Some mentions and comments on FSCONS

01 Dec 2011

Update: Databiblioteket writes (in Swedish, our translation): "Årets FSCONS är slut och det är bara att konstatera att FFKP och deras supporters har genomfört ännu en lyckad konferensen. Blandningen av teknologi, kultur och samhällsfrågor fungerar utmärkt och skapar fruktbara möten mellan olika perspektiv och kunskapsområden. Men viktigast är nog känslan av välvilja och öppenhet som genomsyrar konferensen. Man får en genuin känsla av att vem som helst är välkommen att presentera sina projekt och idéer oavsett vem man är. Det intressanta är vad du har att komma med. Och det fungerar. Tydligast ser man det på att det var betydligt fler kvinnor både i publiken och framför mikrofonerna jämfört med förra året." Translation: FSCONS is over for this year and I have to say that FFKP and their supporters delivered yet another successful conference. The mix of technology, culture and societal topics works well and creates fruitful meetings between different perspectives and fields of knowledge. A feeling of trying to do the right thing and openness seems to mark the conference. You get a genuine feeling of being welcome to present your project and ideas, regardless where you come from. What counts is what you have to say. And it works. A clear indication of this, is that there were more women this year, both among the visitors and behind the microphones, compaired to last year. (End - update) Browsing through the nets I found some comments and mentions on this year's FSCONS. "Going for the second time has not changed my opinion that it is the best Free Software conference that I know of.", wrote last year Nordic Free Software Award winner Bjarni. And Mathias sums up the discussions at the social events thus: "Everywhere you turn their is a passionate group arguing intently on everything from the gender of Jabba the Hut & Admiral Akbar to the purpose, meaning and ability of democracy." in a post explaining why he loves the conference (we all know that it's partially also due to the fact we stored some snacks and goodies in his office the week before play-off). GNU hacker ams, who also received the FSCONS tithe, which went to the GNU project following the vote, had the following to write about the FSCONS 2011: "Lots of interesting discussions and presentations ranging from human rights, to government issues, to free software... And so many amazing people!". Mats Sjöberg put it this way: "FSCONS is such a cool conference since it combines both technical, social and political issues. For instance, during Saturday’s social event I discussed (among many other things) Free Software in education, the problems with privatisation of the public sector in Nordic countries, instruction sets of different processor types, if what the “Anonymous” group is doing is an effective and justified method of activism, and how the cryptography in the PS3 hardware was cracked." Andreas Tolf Tolfsen put it this way "The organizers, The Society for Free Culture and Software, delivered a conference which in my opinion is perhaps one of the most important places for discussing the future, aim and mission of the free society movements." and "[...]I really do feel that FSCONS and the theme of the programme this year, as well as all the interesting people and conversations in between the talks, might bring us a step closer to envisioning a new strategy for free software." Berglind wrote a post on the talks and sessions she attended during FSCONS, and some thoughts about them. In a follow-up post, Berglind concludes: "All in all FSCONS was great!"[...]"Thanks to all the people behind FSCONS and all the volunteers, you did a great job :)" Guile Gnome-bindings GNU hacker Andy Wingo has written a post about his stay (and presentation) at FSCONS: "FSCONS is a conference unlike any other I know. I mean, where else can you go from a talk about feminism in free software, to talk about the state of the OpenRISC chip design project, passing through a hallway track conversation on the impact of cryptocurrency on the welfare state, approached from an anarchist perspective?"[...]"That's why I enjoyed FSCONS so much, that it created a space for joining the means of production to their ends"[...]