From ben at adversary.org Fri May 1 12:21:24 2020 From: ben at adversary.org (Ben McGinnes) Date: Fri, 01 May 2020 02:21:24 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Linux-aus] Operation Anzacathon is go! In-Reply-To: References: <872dc01e-8398-024b-2fe0-3de420a9711e@pocock.com.au> Message-ID: <20200501022121.ni7yexlf52kym6wm@adversary.org> On Sun, Apr 19, 2020 at 08:15:11PM +0800, Euan de Kock via linux-aus wrote: > > Maybe consider signal (www.signal.org) as the comms platform. It's > secure, That depends entirely on your threat model. While I have no reason to doubt the strenth of the cryptographic functions it contains, there are potential problems with the protocol design. Not least of which being that it requires all users share their mobile number with everyone else, which may not be appropriate for their individual circumstances. > has apps on all major platforms, including Linux, and it is open > source. It's not the only platform independent option. Anyway, a better approach is asking what the communications requirements are, and how much personal information will participants be required to provide in order to participate (if any). When that is known, then a software recommendation is possible. Otherwise you're just picking a personal preference and assuming it will meet everyone's needs because it meets your own needs. BTW, I don't hate Signal, but it isn't the encryption magic bullet which so many people have been trying to claim it is for the last few years or so. Regards, Ben -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: signature.asc Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 228 bytes Desc: not available URL: From madduck at madduck.net Fri May 1 15:57:00 2020 From: madduck at madduck.net (martin f krafft) Date: Fri, 1 May 2020 17:57:00 +1200 Subject: [Linux-aus] Operation Anzacathon is go! In-Reply-To: <20200501022121.ni7yexlf52kym6wm@adversary.org> References: <872dc01e-8398-024b-2fe0-3de420a9711e@pocock.com.au> <20200501022121.ni7yexlf52kym6wm@adversary.org> Message-ID: <20200501055700.GC104319@lotus.rw.madduck.net> Regarding the following, written by "Ben McGinnes via linux-aus" on 2020-05-01 at 02:21 Uhr +0000: >> Maybe consider signal (www.signal.org) as the comms platform. It's >> secure, > >That depends entirely on your threat model. While I have no reason to >doubt the strenth of the cryptographic functions it contains, there >are potential problems with the protocol design. Not least of which >being that it requires all users share their mobile number with >everyone else, which may not be appropriate for their individual >circumstances. That, and the fact that they enforce a proprietary, centralised server, and while there is source code, the clients aren't built reproducibly, and so you can't actually tell what you're running. Matrix is completely open-source, under foundation control, and federated. Just use that ;) -- @martinkrafft | https://riot.im/app/#/room/#madduck:madduck.net an egg has the shortest sex-life of all: if gets laid once; it gets eaten once. it also has to come in a box with 11 others, and the only person who will sit on its face is its mother. spamtraps: madduck.bogus at madduck.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: digital_signature_gpg.asc Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 1187 bytes Desc: Digital GPG signature (see http://martin-krafft.net/gpg/sig-policy/999bbcc4/current) URL: From ben at adversary.org Mon May 4 10:42:32 2020 From: ben at adversary.org (Ben McGinnes) Date: Mon, 04 May 2020 00:42:32 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Linux-aus] Operation Anzacathon is go! In-Reply-To: <20200501055700.GC104319@lotus.rw.madduck.net> References: <872dc01e-8398-024b-2fe0-3de420a9711e@pocock.com.au> <20200501022121.ni7yexlf52kym6wm@adversary.org> <20200501055700.GC104319@lotus.rw.madduck.net> Message-ID: <20200504004146.4k53txrom3n4huq6@adversary.org> On Fri, May 01, 2020 at 05:57:00PM +1200, martin f krafft via linux-aus wrote: > > That, and the fact that they enforce a proprietary, centralised > server, and while there is source code, the clients aren't built > reproducibly, and so you can't actually tell what you're running. Yes, that too. In fact the whole tendency of certain senior devs in Signal and related projects (i.e. not just Moxie) in encouraging end users to just place their faith in said devs and accept Signal as the One True Cryptography Solution? isn't exactly the kind of attitude you want in a developer of security software either. That and the constant refrain of bitching about OpenPGP and GnuPG just makes them look immature and spiteful, which also isn't great.