FOSSY 2023, Portland: Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference • Hacker News Board

Re: FOSSY 2023, Portland: Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference

#41

Post by ghaff » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 3:46 PM UTC

steviedotboston wrote: post #36

anon291 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for calling this out. I live right near by and was on the verge of payment, but I'm not wasting my time with that.

I don't know about this conference, but some conferences with policies like this don't really bother enforcing them. It's 2023, do they really think they're going to get anything close to 100% compliance with a mask mandate? And what will they do if someone isn't wearing a mask? Most likely just politely ask you to put one on and then walk away. I highly doubt they are going to have some kind of punitive policy in pl…

In my experience, when things were starting to relax a bit maybe 18 months or so ago, but a lot of events I attended still had masking policies, a lot of people were quick to take off masks when eating and drinking, sitting outside, or in otherwise well ventilated spaces. But even people who thought it was getting a bit performative at that point were pretty compliant about following at least the letter of the rules.

This is admittedly 18 months later now but, especially at a community event that pretty much no one is being forced to attend, I expect pretty high compliance.

Re: FOSSY 2023, Portland: Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference

#42

Post by steviedotboston » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 3:48 PM UTC

angelgonzales wrote: post #37

steviedotboston wrote: post #35

I attended a conference in Portland in 2022. The conference itself was fine, but Portland was a wreck. There were homeless encampments all over the place, open fires right on the sidewalks, needles and trash all over the place, boarded up buildings right in the middle of downtown. It was just bizarre and I felt pretty uncomfortable unless I was walking with other people. I don't see why anyone would choose Portland a…

I live here. Do not leave anything in your vehicle or it will be broken into! The springtime brings so much theft and crime from what I’ve personally seen. If you go downtown ~50% of blocks have evidence of recent break-ins. It happened to me a few weeks ago right when the weather was getting warmer, a very apparent rise in crime this season.

When I was there someone pointed out to me that people leave their car windows rolled down when they park downtown to avoid smash and grabs.

Re: FOSSY 2023, Portland: Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference

#43

Post by steviedotboston » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 3:51 PM UTC

ghaff wrote: post #38

steviedotboston wrote: post #35

I attended a conference in Portland in 2022. The conference itself was fine, but Portland was a wreck. There were homeless encampments all over the place, open fires right on the sidewalks, needles and trash all over the place, boarded up buildings right in the middle of downtown. It was just bizarre and I felt pretty uncomfortable unless I was walking with other people. I don't see why anyone would choose Portland a…

Based on what a few people have told me, I'm mildly regretting booking a few days in Portland prior to spending a week out by Mt. Hood. I initially wrote it off as people not familiar with the realities of the downtown areas of a lot of West Coast cities. But it sounds as if Portland may be worse than others.

I went to Portland in 2019 and 2022. The difference was striking. Yeah there were homeless people in 2019 (PNW has kind of always had more homeless people that other parts of the country), but its more than that. It's just total dysfunction from what I saw. Businesses closing, antisocial behavior happening in the open, crimes happening and the police not taking any action. Overall the vibe just seemed pretty depressing.

Re: FOSSY 2023, Portland: Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference

#44

Post by dfinninger » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 3:53 PM UTC

ghaff wrote: post #38

steviedotboston wrote: post #35

I attended a conference in Portland in 2022. The conference itself was fine, but Portland was a wreck. There were homeless encampments all over the place, open fires right on the sidewalks, needles and trash all over the place, boarded up buildings right in the middle of downtown. It was just bizarre and I felt pretty uncomfortable unless I was walking with other people. I don't see why anyone would choose Portland a…

Based on what a few people have told me, I'm mildly regretting booking a few days in Portland prior to spending a week out by Mt. Hood. I initially wrote it off as people not familiar with the realities of the downtown areas of a lot of West Coast cities. But it sounds as if Portland may be worse than others.

Where are you staying? There are some parts of the core downtown (Old Town) that you might want to avoid, but the rest of Portland is not what the media portrays. Hell, even my family in the burbs (Beaverton, Cornelius) think it’s some crazy wasteland and constantly ask us if we feel safe and I have to laugh at them every time.

Go for a walk, rent a bike, and check out the amazing restaurant and brewery scene!

Re: FOSSY 2023, Portland: Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference

#45

Post by usr1106 » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 3:57 PM UTC

thesuperbigfrog wrote: post #2

What is meant by "the first"? FOSDEM has been around for more than 20 years: https://fosdem.org/2023/about/ FOSDEM 2023 happened in February. The recorded talks and slides are available: https://fosdem.org/2023/schedule/events/ Previous years recorded talks and slides are also available: https://archive.fosdem.org/2022/schedule/events/ https://archive.fosdem.org/2021/schedule/events/ Nevertheless, it is good to have…

Post recorded videos are good.

