Are we a fraternity? Or: I believe we change the world everyday! Or even better: Thank you!
This might seem provocative to many, but I do have a point so please read before you precipitate into any conclusions. Still have something to say? Please leave a comment 🙂
The Ubuntu community is huge and visible! Really, it is. We are thousands of people around the world committed to see Free Software everywhere by giving it freely to other human beings. And our community is just a reflection of that feeling, there are many other communities doing the same.
For some people this sounds like a joke. I kid you not: I have been laughed at many times (it’s ok, really, I am difficult to offend) when I tell people about the Ubuntu and FLOSS thingy of ours.
But we love it. ubunter@s really do. And so do debianistas and fedora ambassadors and other FLOSS and Free Culture enthusiasts. We all have our own reasons of course. But more often than not our goals, and thus our paths, are very much aligned.
So I want to show some thankfulness to every single individual that in one way or another is, or has been, part of this big family in the whole free software ecosystem and in the free culture movement! We are one community, one fraternity.
This time around I, specially, want to thank JuanJo (Fedora ambassador in Valencia), Joergen Ramskov (K+Ubuntu enthusiast & SmukFest lover) and Mi Compadre Søren (Part of Ubuntu Denmark’s “styregruppen” and Ubuntu-Nordic partner in crime)! Thank you for making my vacation a lot more interesting! 🙂
Thank you not just for the beer, the talks, the bus ticket printing, recommendations for visit-sites, clubs or restaurants, but mostly for showing me in real life that I am not on my own in this Ubuntu/FLOSS/Free Culture journey of mine.
Together, we all are powerful individuals and can make changes, real and palpable changes in our near environment and through our cooperation we can make it in a global scale!
- Like en smukk dansk pige I met put it:
– You mean that you can go around and meet people just like that. Like the masons? - I answered:
– Well. not quite like the masons, but yes we meet and talk. But relax, we are not taking over the world… At least not yet! 😉
People I was either visiting, traveling with or that I met in the journey were just amazed about that being at all possible.
I want to encourage everyone to do it more often when we are on holiday or just for a short visit somewhere. I for one I’m willing to meet anyone wanting to talk FLOSS/Free Culture/Ubuntu that come by Oslo. Just drop me a line or make a blog post like I did. I’ll meet up with you if I have the possibility and the time.
Meeting new people is just great!
Some pictures from the journey:
Oh, and thanks for reading! 🙂
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Interesting that you use the word fraternity. From the wikipedia page you link to:
“In many instances fraternities are limited to male membership”
Hmmmmmmmmm….
Other than that, a well needed reminder that we’re all in this together for the common good. Thousands of us. 🙂
Thanks!
I did not use the word brotherhood in purpose to actually avoid the chauvinistic label.
From your own Wikipedia quote:
Let’s say that I meant such a fraternity, not a male or female only one when using the word. Really, I have much respect for all human beings, gender in that sense can be rendered irrelevant.
People are more than what gender they have, who they sleep (or not) with and what they seems to think in a certain context. Our dimensions are endless.
Agreed. It’s just a problematic word to use because the _most common_ meaning is an all male group and we’ve all seen some of the unfortunate challenges of including women in FOSS. I feel that this is why the word community is used so much. Because it’s so inclusive and doesn’t imply a bias towards one gender / sexuality / religion / colour / political leaning / favourite brand of cheese etc.
Anyway, this is a small nitpick in a post that I otherwise wholeheartedly agree with. I’m just a picky b***ard when it comes to words. Thanks for posting it! 🙂
PS If you’re ever north of Toronto, Canada feel free to drop by so I can buy you a drink of your choice. No secret handshake required! 😉
Thanks. A friend lives there actually… So who knows.
I’ll keep it in mind and let you know if I ever go there.
Same goes for you and Oslo. No handshake in this end either. 🙂
Nice to meet you Rubén 🙂
Today I was in our NOC installing two discs in a server and a good friend there asked me: ‘so, Did you hang out for a beer with that Ubuntu guy? Amazing!’
I think that the one really amazed was me: why? I don’t see anything special in hanging for a beer with friends (call it fraternity if you want). Maybe I didn’t know you at first, but we have more things in common than most people I work with 🙂
FLOSS is nothing but community, and community is people. And we’re friendly! 😀
Indeed Juan Jo.
I really enjoyed our chat and that beer I got there was really nice. Pubs are great!
It’s nice to get new perspectives and get hold of what others do. Also this trip showed me how it is strange and at the same time awesome that so many people are interconnected without being consciously aware of it and then suddenly those connections link us and we are there as if we had always been there.
So in that sense, drinking beer with friends is the most common thing to do.
Say hi to your GF and I’ll let you know when I’m in Valencia again.
We are indeed friendly and our software is a nice excuse to cooperate! 🙂
My own follow up. for the record.
I didn’t read your entry before today 🙂
A happy rant, if you ask me 🙂
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