan Zuckerman, Faraj Rifait, Geert Lovink, Georges Dahdouh, ginger coons, Giorgos Cheliotis, Hellekin, Jaromil, Jon Phillips, John Wilbanks, Lawrence Lessig, Lorna M Campbell, Lucas Gonze, Maarten Zeinstra, Marc Weidenbaum, Martin Paul Eve, Melanie Dulong de Rosnay, Mike Linksvayer, Muid Latif, Mushon Zer-Aviv, Natacha Roussel, Noura Safadi , Niki Korth, Patrick W. Deegan, Pauline Gadea, Pete Ippel, Radium, Richard Goodman, Sabrina Banes, Shauna Gordon-McKeon, Stéphanie Vidal, Sulaiman Majali, Théophile Pillault, Tim Boykett, Tyng-Ruey Chuang, Yu Li