Live streams are better. If I decide to attend a conference remotely I tell it at work and just spend the 2 x 8 hours it takes to watch the streams. Have done it for FOSDEM several times and in recent years technical problems with the streams have been exceptional.

If I plan to look at recordings, it somehow mostly never happens. It's easy to postpone. I would not tell at work I have to watch videos.

Re: FOSSY 2023, Portland: Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference

#46

Post by waynecochran » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 4:00 PM UTC

3g0st wrote: post #18

anon291 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for calling this out. I live right near by and was on the verge of payment, but I'm not wasting my time with that.

In a place where people may be gathering from around the nation or even internationally, i'm not sure what the problem is here, covid or not. I'm sorry that our immunocompromised friends or other at-risk individuals are not important enough for you to change your mind. Panels are always incredibly stuffy and full of odors and other people's coughs and breaths.

[flagged]

Re: FOSSY 2023, Portland: Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference

#47

Post by steviedotboston » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 4:02 PM UTC

ghaff wrote: post #41

steviedotboston wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know about this conference, but some conferences with policies like this don't really bother enforcing them. It's 2023, do they really think they're going to get anything close to 100% compliance with a mask mandate? And what will they do if someone isn't wearing a mask? Most likely just politely ask you to put one on and then walk away. I highly doubt they are going to have some kind of punitive policy in pl…

In my experience, when things were starting to relax a bit maybe 18 months or so ago, but a lot of events I attended still had masking policies, a lot of people were quick to take off masks when eating and drinking, sitting outside, or in otherwise well ventilated spaces. But even people who thought it was getting a bit performative at that point were pretty compliant about following at least the letter of the rules.…

yeah, not sure how to balance "this is silly, nobody is going to follow this rule" and "this is silly, i'm not going to attend because of this rule"

Re: FOSSY 2023, Portland: Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference

#48

Post by neilv » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 4:03 PM UTC

steviedotboston wrote: post #36

anon291 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for calling this out. I live right near by and was on the verge of payment, but I'm not wasting my time with that.

I don't know about this conference, but some conferences with policies like this don't really bother enforcing them. It's 2023, do they really think they're going to get anything close to 100% compliance with a mask mandate? And what will they do if someone isn't wearing a mask? Most likely just politely ask you to put one on and then walk away. I highly doubt they are going to have some kind of punitive policy in pl…

If I was running some event that had some safety rule, and someone was blatantly ignoring the rule, I'd have them removed by security or police.

If an event has safety rules and doesn't follow them, a couple concerns: (1) that's irresponsible towards people relying on the rules being followed, potentially exposing them to harm, and others to liability; (2) if the event as a whole doesn't have integrity about safety rules, what else don't they have integrity about, and maybe you should have the books checked for fraud, investigate for vendor kickbacks, consider maybe a higher probability of harassment going on, etc.

Re: FOSSY 2023, Portland: Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference

#49

Post by dfinninger » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 4:04 PM UTC

steviedotboston wrote: post #35

I attended a conference in Portland in 2022. The conference itself was fine, but Portland was a wreck. There were homeless encampments all over the place, open fires right on the sidewalks, needles and trash all over the place, boarded up buildings right in the middle of downtown. It was just bizarre and I felt pretty uncomfortable unless I was walking with other people. I don't see why anyone would choose Portland a…

It’s changed a good bit since last year. Since your talking about boarded up buildings I assume you were near Pioneer Square? They’ve taken that down (including the crazy dystopian metal grate around the Apple Store).

This conference is also east side at the convention center, I highly recommend checking out all the awesome restaurants on Williams and Broadway (Eater has lists for both).

Re: FOSSY 2023, Portland: Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference

#50

Post by ecshafer » Thu, Jun 08, 2023, 4:05 PM UTC

steviedotboston wrote: post #35

I attended a conference in Portland in 2022. The conference itself was fine, but Portland was a wreck. There were homeless encampments all over the place, open fires right on the sidewalks, needles and trash all over the place, boarded up buildings right in the middle of downtown. It was just bizarre and I felt pretty uncomfortable unless I was walking with other people. I don't see why anyone would choose Portland a…

Same. I went to Portland in 2022 for Railsconf. Me and my wife both went thinking to visit the city a bit before/after the conference. It was awful. Downtown was mostly boarded up and did not feel safe at all. Chicago, Philly, Baltimore, Detroit, any of these "violent" cities unironically feel safer and I would rather be in that portland.