It has been operational in some shape since the year 1987 as a non-profit organization. Basic membership is free after validation, more sophisticated supplemental membership levels are available after donations.

SDF offers to its members:

• Substantial webspace, with largely unrestricted CGI capability
• Mail address and box with spam-filtering
• Gopher space
• Access to a UNIX NetBSD shell running on high-powered, 64-bit computers
• Inclusion in a non-commercial techie community with a bulletin board, local NNTP, instant messaging, and a MUD or two
• At a slightly higher level of membership, use of code development and networking tools

• To join, telnet://ol.freeshell.org
• The website of SDF is at http://sdf.lonestar.org
• SDF at Gopher gopher://sdf.lonestar.org