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Re: easy CoC solution: permanently end in-person conference
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From: |
Paul Sutton |
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Subject: |
Re: easy CoC solution: permanently end in-person conference |
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Date: |
Sun, 4 Apr 2021 16:43:49 +0100 |
You have a good point here, we need to find a way to reduce our carbon
footprint, attend these conferences but with the benefits that come with
that.
I think this is perfectly do-able, and something that the fsf should
look in to, after all it would show we are forward thinking.
At a local level we can branch off to work on local issues, after
watching and learning form each other, share local experiences etc.
I joined the DebianAcademy team back in November and am also working on
trying to set up a study support group for those who are distance learning
https://personaljournal.ca/studysupportgroup/
So like you suggest here, we need to perhaps decentralised and still
get the benefits of working and being able to talk and learn from each
other.
LibrePlanet also proves we can do this with free and open source
software, DebConf is also virtual this year, so again they are doing
the same.
Paul
On 04/04/2021 16:27, Aaron Wolf wrote:
FWIW, among other family issues, I have myself felt uncomfortable with
the prospect of flying to conferences for exactly this reason. The stats
on the environmental significance of flying are overwhelming. I saw
something like a flight within the U.S. 48-states being comparable to 8
months of average driving.
I also heard a good argument that the *enemies* of a healthy, free,
sustainable society (such as the developers of the worst and most
abusive proprietary software and also the people behind the most
polluting industries) are continuing to fly all over and do everything
they can to retain *their* solidarity and businesses.
I do not believe in fighting fire with fire. I do not believe two wrongs
make a right. But I do believe that we should take a consequentialist or
utilitarian approach that is thinking in the long-term. If (and maybe
only if) activists flying to get together is part of what makes enough
difference to a movement that it really has more impact, it will be
worth it.
If 500 plane trips happen and the connections they support lead to
stripping away the power of the oligarchs who block society from
becoming truly sustainable, then it could be worth it.
But maybe a small number of people can do global-reach in-person
conferences that bring together effectively representatives of more
localized conferences that don't involve flying.
Here's a suggestion: how about an organized global LibrePlanet where a
smaller gathering is held in every large city in the world. People from
the region of each city will gather, have valuable in-person
connections, and efforts will be made to all engage together. Every
local gathering will watch a keynote presentation and so on.
We should be conscious of the impacts and costs of our choices, but we
should also not sacrifice our effectiveness as a movement.
In harmony,
Aaron Wolf
On 2021-04-04 12:33 a.m., Paul Sutton via libreplanet-discuss wrote:
On 04/04/2021 03:54, Thomas Lord wrote:
Good programmers inevitably learn, somewhere along the way, the
following lesson:
When you encounter a very hard problem to solve, don't spend all
your time just on the problem. Also question whether it really
needs to be solved - or if a better approach avoids the problem in
the first place.
Libre Planet is built on the following intolerable premise: People
should fly from around the world to Boston, once a year, to connect
free software activists and enthusiasts in a social setting
conducive to sharing presentations, meeting, and having informal
discussions.
Only one part of that premise is no longer tolerable, at all, in
2021: the travel it requires. Air travel is, with perhaps very
rare
exceptions, wildly, intolerably socially irresponsible. The rate
at
which fossil fuel emissions must now fall is so rapid, it not
compatible with widespread air travel, and it is not compatible
with
current levels of energy demand.
This same problem, in addition to the
pandemic's discouragement of
large "meatspace" conferences, effects not only Libre Planet, but
everyone on the planet. Few are
no fly-in conferences are anything
but extremely irresponsible in 2021. It's just a fact.
Image
It will be hard to replace the Libre Planet conference but perhaps
not *too* hard 64Good programmers inevitably learn, somewhere along
the way, the following lesson:
When you encounter a very hard problem to solve, don't spend all
your time just on the problem. Also question whether it really
needs to be solved - or if a better approach avoids the problem in
the first place.
Libre Planet is built on the following intolerable premise: People
should fly from around the world to Boston, once a year, to connect
free software activists and enthusiasts in a social setting
conducive to sharing presentations, meeting, and having informal
discussions.
Only one part of that premise is no longer tolerable, at all, in
2021: the travel it requires. Air travel is, with perhaps very
rare
exceptions, wildly, intolerably socially irresponsible. The rate
at
which fossil fuel emissions must now fall is so rapid, it not
compatible with widespread air travel, and it is not compatible
with
current levels of energy demand.
This same problem, in addition to the
pandemic's discouragement of
large "meatspace" conferences, effects not only Libre Planet, but
everyone on the planet. Few are
no fly-in conferences are anything
but extremely irresponsible in 2021. It's just a fact.
It will be hard to replace the Libre Planet conference but perhaps
not *too* hard. We have software like jitsi. We have telephony
systems.
So forth.
Perhaps Libre Planet should evolve into an annual "big event"
online
but also an ongoing series of smaller
online events. I don't
know.
People with a clearer picture of the needs should discuss that.
For now, it is enough to say that a conference premised on
air-travel
is in and of itself an astonishing anti-social proposition in 2021,
and
from now on.
Of course online conferences also need behavioral guidelines, but
there is no point squabbling over those until we begin to have some
permanent online conference infrastructure in place. And until
that
infrastructure is in place, Libre Planet should do the right thing
and
take no further steps that would
encourage air travel.
-t
This appears to be more of a 'environmental' argument rather than a code
of conduct argument. But some good points are raised.
That aside, I think there is an element of meeting old / new friends at
conferences, the positive relationships that form and opportunities that
arise out of this can in some cases outweigh even the best conference
speech.
The pandemic has caused a lot of problems, in terms of isolation
and
mental health which has resulted by isolation. People want to get back
out and the human instinct is to be in groups.
I think there is scope for hybrid conferences, but it would be nice to
fly over. If that isn't possible then what we have virtually works
really well, so lets find ways to stream live conference talks at events.
Don't forget also that conferences are really valuable to local
economies, people using hotels, visiting local shops, cafes bars,
restaurants give local economies a real boost and esp when many have had
to close for a year. Without this these places would
close, jobs
would be lost. If I fly over to Libreplanet in Boston from
the UK, I
would probably want to stay for a week, see the sighgts around boston.
I
would guess others would look to do the same.
We get together in huge numbers to watch sport (e.g football, soccer
baseball, etc) is that any different
I think you raise some good points, perhaps one topic could be
sustainable travel , and we can find ways to get more public transport
running on sustainable fuels for example, get software to help with
ticketing as free software for example.
Paul
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--
Paul Sutton, Cert Cont Sci (Open)
https://personaljournal.ca/paulsutton/
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