[1] > Matrix is completely open-source, under foundation control, and > federated. Just use that ;) All of which are good things. I haven't used a specific IM client in a few years (not counting group chat things like Discord, Slack, and IRC). Is Matrix effectively the successor to XMPP? Regards, Ben 1. Obligatory disclaimer: I've previously been employed by g10code to work on GnuPG (GPGME). -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: signature.asc Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 228 bytes Desc: not available URL: From madduck at madduck.net Mon May 4 11:09:02 2020 From: madduck at madduck.net (martin f krafft) Date: Mon, 4 May 2020 13:09:02 +1200 Subject: [Linux-aus] Matrix (was: Operation Anzacathon is go!) In-Reply-To: <20200504004146.4k53txrom3n4huq6@adversary.org> References: <872dc01e-8398-024b-2fe0-3de420a9711e@pocock.com.au> <20200501022121.ni7yexlf52kym6wm@adversary.org> <20200501055700.GC104319@lotus.rw.madduck.net> <20200504004146.4k53txrom3n4huq6@adversary.org> Message-ID: <20200504010902.GA402789@lotus.rw.madduck.net> Regarding the following, written by "Ben McGinnes" on 2020-05-04 at 00:42 Uhr +0000: >I haven't used a specific IM client in a few years (not counting >group chat things like Discord, Slack, and IRC). Is Matrix >effectively the successor to XMPP? The team answers this question somewhat in [their FAQs](https://matrix.org/faq/#what-is-the-difference-between-matrix-and-xmpp%3F), but for most intents and purposes, and without trying to offend XMPP folks, I'd say: yes. Matrix probably can't do much what XMPP doesn't also do, but it's easier to get up and running to a modern standard (media, multi-device, encryption, real-time voice/video), and has a stronger governance behind it. Best to just try it out. Get a matrix.org account using [Riot.im](https://riot.im/app/#/) or the Riot app (Android, iOS). There are also other servers to choose from, for instance ones on [this list](https://www.hello-matrix.net/public_servers.php). You can also use `matrix.madduck.net` if you want. To me, the best thing about Matrix is the concept of [bridges](https://matrix.org/bridges), which tie in other protocols, so you can also use Matrix to interact with the poor sods on Slack, or Discord users, or even some of the (other) proprietary surveillance shit that comes out of Silicon Valley. Good luck, -- @martinkrafft | https://riot.im/app/#/room/#madduck:madduck.net "emacs sucks, literally, not an insult, just a comment that it's large enough to have a noticeable gravitational pull..." -- mercury on #debian-devel spamtraps: madduck.bogus at madduck.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: digital_signature_gpg.asc Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 1187 bytes Desc: Digital GPG signature (see http://martin-krafft.net/gpg/sig-policy/999bbcc4/current) URL: From ben at adversary.org Tue May 5 04:19:38 2020 From: ben at adversary.org (Ben McGinnes) Date: Mon, 04 May 2020 18:19:38 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Linux-aus] Matrix (was: Operation Anzacathon is go!) In-Reply-To: <20200504010902.GA402789@lotus.rw.madduck.net> References: <872dc01e-8398-024b-2fe0-3de420a9711e@pocock.com.au> <20200501022121.ni7yexlf52kym6wm@adversary.org> <20200501055700.GC104319@lotus.rw.madduck.net> <20200504004146.4k53txrom3n4huq6@adversary.org> <20200504010902.GA402789@lotus.rw.madduck.net> Message-ID: <20200504181933.mvqjdimtpfpnar2v@adversary.org> On Mon, May 04, 2020 at 01:09:02PM +1200, martin f krafft via linux-aus wrote: > Regarding the following, written by "Ben McGinnes" on 2020-05-04 at 00:42 Uhr +0000: > > I haven't used a specific IM client in a few years (not counting group > > chat things like Discord, Slack, and IRC). Is Matrix effectively the > > successor to XMPP? > > The team answers this question somewhat in [their FAQs](https://matrix.org/faq/#what-is-the-difference-between-matrix-and-xmpp%3F), Interesting. Though digging in, I now realise