Re: Communication around Covid-19

[Thomas Lord]

> I certainly don't want to be an alarmist, and do believe that much of
>    the media attention is very overblown, but I think FSF, and 
> LibrePlanet
>    specifically, needs to address conference plans in light of the 
> current
>    virus situation.


It seems odd to think the media attention is "very overblown"
when, at the same time, the front-line epidemiologists and
medical professionals are urgently asking for greater awareness of how
bad this appears to be, and how poor the organized response in the U.S.

In California, a growing list of quite important professional
conferences have been canceled.  The general release of a new Bond film
has been postponed because theaters are shutting down.   Community-based
transmission has been confirmed in a growing number of cases.

Libreplanet should take a cue from corporations like RSA and IBM: 
cancel.

As a reminder:  the movement should consider concentrating on 
low-resource
demand communications software to help society be resilient in the face
of this and other growing crises.

-t



On 2020-03-04 19:00, Michael Mauger via libreplanet-discuss wrote:
> I certainly don't want to be an alarmist, and do believe that much of
>    the media attention is very overblown, but I think FSF, and 
> LibrePlanet
>    specifically, needs to address conference plans in light of the 
> current
>    virus situation.
>
>    I am aware of major business conferences being boycotted by both
>    vendors and attendees over concerns;  I'm sure Free Software 
> activists
>    might be interested in what the LP response is going to be. Even 
> just
>    an acknowledgement that the conference is on, and recommending that
>    those who do not feel well should stay home. Possibly a emphasis on
>    remote attendance via live stream and any enhancements or
>    accommodations that are going to be made to fully support and 
> encourage
>    participation of those who choose not to be locked in small enclosed
>    spaces with several hundred fellow activists. A simple banner on the
>    LP.org and FSF.org sites seems warranted.
>
>    I want to encourage some official communication about how the
>    conference is making allowances to handle the current virus 
> outbreak.
>    While we may do nothing specific (not my preferred position) we 
> should
>    at least acknowledge the questions that attendees may be asking.
>
>    --
>    MICHAEL@MAUGER.COM // FSF and EFF member // GNU Emacs sql.el 
> maintainer
>
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