I was a keynote speaker at FOSDEM last year; it was my first time at the conference.

Anna e só

I was a keynote speaker at FOSDEM last year; it was my first time at the conference. I’m blind and I use a white cane. I found it very difficult to orient myself there—some rooms were so crowded it was impossible to not use my cane with a very defensive stance (i.e. using it to try to block people from hitting me); I had to rely on human guides most of the time. Some paths to specific rooms had really rough terrain too, and some rooms are difficult to access (e.g. access through stairs only).

Anna e só

I was deeply uncomfortable with how nonchalant organizers were when talking about matters of public health, normalizing the spread of what they called “FOSDEM flu”. I could barely hear my own thoughts, let alone successfully talk to other people in specific rooms because they were always extremely crowded.

Anna e só

Don’t get me wrong—I deeply value the opportunity to meet, in person, all the people I’ve collaborated with for years. There’s something very special about finally getting to hear their voices without the distortion or delay that comes with video calls, to experience things together in cities I’d never dreamed of visiting because I never thought I’d have a chance to do so.

What I’m saying is, we shouldn’t have FOSDEM as the only conference or the only way we can cross paths and find each other.

Anna e só

Which reminds me—you should consider submitting something to https://fluconf.online. They accept a variety of formats and it’s online.

Anna e só

Oh, and addressing Jack Dorsey’s presence at FOSDEM: I invite you all to think about it as a symptom of something bigger happening at FOSDEM, not as an issue in and of itself. The mobility issues, the grim logistics of watching talks in person, the difficulty in connecting with others in crowded spaces, the “let it rip” attitude when talking about flu or COVID—those are a part of a whole that tells a story, and this is an invitation to think about how we can do better as a community in general.

Anna e só

I say that because several of the considerations I’ve seen floating around the fediverse are 100% important, and we need to acknowledge them all. We can’t move forward if we keep focused on just working on improving the parts of that whole and never address the whole; and we can’t do anything different if we keep limiting ourselves to dream mediocre dreams. Dare to dream way beyond what you currently see.

Lars Marowsky-Brée 😷

@anna My one attempt of attending #FOSDEM pre-covid already put me off the event forever for very similar reasons and it's gotten worse with their complete public health denial stance since.
I feel you.
I can somehow accept it's a community event, just not for a community that wants me to be part of it. And that's alright.
I just wish they stopped pretending that they want to be inclusive & accessible. They're not.
And that's not inevitable due to external constraints, but their own choices.

Esther Payne :bisexual_flag:

@anna if you have the spoons I feel there's the making of a blog post there.

It would fit in really well with your other ones.

https://notapplicable.dev/freeze-but-fight
And
https://notapplicable.dev/ode-to-free-software

Because FOSDEM and the organisers are a symptom of our status quo and the unthinking harm that hits anyone who's in the sharp edges of society.

Anna e só

@onepict I’m considering it (and maybe even submitting it to fluconf)!

Esther Payne :bisexual_flag:

@anna that would be really cool.

marado

@anna @onepict

Thank you, today I learned about #fluconf2025 !
https://fluconf.online/