that this is one of the few projects my fellow Pirates had been waxing lyrical about a while back. Now I see why. > but for most intents and purposes, and without trying to offend XMPP > folks, I'd say: yes. XMPP was a valiant effort, but it clearly didnt grab enough interest; even with Google and FarceBook playing with their bastardised versions of it (or, arguably, *because* of what happened with those implementations). > Matrix probably can't do much what XMPP doesn't also do, but it's > easier to get up and running to a modern standard (media, > multi-device, encryption, real-time voice/video), Well, if it can do real-time voice and video then it's already got one big plus over XMPP, which never quite got that behaving properly. It was eternally on the todo list. > and has a stronger governance behind it. So I see. Particularly in their, quite welcome, resistance to certain nasty, exclusionary trends in a number of projects of late. > Best to just try it out. Get a matrix.org account using > [Riot.im](https://riot.im/app/#/) or the Riot app (Android, iOS). > There are also other servers to choose from, for instance ones > on [this list](https://www.hello-matrix.net/public_servers.php). You > can also use `matrix.madduck.net` if you want. Cheers. I'll poke around a bit first, but I may very well do that. > To me, the best thing about Matrix is the concept of > [bridges](https://matrix.org/bridges), which tie in other protocols, > so you can also use Matrix to interact with the poor sods on Slack, > or Discord users, or even some of the (other) proprietary > surveillance shit that comes out of Silicon Valley. That has a definite appeal to me too. Also interesting that it's gone for RESTful APIs with JSON data, which means getting it to play nicely with the other Fediverse, built on ActivityPub and ActivityStreams 2.0, should be fairly straight forward. Which means I should probably finalise my draft (optional) protocol to provide end-to-end encryption for ActivityPub and ActivityStreams using OpenPGP, [Active Cryptography](http://files.de.adversary.org/crypto/ac/index.html). It's almost complete, I just need to re-do the key sharing method (because the SKS servers are showing their age, but WKD isn't quite there yet). Well, that and code examples for it, of course, but I've done a fair bit of the ground work on that anyway. Regards, Ben -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: signature.asc Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 228 bytes Desc: not available URL: From daniel at pocock.com.au Tue May 5 08:12:28 2020 From: daniel at pocock.com.au (Daniel Pocock) Date: Tue, 5 May 2020 00:12:28 +0200 Subject: [Linux-aus] Matrix (was: Operation Anzacathon is go!) In-Reply-To: <20200504181933.mvqjdimtpfpnar2v@adversary.org> References: <872dc01e-8398-024b-2fe0-3de420a9711e@pocock.com.au> <20200501022121.ni7yexlf52kym6wm@adversary.org> <20200501055700.GC104319@lotus.rw.madduck.net> <20200504004146.4k53txrom3n4huq6@adversary.org> <20200504010902.GA402789@lotus.rw.madduck.net> <20200504181933.mvqjdimtpfpnar2v@adversary.org> Message-ID: On 04/05/2020 20:19, Ben McGinnes via linux-aus wrote: > On Mon, May 04, 2020 at 01:09:02PM +1200, martin f krafft via linux-aus wrote: >> Regarding the following, written by "Ben McGinnes" on 2020-05-04 at 00:42 Uhr +0000: >>> I haven't used a specific IM client in a few years (not counting group >>> chat things like Discord, Slack, and IRC). Is Matrix effectively the >>> successor to XMPP? >> >> The team answers this question somewhat in [their FAQs](https://matrix.org/faq/#what-is-the-difference-between-matrix-and-xmpp%3F), > > Interesting. Though digging in, I now realise that this is one of the > few projects my fellow Pirates had been waxing lyrical about a while > back. Now I see why. Notice that the identity stuff, which is pretty fundamental, is still evolving: https://matrix.org/faq#what-is-an-identity-server%3F They have made some really good achievements but they also have some gaps to fill. They are completely transparent about that. Given the open nature of the project, I'm sure they would welcome ideas about how to fill those gaps. I attended quite a few early meetings of the UK ENUM committee, they faced many of the same thorny issues that Matrix refer to as 3PID today. ENUM, of course, was IETF