I certainly don't want to be an alarmist, and do believe that much of
the media attention is very overblown, but I think FSF, and
LibrePlanet
specifically, needs to address conference plans in light of the
current
virus situation.
It seems odd to think the media attention is "very overblown"
when, at the same time, the front-line epidemiologists and
medical professionals are urgently asking for greater awareness of how
bad this appears to be, and how poor the organized response in the U.S.
In California, a growing list of quite important professional
conferences have been canceled. The general release of a new Bond film
has been postponed because theaters are shutting down. Community-based
transmission has been confirmed in a growing number of cases.
Libreplanet should take a cue from corporations like RSA and IBM:
cancel.
As a reminder: the movement should consider concentrating on
low-resource
demand communications software to help society be resilient in the face
of this and other growing crises.
-t
On 2020-03-04 19:00, Michael Mauger via libreplanet-discuss wrote:
I certainly don't want to be an alarmist, and do believe that much of
the media attention is very overblown, but I think FSF, and
LibrePlanet
specifically, needs to address conference plans in light of the
current
virus situation.
I am aware of major business conferences being boycotted by both
vendors and attendees over concerns; I'm sure Free Software
activists
might be interested in what the LP response is going to be. Even
just
an acknowledgement that the conference is on, and recommending that
those who do not feel well should stay home. Possibly a emphasis on
remote attendance via live stream and any enhancements or
accommodations that are going to be made to fully support and
encourage
participation of those who choose not to be locked in small enclosed
spaces with several hundred fellow activists. A simple banner on the
LP.org and FSF.org sites seems warranted.
I want to encourage some official communication about how the
conference is making allowances to handle the current virus
outbreak.
While we may do nothing specific (not my preferred position) we
should
at least acknowledge the questions that attendees may be asking.
--
[email protected] // FSF and EFF member // GNU Emacs sql.el
maintainer
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