Flu Conf 2025

Back in February I wrote a bit about how FOSDEM is a super-spreader event:

I don't think it's a controversial statement to say that the European Research Commission offers a disproportionately large amount of funding for free or open-source software (FOSS). There are a lot of programs through which they fund European citizens and residents to produce FOSS, some of which will even fund people from beyond Europe if they're working on something that aligns with their definition of European values. I've benefited from such funding in the past, as have many people I respect, and I've encouraged a number of my friends to submit research proposals to help support their excellent software projects.

FOSDEM, which typically takes place in Brussels on the first weekend in February, is a big deal for people working in or adjacent to this ecosystem. For many independent developers or SMEs that produce FOSS software it's the biggest opportunity of the year to promote their projects, and I've seen firsthand that it produces a noticeable amount of extra traffic to project websites.

As you may know, many FOSS projects are maintained by a single developer, so I don't know why anyone thought it was a good idea to gather them all together in what is basically the peak of Europe's flu season. Many conference attendees jokingly refer to the FOSDEM Flu, which is an almost unavoidable a rite of passage.

I proposed a low-effort alternative:

today I'm having vague thoughts about how maybe it would be cool to have a loosely organized effort among people who don't/can't/won't attend #fosdem to instead:

1. put a fraction of the effort the conf requires into putting something cool online where many more people can access it
2. follow up on that cool thing (via RSS?) with links to other people's cool things

FOSDEM's organizers recently announced their devrooms, each of which are now soliciting proposals. So, I figure that now is probably a good time to revisit the idea, which I am tentatively calling #fluConf2025.

Why the focus on FOSDEM?

FOSDEM is certainly not the only super-spreader event in this space. Several other techy conferences boast their own branded pathogens, even if they tend to be hosted in better-ventilated venues with fewer attendees per cubic meter. If you're uncomfortable singling FOSDEM out, you can read any complaints about it as applying to those other events as well.

It's also worth noting that any in-person event will of course pose more of a health risk than an online one, however, FOSDEM has opted not to adopt measures which would significantly decrease that risk. A shining example is the detailed health policy implemented by XOXO Fest, which mandated effective masks, provided outdoor spaces for those who weren't comfortable indoors, and strongly encouraged prospective attendees to stay home if they had any reason to believe they might be even slightly ill.

By comparison, FOSDEM's health policy is very minimal:

The FOSDEM COVID-19 policy is to:

• Implement all mandatory COVID-19 measures
• Make it easy to follow government COVID-19 recommendations

In practice, this translates to:

• No mandatory COVID-19 measures at FOSDEM 2025
• Open/full rooms API
• No official FOSDEM beer event
• Encouraging ventilation of developer rooms

The reason for this stark difference is quite simple:

XOXO Fest was aimed at a much more cohesive community, while FOSDEM wants to be the preeminent event for FOSS in Europe. They accomplish this by welcoming anyone who falls under that extremely big tent. You can't be The FOSS Event if you alienate parts of the FOSS ecosystem, of which the libertarian right is very clearly a faction.

I don't envy FOSDEM's organizers in this situation. This group is well established both within FOSS itself and at FOSDEM in particular, and I imagine they would not take well to attempts to enforce stronger measures. Basic things like having a Code of Conduct or using gender-neutral pronouns are still perceived by some FOSS maintainers as a form of authoritarianism. These same devs will insist that they are in no way political.

Even if FOSDEM's organizers implemented a mandate, it will still be necessary to enforce it. I wouldn't put it past such people to become physically violent if the event they were asked to leave (I'm aware of this happening at other events), and I don't believe that's something with which their (volunteer) organizers should have to contend.

In any case, it's out of the scope of this article to say what FOSDEM (and other such events) would need to do to ensure the safety of their attendees. I only care to say that it is not safe in its current state, and that people who care about such things should consider investing their efforts elsewhere.

What to learn from FOSDEM

Good things absolutely do happen at FOSDEM, and I think it's worth remembering what they are.

People and projects get exposure. That means new contributors, users, and all sorts of possible stakeholders that they might not have even considered contacting.

Opportunities for collaboration arise. Members of different projects in the same space encounter each other in topical devrooms, sometimes finding common goals on which they can collaborate.

Maintainers hear new perspectives. People ask important questions after presentations, exposing maintainers to perspectives they might not have considered.

People get hired. Every year I hear about at least one person getting a job working on open-source software by attending FOSDEM. Others meet people from granting organizations like NLnet or the Prototype Fund, and learn about how to support their publicly available code with public funds. Honestly, this is probably one of the bigger things to try to replicate, because it can really transform someone's life to get such a chance.

What to leave behind

It's also a good opportunity to reflect on the parts of FOSDEM's culture that deserve to be consciously avoided.

The FOSDEM flu. This is the major point which made me critical of FOSDEM to begin with. Nobody should have to risk their health in order to attend an event which many in the space see as essential to their project's success. By excluding people that are unwilling to show consideration for those around them, we will only make it easier to achieve other forms of inclusivity.

Allegedly apolitical tech. Because this is so often just code for software written by wealthy white men, since everyone else's existence is viewed as a political statement. Software embodies its creators' assumptions, many of which deserve to be challenged.

Corporate FOSS. There are lots of terrible companies with well-resourced open-source programs, like Palantir, Amazon, and Boeing. Just because they can't reasonably be prevented from using the same FOSS licenses doesn't mean they need to be welcomed at events and social functions. I want to call this out directly even though it overlaps with apolitical tech, just because there are still many people in FOSS who fail to recognize the toxic effects that big companies bring with them to the space.

How to get involved

At the moment this is still just a loose idea, and I'm not sure it needs to be too much more than that yet. Online events require a lot less organization than physical ones, and a lot of good can be done just by getting people to share their excitement using the same hashtag.

If you'd be willing to invest some energy to help plan, develop resources for such an event, or to help spread the word, you can reach out via my contact page, by replying to this thread on the fediverse, or by joining the #flu-conf channel on the Libera.chat IRC network.