while Matrix is not: https://matrix.org/faq#why-aren't-you-doing-this-through-the-ietf%3F-or-w3c%3F-or-3gpp%3F but the fundamental issues around identity are much the same either way. Notice that like Signal, Matrix still requires a server somewhere, they just give more people the option to run the servers. Jami tries to be even more decentralized, not federated like Matrix https://jami.net/ >> Matrix probably can't do much what XMPP doesn't also do, but it's >> easier to get up and running to a modern standard (media, >> multi-device, encryption, real-time voice/video), > > Well, if it can do real-time voice and video then it's already got one > big plus over XMPP, which never quite got that behaving properly. It > was eternally on the todo list. WebRTC is also making strong progress in voice and video. Anybody can white label JSCommunicator into a web site or CMS, see the integration guide https://jscommunicator.org/ https://github.com/opentelecoms-org/jscommunicator/blob/master/INTEGRATION.md It aims to do federated SIP. That actually works calling from: https://freephonebox.net to any Fedora user on: https://fedrtc.org Jitsi Meet has also become really well known for online meetings. https://meet.jit.si >> and has a stronger governance behind it. > > So I see. Particularly in their, quite welcome, resistance to certain > nasty, exclusionary trends in a number of projects of late. Nasty? People using words like that on some mailing lists have been banned/censored/moderated/demoted/shamed and humiliated for violating the Code of Obedience, oops, Code of Conduct. >> To me, the best thing about Matrix is the concept of >> [bridges](https://matrix.org/bridges), which tie in other protocols, >> so you can also use Matrix to interact with the poor sods on Slack, >> or Discord users, or even some of the (other) proprietary >> surveillance shit that comes out of Silicon Valley. > > That has a definite appeal to me too. Also interesting that it's gone > for RESTful APIs with JSON data, which means getting it to play nicely > with the other Fediverse, built on ActivityPub and ActivityStreams 2.0, > should be fairly straight forward. > > Which means I should probably finalise my draft (optional) protocol to > provide end-to-end encryption for ActivityPub and ActivityStreams > using OpenPGP, [Active Cryptography](http://files.de.adversary.org/crypto/ac/index.html). > > It's almost complete, I just need to re-do the key sharing method > (because the SKS servers are showing their age, but WKD isn't quite > there yet). Well, that and code examples for it, of course, but I've > done a fair bit of the ground work on that anyway. The challenge with some of those bridges is that you end up building a following on one of those other platforms and not on Matrix itself. Then you remain at the mercy of the other platform and their API. Just look at what happened when Skype pulled the rug out from under Asterisk users: https://forums.asterisk.org/viewtopic.php?t=86617 and Google and Facebook both pulled the rug out under XMPP. There is no guarantee that bridges for Slack or other proprietary platforms will work indefinitely. Regards, Daniel -- Debian Developer https://danielpocock.com From madduck at madduck.net Tue May 5 08:15:02 2020 From: madduck at madduck.net (martin f krafft) Date: Tue, 5 May 2020 10:15:02 +1200 Subject: [Linux-aus] Matrix (was: Operation Anzacathon is go!) In-Reply-To: <20200504181933.mvqjdimtpfpnar2v@adversary.org> References: <872dc01e-8398-024b-2fe0-3de420a9711e@pocock.com.au> <20200501022121.ni7yexlf52kym6wm@adversary.org> <20200501055700.GC104319@lotus.rw.madduck.net> <20200504004146.4k53txrom3n4huq6@adversary.org> <20200504010902.GA402789@lotus.rw.madduck.net> <20200504181933.mvqjdimtpfpnar2v@adversary.org> Message-ID: <20200504221502.GA477570@lotus.rw.madduck.net> Regarding the following, written by "Ben McGinnes via linux-aus" on 2020-05-04 at 18:19 Uhr +0000: >Which means I should probably finalise my draft (optional) protocol >to provide end-to-end encryption for ActivityPub and >ActivityStreams using OpenPGP, [Active >Cryptography](http://files.de.adversary.org/crypto/ac/index.html). That sounds wrong to me, mainly because OpenPGP isn't designed to handle multi-device. I think Matrix is also leading the way on e2ee these days, and if AP grows e2ee, then it should use their double ratchet. -- @martinkrafft | https://riot.im/app/#/room/#madduck:madduck.net normaliser unix c'est comme pasteuriser le camembert. spamtraps: madduck.bogus at madduck.