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Dear LibrePlanet participant,
This Saturday and Sunday, March 18 and 19, we'll be charting a course
to software freedom through the fifteenth edition of the annual
LibrePlanet conference, organized by the Free Software Foundation
(FSF). We're excited to be meeting again in person, and look forward
to seeing all of you both at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center
(BCEC) and online. We're proud to be hosting thirty-nine sessions from
free software advocates, developers, tinkerers, and philosophers from
all over the world.
Whether you're joining us online or in person, here's what you need to
know.
How to attend
Registration is temporarily closed while we prepare for on-site
registration. Registration will reopen on Friday, March 17.
Registration will be open all day at the BCEC.
While it's not required if you're attending online, it does help us
tremendously in organizing future iterations of the conference.
Walk-ins are permitted (space permitting), and please remember that
students and FSF associate members get into the conference free
of charge.
Getting around
The physical conference will be held at the BCEC, a convenient and
central location in Boston, MA which is located at 415 Summer Street,
Boston, MA, 02210.
The closest MBTA stop is World Trade Center which can be reached with
silver line buses SL1, SL2, and SL3. Follow the "BCEC" signs to get
from the stop to the venue. Another option is to take the red line to
South Station. From there it is a twelve-minute walk to the BCEC.
A simple map of the area surrounding the BCEC.
For more information regarding transportation, accommodation, and
restaurants, please visit the lodging & travel section of the
conference page.
Badge pickup, registration, and coffee begin at 09:00 EDT each day at
the conference site. Be sure to stop by the GNU Press shop for a quick
way to pick up this year's LibrePlanet T-shirt!
A simple map of the physical venue at BCEC for LibrePlanet 2023.
What to see
The full conference program has been released. If you're having
trouble deciding what from our three tracks to see, remember that,
following the conference, videos of every session will be uploaded to
the LibrePlanet archives and our Peertube page.
Social events
You're invited to the social and community events happening
before the conference and during the conference weekend. All ages are
welcome at all social events, and we strongly recommend using public
transportation.
Remember that the libreplanet-discuss mailing list is great for
planning ride-shares or social events during the conference weekend,
and also for participating in the year-round conversation about free
software events and issues.
Open house
On Friday night, the LibrePlanet festivities start early at the FSF
office. Join us for socializing and snacks, but plan to arrive early!
We have a small office, so in accordance to recommended COVID-19
precautions, we're capping the attendance at fifty. FSF staffers will
be letting more people in as others leave, so you may have to wait at
the door.
At the open house, you'll be able to pick up your conference badge
(and purchase raffle tickets), allowing you to skip the line on
Saturday morning! We're also happy to register you there if you're not
yet registered. The FSF office is a short walk from the Downtown
Crossing, State, and Park Street MBTA stops. The FSF office is
an accessible space, and is at 51 Franklin Street, 5th Floor, Boston,
MA 02110.
Time: 18:00 - 20:00, Friday 3/17
Location: FSF office
Sign up: Not necessary
If you'll be in Boston as early as Friday, there are also still
limited seats available for an in-person lecture by Richard M.
Stallman (RMS) in nearby Somerville. This event will also be
livestreamed.
On Saturday evening, starting at 18:35, join us for a walking tour of
historic Boston (7.5 kilometers or 4.5 miles, about 100 minutes).
It's an opportunity for you to get some fresh air and exercise, see a
bit of Boston, and, if you want, interact with other conference goers
in a COVID-conscious and relaxed environment. We'll be going past the
first fourteen of the landmarks of the Freedom Trail. An RSVP to
[email protected], while not required, is greatly appreciated as it will
help us gauge interest.
This is a space for women, nonbinary people and all those who have
been traditionally excluded from technological and social causes to
feel at home and find ways for people of similar backgrounds to
participate. Please RSVP by emailing [email protected], so we can tell
the restaurant how many people we expect.
Time: 18:35, Saturday 3/18
Location: MJ O'Connor's Seaport, located at the Westin Boston
Seaport District, 425 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02210
Looking for a little quieter social time? The FSF office will be open
late for hacking and hanging out. Snacks, drinks, and power will be
provided! Please be aware that this is an alcohol-free event. We have
a small office, so in accordance to recommended COVID-19 precautions,
we're capping the attendance at fifty.
Time: 19:00 - 21:30, Saturday 3/18
Location: FSF office
Sign up: Not necessary
Exhibit hall
We're hosting an exhibit hall for a select group of projects and
businesses in the free software world. Come by from 09:00 until 18:00
EDT on both days of the conference to check out the tables.
If you can't participate in person, never fear. There will also be an
exhibit hall in LibreAdventure.
Raffle
This year, LibrePlanet will be having another awesome raffle. Buy
tickets to support free software while also getting a chance to win:
plus, what LibrePlanet would be complete without raffle prizes from
the GNU Press shop?
You can purchase raffle tickets at the GNU Press shop during
LibrePlanet and the Friday open house. Drawings will be held on both
days in the Jupiter conference room before the closing keynotes.
Online activities
LibreAdventure virtual conference space
If you're missing that in-person conference feel, you can participate
in the LibreAdventure virtual (libre!) universe with other attendees.
By popular demand, we've brought back our free fork of WorkAdventure.
In LibreAdventure, you can roam around the event area, bump into other
participants (for instant videoconferencing with up to four people),
watch livestreams of session talks, and explore.
If you want to meet your friends in LibreAdventure, you can use the
#libreplanet IRC room to coordinate with other visitors.
Minetest
We're running a Minetest server this year. Minetest is a fun, classic
free software game in which players build with blocks and craft items.
To get started, install Minetest 5.x on Trisquel 10 by running sudo
apt-get install minetest.
To connect to our server, use the minetest.libreplanet.org URL and
the default port 30000.
IRC text chat
If you're online, IRC will be the main way to communicate with
other participants and stay informed of everything that is happening
during LibrePlanet. You will find we are livestreaming all sessions
and have a dedicated IRC channel (on Libera.Chat) for each room for
session-specific conversation, plus a more general #libreplanet
room.
Get involved
Do you want to participate in LibrePlanet within a more active role?
If so, you can sign up for a lightning talk, either in person or
online. You're also welcome to organize or participate in a Birds of
a Feather (BoF) session. There's still time!
Important information
LibrePlanet is a fun experience for everyone. Please remember that the
conference safe space policy remains in effect in all physical
and virtual conference spaces.
If you're attending personally, please make yourself aware of the
event's COVID-19 policy and the venue's prohibited items
policy, which includes weapons of any type.
If you lose something during the conference, please stop by the
registration desk! We'll be using that as a catch-all for things that
go missing. We might have your prized possession!
Wrapping up
We're so thankful for all the support we have received for
LibrePlanet 2023. From our donors and supporters, to the extraordinary
number of registrations and our wonderful speakers, we are all
determined to create a successful and exciting event that will remain
fully free.
If you want to support our work, please consider sharing your
attendance on social media, and/or make a small donation. While
we do a professional photographer at the event this year, we also hope
to you will share your own documented moments from LibrePlanet by
uploading photos, videos, and/or screenshots and tag #libreplanet on
your favorite microblog.
As a final note, we hope that you'll be patient with us during the
livestream, brought to you as always by a fully free software stack.
Circumstances necessitate using the venue's WiFi uplink, which may
cause slight delays or buffering issues.
