[FOSDEM] Disenfranchised by Google

[Koert Loret]

Op 11/01/2021 om 19:56 schreef J. R. Haigh:
> Providing that they know. And if FOSDEM is to represent the Free Software community in any way then they have a responsibility to allow people to challenge misbehaviours of their sponsors.

As far as I can tell, no one from FOSDEM has lifted a finger to try and 
stop you from saying what you are saying.  Someone suggested this isn't 
the place to discuss these matters.  Maybe it is, maybe it isn't.  I 
think this mailinglist is what the suscribers make of it.  Having been a 
member of the core organizing team (I'm not anymore), I can say this: We 
obviously didn't agree with everything said on the list, nor did we 
disagree with everything.  But we've never tried to stop a discussion.  
I doubt that attitude has changed.  The relationship with sponsors was 
(and as far as I know, still is): sponsors give us money and in return 
they get some room for "advertising".   They do not have a say in 
content, nor do they get a booth or whatever (at least not because they 
are sponsors; it does happen that a sponsor has a booth, but that's on 
the merits of the booth, not because of money).

Personally, I've never seen sponsorship at FOSDEM as an endorsement of 
any kind.  They just "buy" a little space at the infodesk and in the 
booklet.  If BMW wants to do that (which happened once): fine.  If 
google wants to do that: also fine.  If someone wants to spend alot of 
money to have a little corner in the booklet to wish his mother a happy 
birthday: whatever floats your boat.  As long as in your relationship 
with FOSDEM as a sponsor, you don't colour outside the lines.   FOSDEM 
is a conference is for open source developpers.  I don't think it's 
FOSDEM's place to try and say who are "the good guys" and who are "the 
bad guys".  Just as it isn't FOSDEM's place to try and prevent someone 
else to  do so (provided they do it in a civil way, that doesn't disrupt 
the event or causes some kind of physical danger or something).  But 
again, this is my opinion. Other people might have other opinions.

Koert