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: digital_signature_gpg.asc Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 1187 bytes Desc: Digital GPG signature (see http://martin-krafft.net/gpg/sig-policy/999bbcc4/current) URL: From madduck at madduck.net Tue May 5 08:33:17 2020 From: madduck at madduck.net (martin f krafft) Date: Tue, 5 May 2020 10:33:17 +1200 Subject: [Linux-aus] Matrix (was: Operation Anzacathon is go!) In-Reply-To: References: <872dc01e-8398-024b-2fe0-3de420a9711e@pocock.com.au> <20200501022121.ni7yexlf52kym6wm@adversary.org> <20200501055700.GC104319@lotus.rw.madduck.net> <20200504004146.4k53txrom3n4huq6@adversary.org> <20200504010902.GA402789@lotus.rw.madduck.net> <20200504181933.mvqjdimtpfpnar2v@adversary.org> Message-ID: <20200504223317.GA479901@lotus.rw.madduck.net> Regarding the following, written by "Daniel Pocock via linux-aus" on 2020-05-05 at 00:12 Uhr +0200: >Notice that like Signal, Matrix still requires a server somewhere, they >just give more people the option to run the servers. Not for much longer, matrix-p2p is already a thing, and the long-term goal is to make Matrix serverless. https://fosdem.org/2020/schedule/event/dip_p2p_matrix/ -- @martinkrafft | https://riot.im/app/#/room/#madduck:madduck.net "those who are faithful know only the trivial side of love: it is the faithless who know love's tragedies." -- oscar wilde spamtraps: madduck.bogus at madduck.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: digital_signature_gpg.asc Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 1187 bytes Desc: Digital GPG signature (see http://martin-krafft.net/gpg/sig-policy/999bbcc4/current) URL: From daniel at pocock.com.au Tue May 5 08:59:27 2020 From: daniel at pocock.com.au (Daniel Pocock) Date: Tue, 5 May 2020 00:59:27 +0200 Subject: [Linux-aus] threats from Germans! (was: Matrix (was: Operation Anzacathon is go!)) In-Reply-To: <20200504223420.GB479901@lotus.rw.madduck.net> References: <872dc01e-8398-024b-2fe0-3de420a9711e@pocock.com.au> <20200501022121.ni7yexlf52kym6wm@adversary.org> <20200501055700.GC104319@lotus.rw.madduck.net> <20200504004146.4k53txrom3n4huq6@adversary.org> <20200504010902.GA402789@lotus.rw.madduck.net> <20200504181933.mvqjdimtpfpnar2v@adversary.org> <20200504223420.GB479901@lotus.rw.madduck.net> Message-ID: <7e5aaafe-d895-408b-029f-37beda0716e2@pocock.com.au> On 05/05/2020 00:34, martin f krafft wrote: > Untitled > > Debian Developer https://danielpocock.com > > You are not a Debian Developer, and if I see you claiming so again on > any mailing list, I will publicly call you out. There is something particularly disrespectful about a German coming into a thread about Anzac Day and making a threat against a volunteer. Why do you threaten and insult volunteers? I've been promoting Debian for over 20 years. I'm completely comfortable about my competence as a Debian Developer. Every user of my code is also completely satisfied. It is only control freaks like you who have a problem. Threats like that are about as welcome in Australia as the coronavirus. In March, I spent time on a Sunday packaging RAKE and running it over the Anzac data as a completely voluntary activity and in return, the DPL sends a nasty message attacking me, stirring up little nazis like Krafft to stalk me on every mailing list - just what Krafft has demonstrated above. One of the insights found in the NAA archive was a German shot my great uncle in the face. That's how people wrote "you're not a developer" in 1916. It is sad how many people had to die to when people like Krafft, Hartman & Jaspert tried to force themselves upon the rest of the world. Regards, Daniel From president at linux.org.au Tue May 5 09:58:54 2020 From: president at linux.org.au (President, Linux Australia) Date: Tue, 5 May 2020 09:58:54 +1000 Subject: [Linux-aus] Mailing List is now placed in moderation Message-ID: <2998cad9-59ac-afd9-b191-43df33bad8a0@linux.org.au> Dear All, LA Council have decided to put the mailing list into moderation for this point in time. We are currently investigating some concerns that have been brought to our attention. Thanks, Sae Ra -- Sae