Felicitas Pojtinger 🌅I'm becoming more and more convinced that the best way forward for most OSS foundations is to become an e.V. like KDE. Things just work better when they are hosted in Europe under a more sane legal system and without having to worry about the weird public secrecy legal stuff that US foundations/non-profits/etc. work with
With the world turning away from the US and it becoming an increasing liability to be an org that's supposed to be global from the US (see e.g. RISC-V), it's also just a good way to de-risk these projects
Plus, elections, CoC issues etc. are just so much more established in an e.V. and things like due process etc. can be legally enforced instead of nebulous decisions made behind closed doors with no consultation or options for appeal
David Fleetwood - RG Admin@pojntfx While I broadly agree, my experience in the EU is that the general sentiment is literally decades behind the USA in terms of racism, sexism, trans rights, etc. I know the FOSS community is on balance ahead of the curve, but the things I see excused routinely over here make me question how progressive social progress really is.
@reflex I'm not really sure how true that is anymore (mostly having experienced Germany myself). Sure, in 2015 I'd have 100% agreed - but with the US in 2025, just compare the sentiment and law towards trans people to that of Germany in 2025, and it's a whole different picture IMHO
Then add trade relations, export regulations, the inability to travel to the US safely, ...
@pojntfx Oh I know things have taken a turn for the worst in the USA from a policy perspective, I'm mostly coming at this from a cultural one, where the concept of a CoC is already accepted, but how it is written and enforced is where the discussion lies (ie: not in a right wing space to begin with).
I am not advocating for doing business of any sort in the USA currently, I'm trying to puncture the white liberal myth that Europe/Canada/etc are 'safe' for everyone.
Iris@reflex @pojntfx Well, I'm a Polish trans woman, and I've spent a fair amount of time in Poland (though it's not where I currently live). I'll allow that the bigotry is bad, but a lot is counterbalanced by the fact that the people in Poland who'll fight for you know what's at stake and won't try and pretend that things are fine, which the anglosphere has massive issues with. Supporters in Europe will actually have your back.
@iris_meredith @pojntfx No idea, I won't deny your experience but mostly I'm lending my voice, which is aimed at other cis white people, due to the experiences PoC, LGBTQ and others have explained to me. And quite frankly, I've seen it as well, Portugal is viewed as very LGBTQ friendly, especially Lisbon, but when a presumably straight white guy like me ends up on the topic the tone changes as they often assume I agree with them so they can speak their real thoughts.
@iris_meredith @pojntfx My sister and her wife live in Poland, they have also seen the bigotry against LGBTQ there although they said it's softened since the last election.
I've been told horrible things by 'leftist' Portuguse people here, usually against Brazillians, various gypsies/travelers and former colonies by virtually everyone, and virtually every European I meet will explain how their country was the "good colonists" who simply weren't appreciated unlike the bad colonizers.
@iris_meredith @pojntfx The difference I see between the USA and Europe is that in the EU the bigotry is less overt, covered up by politeness and sophistication, but if you dare scratch the surface it's rarely much better than you get from the bigots in the USA or Canada.