Are you fucking kidding me?

[rysiek@mstdn.social]

Are you fucking kidding me?

Jack Dorsey is a main track speaker at FOSDEM this year:
https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/event/fosdem-2025-4507-infusing-open-source-culture-into-company-dna-a-conversation-with-jack-dorsey-and-manik-surtani-block-s-head-of-open-source/

🤮

I am at a loss of words. I also owe sincere apologies to everyone flagging issues with FOSDEM over the years, whose concerns I often somewhat minimized. I am sorry, you were all right and I was wrong.

FOSDEM is now explicitly platforming AI/blockchain bro fascists. 🤬

Edit: Drew DeVault is organizing a sit-in, and explains why: https://drewdevault.com/2025/01/16/2025-01-16-No-Billionares-at-FOSDEM-please.html

#FOSDEM #FOSDEM2025

[sup3rn0va@mastodon.social]

@rysiek I'm new to techy culture and am still mostly a newb at coding and doing cyber security and all that. Can you explain what this means and why it's bad? Like I know why and agree AI shills are bad, but otherwise I'm a bit lost.

[rysiek@mstdn.social]

@SUp3rN0va the second link I think explains it pretty well. But to add to that, Jack Dorsey is responsible for killing the early idea of Twitter being federated.

Let me say this again, Dorsey is the person who killed the early push inside Twitter (we are talking very early, when it really could have made the difference) to make Twitter a decentralized service. As in, like fedi is today.

And now he's going to bloviate about open source at FOSDEM?..

[bumi@kosmos.social]

@rysiek @SUp3rN0va do you have references for that?
In the last years I only heard him speaking about thr importance of protocols and decentralized platforms. With criticism of Twitter etc.
Afaik he is also funding work on that (like for example initially bluesky and nostr)
To me he was one of the most active and outspoken CEOs in that regard.

[rysiek@mstdn.social]

@bumi @SUp3rN0va regarding the federated Twitter work, I interviewed a person who had worked there at the time, and it was a real thing, published here in Polish:
https://oko.press/ucieczka-z-twittera-przyszlosc-mediow-spolecznosciowych

As far as Dorsey killing it, that's coming from people I know and trust who are in a position to know about this. There are probably other sources online, too.

As far as Jack's "decentralization" shtick, I mentioned this in my blog post about BlueSky's faux-decentralization:
https://rys.io/en/167.html#jacks-bs

[rysiek@mstdn.social]

@bumi @SUp3rN0va Dorsey quit BlueSky after it started adding basic moderation tools:
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/why-jack-dorsey-quit-bluesky-142010934.html

You know, tools to stop nazis from harassing Trans folks, for example. That sort of thing was unacceptable to our boy Jack.

He is a definition of a billionaire techbro, who thinks "likes" on social media "exist only to inform an algorithm." He sold Twitter to Musk, saying:
> Elon is the singular solution I trust. I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness.

[rysiek@mstdn.social]

In case anyone is confused as to why platforming Jack Dorsey is a problem, go listen to this Tech Won't Save Us episode:
https://techwontsave.us/episode/228_jack_dorseys_embrace_of_crypto_libertarianism_w_david_gerard

#FOSDEM #FOSDEM2025

[rysiek@mstdn.social]

Lol, of course there is immediately a sealion in the replies, asking polite questions about why would letting Dorsey speak at FOSDEM be an issue, and why would anyone not like Dorsey after he supported decentralized networks like Nostr.

Profile: Bitcoin developer, "working on web monetization", Nostr address.

[shocked picachu face]

So about Nostr:

> Jack Dorsey gave $10 million to an anonymous founder with a deep devotion to a fascist 'guru'

https://web.archive.org/web/20240606093146/https://www.businessinsider.com/jack-dorsey-fiatjaf-nostr-donation-2024-6

[jschwart@mas.to]

@rysiek I saw multiple posts complaining about a bilionaire speaking. I was confused by that.

I think it had better be highlighted that people have a problem with a fascist speaking. Then it's more clear that there is a problem.

[pfm@edolas.world]

@[email protected] There's going to be a Birds of Feather session on Saturday about organising sponsor-free conferences, which deserves to get some attention as it's obviously very relevant:

At NixCon 2024, we took the bold step of going completely sponsor-free—and it turned out to be a great success, with 400 attendees, making it the largest NixCon to date.

In this BOF session, I’ll share my experiences as a core organizer, including the challenges, lessons learned, and tips for anyone looking to organize their own sponsor-free events without breaking the bank.

https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/event/fosdem-2025-6721-organizing-sponsor-free-conferences-bof/

[jwildeboer@social.wildeboer.net]

@pfm @rysiek I find that a weird comparison. Nixcon asked 130€ per Ticket while FOSDEM, due to its sponsors (that, BTW, have no booth or presence at the event, it's part of the rules for sponsorship) is completely free for everyone to join since many years.

Two fundamentally different approaches that can happily coexist, IMHO.

[sl007@digitalcourage.social]

@rysiek

Let's block #Dorsey at #fosdem :
https://drewdevault.com/2025/01/20/2025-01-20-FOSDEM-protest.html