I don't like Jack Dorsey and I don't get why he should be involved in the FOSDEM keynote either but why is Drew incapable of forming any argument anyone could actually agree with?
You dislike Jack because he sold Twitter and it made mastodon popular, and that's a bad thing? And because this also meant that people with cushy FAANG jobs who could easily find another job at the drop of a hat got displaced by Elon as a result? Is that really your argument Drew?
Maybe it's time for a "No Drews DeVault at FOSDEM" blog post.
I have no opinion on the sit-in, but it is always hilarious to see ex-Twitterites breathlessly bemoaning the sale, as if massive centralized ad-based networks feeding algorithmically presented "content" to the masses are somehow a boon to society as long as they are owned by a "good guy".
> [...] peacefully prevent the talk from proceeding as scheduled.
I am strongly opposed to this idea. We should not be burning books and should not be preventing talks from proceeding.
See Tim Urban's book What's Our Problem?: A Self-Help Book for Societies for why blocking speakers is a bad idea. Tim's argument essentially is that it's okay to decide you don't want to see a speaker, it's also okay to decide if you advice your friends to not see a speaker, but it's not okay to block a speaker from speaking to anyone.
I’ve disagreed with Drew on many things in the past but this is something with him that I 100% aligned, and I sincerely hope that he is joined by many others at the sit in.
This whole thing is a non-issue, not sure why Drew is overreacting to this extent.
FOSDEM is a not-for-profit org. They run on sponsorships and donations. Many sponsors are what we would consider to be part of Big Evil Tech. The last year I was at the FOSDEM beer event, Google sponsored many rounds of beer, in addition to helping pay for the conference. All the money that goes into FOSDEM is invested in subsequent editions.
FOSDEM org gets money from the sponsored talk, but no one is required to attend it. If you don't like Dorsey or his talk, you don't have to attend it. Or better yet, you can attend it and ask critical questions.
Arch-TK ·19 days ago
You dislike Jack because he sold Twitter and it made mastodon popular, and that's a bad thing? And because this also meant that people with cushy FAANG jobs who could easily find another job at the drop of a hat got displaced by Elon as a result? Is that really your argument Drew?
Maybe it's time for a "No Drews DeVault at FOSDEM" blog post.
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handity ·19 days ago
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huijzer ·19 days ago
I am strongly opposed to this idea. We should not be burning books and should not be preventing talks from proceeding.
See Tim Urban's book What's Our Problem?: A Self-Help Book for Societies for why blocking speakers is a bad idea. Tim's argument essentially is that it's okay to decide you don't want to see a speaker, it's also okay to decide if you advice your friends to not see a speaker, but it's not okay to block a speaker from speaking to anyone.
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maplant ·19 days ago
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elric ·19 days ago
FOSDEM is a not-for-profit org. They run on sponsorships and donations. Many sponsors are what we would consider to be part of Big Evil Tech. The last year I was at the FOSDEM beer event, Google sponsored many rounds of beer, in addition to helping pay for the conference. All the money that goes into FOSDEM is invested in subsequent editions.
FOSDEM org gets money from the sponsored talk, but no one is required to attend it. If you don't like Dorsey or his talk, you don't have to attend it. Or better yet, you can attend it and ask critical questions.
Show replies