James Valleroy @jvalleroy@fosstodon.org

Finished packaging up a newer version of xpenguins for #debian, most of the time was re-building my toolchain for packaging; gpg signing, docker container for builds, learning gbp.

Lintian is happy with the package and now testing it some in a Debian 11 VM with KDE and GNOME.

Next step is finding a sponsor and officially uploaded.

https://mentors.debian.net/package/xpenguins/

Gov'ts and civil society cannot afford to be dependent (as they have very foolishly allowed themselves to become, worldwide) on a handful of US multinational tech corporations. The problem isn't FB's action - it's the fact that Gov'ts are up-in-arms about it because they've got all their eggs in the Facebook basket. I pity them their lack of comprehension (I've been warning our gov't about this for 20+ years) and the deleterious effect it has on all of us.

The Replay Foundation, my employer, announced their liquidation today. This means no more Pinburgh. It also means I'm Officially out of a job for the forseeable, so if y'all wouldn't mind boosting a link to my other source of income Improbable Island, that'd be just super.

https://www.improbableisland.com

It's a silly online game and it doesn't pay as much as fixing pinball machines but heck it's what I've got right now, and this winter's probably gonna be a hairy one.

The Debian Project
@debian ·

Call for mentors and project ideas for next Google Summer of code and Outreachy rounds

http://dlvr.it/RsjKwr

#Debian @DCGLUG #GSoC

Job at #Tor:
Software Developer for Anti-Censorship Team
https://www.torproject.org/about/jobs/software-developer-anticensorship/

Happy "I love Free Software Day" everyone 💕

We would like to use this opportunity to let you know that K-9 Mail needs your help.

https://k9mail.app/2021/02/14/K-9-Mail-is-looking-for-funding

#ilovefs

@clacke @brennen @stevenroose @hamid

#ForgeFed - the specification - as I understand it is sufficiently fleshed out that #activitypub implementors can build upon it.

@cj for instance crafted an elaborate overview of design + code changes for #gitea based on #golang #gofed libraries

https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/issues/14186

There are various open discussions on #feneas and - I believe - @fr33domlover has been absent for a while to follow-up. Dunno if there are blockers in these. See:

https://talk.feneas.org/c/forgefed/10

Just got introduced to Preserving Worlds on Means.tv, a web series about enduring digital worlds after commercial companies stop exploiting them.

An episode is even about Doom (poke @jplebreton )
Preserving Worlds

#Spritely Goblins: a distributed journey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqrzag__X7o

h/t @kristapsk .. python's cryptography package now has a rust dependency which screws up installation on some platforms, bit of a shitshow going on here:

https://github.com/pyca/cryptography/issues/5771

#python #cryptography #rust

Dear people too embarrassed to release your source code:

Nobody cares how ugly it is. Only you can see the ugliness. The code works, it does something, and we just want to learn from it or modify it. Our source code is ugly too.

If embarrassment is the only obstacle, just release the code. Ugly released source code is far, far better than no source code at all.

Briar is censorship resistant

1. it does not rely on centralized server infrastructure
2. Tor, and bridges to Tor in case Tor is under censorship are implemented by default
3. build with offgrid communication in mind, in case of internet shutdown
4. no Sim card required. (sim card registration can be stopped/on hold by gov)

Don't build proxies serving only a single purpose, support general purpose censorship prevention tools such as @torproject@mastodon.so.cial. Create #Tor nodes and bridges
#Iran #Signal

If you wonder why you should join surveys like #popularitycontest in #Debian (https://popcon.debian.org/):

It helps your favourite #distribution to see which packages are actually used and hence might influence e.g. if a buggy package is being kicked out or fixed. Or if it's considered to be a key package.

Additionally it gives a good feeling to the maintainer of a package to see that his package is actually used, even if it only shows up with like 10 installations. He might have expected less. 😉

Some fun with ad-hoc animation. #clim #lisp

Decentralization and Decency: A talk on the values and goals of decentralizers https://fosdem.org/2021/schedule/event/hypercore #fosdem