Ra Germaine President Linux Australia president at linux.org.au http://linux.org.au Linux Australia Inc GPO Box 4788 Sydney NSW 2001 Australia ABN 56 987 117 479 From secretary at linux.org.au Wed May 6 00:50:01 2020 From: secretary at linux.org.au (Julien Goodwin) Date: Wed, 6 May 2020 00:50:01 +1000 Subject: [Linux-aus] Mailing List is now placed in moderation In-Reply-To: <2998cad9-59ac-afd9-b191-43df33bad8a0@linux.org.au> References: <2998cad9-59ac-afd9-b191-43df33bad8a0@linux.org.au> Message-ID: List members, Some posts sent to the linux-aus list on Tuesday 5 May 2020, both before and after the list was placed into moderation, fell well outside of the Linux Australia mailing list policy[1] and were not acceptable. Further responses either to that thread or on the same topic will not be approved. If you have a strong opinion on this, please direct that to myself or council at linux.org.au The linux-aus list will remain moderated until it is clear that this is no longer needed. No announcement will be made when moderation is removed, and some individuals involved may have their posts moderated for a longer duration. 1: https://github.com/linuxaustralia/constitution_and_policies/blob/master/mail-list-policy.md Thanks, Julien Goodwin Secretary, Linux Australia From president at linux.org.au Wed May 6 12:41:43 2020 From: president at linux.org.au (President, Linux Australia) Date: Wed, 6 May 2020 12:41:43 +1000 Subject: [Linux-aus] Linux Australia Community Update & LCA2021 Information Message-ID: Dear All, Wow, suffice to say this isn?t something that I thought I would need to send. But then again, is anything we are currently doing ?Business As Usual?? This is about the time that we start our full planning mode for linux.conf.au, assemble our Session Selection Committee, announce our Grants program and our subcommittees start making their announcements. But this year is a little different. You may have already seen that the PyCon AU subcommittee has announced PyConline AU for 2020 and everything is underway to deliver this to our community. Which brings me to an update for you about Linux Australia?s recent activity and what is happening to LCA2021. Advocacy: Linux Australia is continuing to advocate for our community. We recently signed an open letter [0] calling the Government of Australia to be open and transparent in regards to the ?COVIDSafe? app. We joined nearly 100 Academics and Industry Experts calling for this. Signing was important for Linux Australia because we have an obligation to our community to advocate for open and transparent standards. It is one of our Values [1] and not signing this would be doing our community a dis-service. I have received lots of fantastic feedback and support which tells me that we are headed in the right direction. Our Mailing Lists: A reminder to all that we have mailing lists available [2]. I would like to stress (very strongly) that we have a mailing list conduct policy which is found in our GitHub account [3]. We want this to be a safe and inclusive environment just like our conferences. If you don?t want to want to abide by this policy please feel free to unsubscribe. Grants Program: We would like to change tact for this year?s grants program and specifically focus on supporting initiatives, projects and groups to get through this time with technology and access. Funding could be provided to support projects such as improved documentation and user experience around web-conferencing software to make it more accessible for those who may not understand technology as we do. Or it may go to help develop a web-conferencing solution to suit our conferences and events. An official email opening the 2020 Grants Program will be sent out in the coming days. Please stay tuned for more info. We now come to what everyone is really reading this email for?. LCA2021: Linux Australia, the LCA Ghosts and the LCA2021 team have come together in the last month and discussed the next steps for us and what we should do with our beloved conference. We have decided that it is for the best to postpone LCA2021 to LCA2022. We have secured the 2022 dates with the Australian National University events booking team. We felt that this was our best option after considering a number of factors: 1. There may not be a vaccine available by January 2021. 2. Opening Call for Sessions during a lockdown is hard to do as speakers can?t guarantee that they can travel today, tomorrow or January. 3. Being realistic about the safety of our International Delegates: if there is still no vaccine for COVID-19 we can?t reasonably expect our delegates to go into 2 weeks quarantine on either side of our conference. 4. The safety of our Volunteers is paramount. But LCA is my yearly pilgrimage! What does this mean? We will be running LCA Online! I will be putting a call out for some volunteers to help me put together an online conference. This conference will be light touch, with minimal overheads. If you have any talk ideas keep them brewing. Was there a talk you gave at LCA 10 years ago and now that you?re 10 years on is your opinion still the same? Is that project still even a thing? So keep an eye out on our various channels for a call for volunteers and a call for talks. Looking forward to seeing what can be put together for you. We hope that you are all keeping safe and well during this time of craziness. Please keep and eye out for more updates coming in the near future. Remember that these times are troubling and unknown for all of us so I urge you to please be kind to each other. If you have any questions or concerns please do contact myself or Council. Thanks, Sae Ra [0] https://covidapp.opentransparent.org/ [1] https://linux.org.au/about-us/values/ [2] https://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo [3] https://github.com/linuxaustralia/constitution_and_policies/blob/master/mail-list-policy.md -- Sae Ra Germaine President Linux Australia president at linux.org.au http://linux.org.au Linux Australia Inc GPO Box 4788 Sydney NSW 2001 Australia ABN 56 987 117 479 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kathy at kathyreid.id.au Wed May 6 12:45:37 2020 From: kathy at kathyreid.id.au (Kathy Reid) Date: Wed, 6 May 2020 12:45:37 +1000 Subject: [Linux-aus] Linux Australia Community Update & LCA2021 Information In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Wise decisions all around. Well done, Council. On 6/5/20 12:41 pm, President, Linux Australia via linux-aus wrote: > > Dear All, > > > Wow, suffice to say this isn?t something that I thought I would need > to send. But then again, is anything we are currently doing ?Business > As Usual?? > > > This is about the time that we start our full planning mode for > linux.conf.au, assemble our Session Selection Committee, announce our > Grants program and our subcommittees start making their announcements. > But this year is a little different. You may have already seen that > the PyCon AU subcommittee has announced PyConline AU for 2020 and > everything is underway to deliver this to our community. > > > Which brings me to an update for you about Linux Australia?s recent > activity and what is happening to LCA2021. > > > Advocacy: > > Linux Australia is continuing to advocate for our community. We > recently signed an open letter [0] calling the Government of Australia > to be open and transparent in regards to the ?COVIDSafe? app. We > joined nearly 100 Academics and Industry Experts calling for this. > Signing was important for Linux Australia because we have an > obligation to our community to advocate for open and transparent > standards. It is one of our Values [1] and not signing this would be > doing our community a dis-service. I have received lots of fantastic > feedback and support which tells me that we are headed in the right > direction. > > > Our Mailing Lists: > > A reminder to all that we have mailing lists available [2]. I would > like to stress (very strongly) that we have a mailing list conduct > policy which is found in our GitHub account [3]. We want this to be a > safe and inclusive environment just like our conferences. If you don?t > want to want to abide by this policy please feel free to unsubscribe. > > > Grants Program: > > We would like to change tact for this year?s grants program and > specifically focus on supporting initiatives, projects and groups to > get through this time with technology and access. Funding could be > provided to support projects such as improved documentation and user > experience around web-conferencing software to make it more accessible > for those who may not understand technology as we do. Or it may go to > help develop a web-conferencing solution to suit our conferences and > events. An official email opening the 2020 Grants Program will be sent > out in the coming days. Please stay tuned for more info. > > > We now come to what everyone is really reading this email for?. > > > LCA2021: > > Linux Australia, the LCA Ghosts and the LCA2021 team have come > together in the last month and discussed the next steps for us and > what we should do with our beloved conference. We have decided that it > is for the best to postpone LCA2021 to LCA2022. We have secured the > 2022 dates with the Australian National University events booking > team. We felt that this was our best option after considering a number > of factors: > > 1. > > There may not be a vaccine available by January 2021. > > 2. > > Opening Call for Sessions during a lockdown is hard to do as > speakers can?t guarantee that they can travel today, tomorrow or > January. > > 3. > > Being realistic about the safety of our International Delegates: > if there is still no vaccine for COVID-19 we can?t reasonably > expect our delegates to go into 2 weeks quarantine on either side > of our conference. > > 4. > > The safety of our Volunteers is paramount. > > > But LCA is my yearly pilgrimage! What does this mean? > > We will be running LCA Online! > > I will be putting a call out for some volunteers to help me put > together an online conference. This conference will be light touch, > with minimal overheads. If you have any talk ideas keep them brewing. > Was there a talk you gave at LCA 10 years ago and now that you?re 10 > years on is your opinion still the same? Is that project still even a > thing? So keep an eye out on our various channels for a call for > volunteers and a call for talks. Looking forward to seeing what can be > put together for you. > > > We hope that you are all keeping safe and well during this time of > craziness. Please keep and eye out for more updates coming in the near > future. Remember that these times are troubling and unknown for all of > us so I urge you to please be kind to each other. > > If you have any questions or concerns please do contact myself or > Council. > > > Thanks, > > > Sae Ra > > > > [0] https://covidapp.opentransparent.org/ > > [1] https://linux.org.au/about-us/values/ > > [2] https://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo > > [3] > https://github.com/linuxaustralia/constitution_and_policies/blob/master/mail-list-policy.md > > -- > Sae Ra Germaine > President > Linux Australia > > president at linux.org.au > http://linux.org.au > > Linux Australia Inc > GPO Box 4788 > Sydney NSW 2001 > Australia > > ABN 56 987 117 479 > > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing list > linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From president at linux.org.au Tue May 26 12:08:52 2020 From: president at linux.org.au (President, Linux Australia) Date: Tue, 26 May 2020 12:08:52 +1000 Subject: [Linux-aus] Linux Australia 2020 Grants Program Message-ID: Dear All, On behalf of Linux Australia Council, I would like to announce the opening of the 2020 grants program.? A total of $35000 is available to fund open source and open hardware projects which will benefit our community. In light of the situation brought about by COVID-19, we would especially encourage applications for projects which provide technological assistance to get through this time.? For example, funding could be requested to improve documentation or the user experience of open source video conferencing software, making it more accessible to those who are not technically minded.? Other related activities include development of web conferencing software that suits the needs of events held by the Open Source community. Of course, applications are also encouraged for any other open technology project. Applications will be accepted until 23:59 on 6 September 2020 anywhere on earth, with funding approvals finalised by the end of September. For more information please visit ? https://linux.org.au/grants-program/ after logging into the site. Thanks all and looking forward to receiving your applications. Sae Ra -- Sae Ra Germaine President Linux Australia president at linux.org.au http://linux.org.au Linux Australia Inc GPO Box 4788 Sydney NSW 2001 Australia ABN 56 987 117 479