Stefano Marinelli

Dear friends of the #BSDCafe
Exactly two years ago, on 20th July 2023, I made a post announcing a new project: The BSD Cafe.
It was an idea I had been thinking about for a while, but never had the courage to truly take on. Yet, in those days, I pushed past my doubts, finalized the last bits of the setup, and decided to go public.

I never imagined the warmth, the kindness, the support I would receive. Friends started signing up, new friends arrived, and two years later I can proudly say that the community we’ve built is truly amazing.
The BSDs as our guiding star, technology as our shared passion, and - above all - acceptance and open-mindedness as our core values.

Supporters, not haters.

I’m genuinely happy about all this, and in my upcoming talk at #EuroBSDCon I’ll be sharing both technical and human sides of this experience.

Happy birthday, BSD Cafe. And thank you all, my friends, for making this such a wonderful journey.

The Cafe is always open. The coffee machine is always warm.

Your Barista,
Stefano

#BSDCafe #BSDCafeCelebrations #BSDCafeBirthday

Jul 20, 2025 at 8:53amWeb
Show threadGNU+Chucho  Jul 20, 2025
Happy birthday and very nice project.
Show threadZeStig    Jul 20, 2025
@stefano @justine why'd I think it was far older 👀
Show threadcarstenraddatzJul 20, 2025
@stefano Feels like it was yesterday, thank you for being and hosting welcoming everything :)
Show threadGonzalo Nemmi Jul 20, 2025

@stefano I can't think of any other project that did more (or a better job) at closing the gap between #FreeBSD and the regular "everyday" computer user.

Your endeavor and commitment outperformed every other attempt ever made (by the longest shot, and by any entity) to bridge that gap and put FreeBSD on the spotlight for those who felt the "itch" and those who still hadn't feel compelled to leave the "lurking" zone in the last (at least) 20 years.

Happy birthday bsd.cafe! 🎂🍾🥂🥳

1/2

Show threadGonzalo Nemmi Jul 20, 2025

@stefano And congratulations on your ability to, single handedly, achieve what no other attempt ever achieved!.

You actually managed to put a FreeBSD systems at the service of the general public, open a new world for those who didn't even know that FreeBSD existed, and even raised the eyebrows of those who knew about it but never cared to look outside their own comfort zone.

And all of that speaks a lot louder about you and your work than about anything else! 👍

2/2

Show threadDaniel Wayne ArmstrongJul 20, 2025
@gnemmi @stefano As I type this on my machine running FreeBSD as an everyday new BSD user, I can testify to the truth of this!
Show threadradhityaJul 20, 2025
@stefano cheers to another year, bsd cafe!
Show threadThomas  Jul 20, 2025

@stefano Buon compleanno e grazie tante per il caffè !

It's a very nice place here

Show threadhakayovaJul 20, 2025
@stefano Happy birthday #BSDCafe!
Show threadTomAokiJul 20, 2025
@stefano
Happy anniversary!
Show threadkavemanJul 20, 2025

@stefano congratulations on the 2nd anniversary. The warmth and kindness you spread are exemplary, Chief Kindness Officer!

Also, coinciding with the International Chess Day, lovely!

Show threadlorenzoJul 20, 2025
I think #BSDCafe is one of the wonderful comm i've ever seen. Just a lurker here, merry merry christmas to you all!!

Much love,

#Bobadin

Show threadJanaJul 20, 2025

@stefano The BSD cafe is the reason I learned about the existence and the quality of BSD operating systems.

Now I am running multiple OpenBSD systems as routers and Webservers and I‘m in the process of setting up a big FreeBSD box with BastilleBSD and bhyve to replace a Proxmox box.

These systems have managed to re-ignite a curiosity for systems, that I had lost with Linux. It’s a whole different set of tools, which I get to learn from scratch and regularly my reaction is: „Oh, this is so nice and simple!“ or „This makes so much sense!“

I am excited to see how they will establish themselves in my workflows long-term. But they are definitely here to stay.

Show threadHouse Panther Jul 20, 2025
@jana @stefano I’m a fan of the BSDs as well. As long as it is open source software, I’m going to love it.
Show threadd4gliJul 20, 2025

Keep in mind - at least when running multiple hypervisor nodes - that bhyve still does not provide possibilities to live migrate guests across the nodes.

@gyptazy wrote a great post about the situation which you can find here https://gyptazy.com/bhyve-on-freebsd-and-vm-live-migration-quo-vadis/

@jana @stefano

bhyve on FreeBSD and VM Live Migration – Quo vadis? • gyptazy - The DevOps Geek

When I think about bhyve Live Migration, it's something I encounter almost daily in my consulting calls. VMware's struggles with Broadcom's licensing issues have been a frequent topic, even as we approach the end of 2024. It's surprising that many customers still feel uncertain about how to navigate this mess. While VMware has been a

gyptazy - The DevOps Geek • DevOps, coding, cloud and open source in a geeky way.
Show threadJanaJul 20, 2025

@d4gli I am aware of that limitations and luckily it is not relevant for my setup :)

Thanks for the heads up though!

Show threadvermadenJul 20, 2025

@stefano

With BSD Cafe you did more then other similar initiatives in more then a decade.

Kudos mate!

Show threadStephan Lichtenauer | נח סתוJul 20, 2025
@stefano Thanks so much for being such an excellent host and all the great Cappuccino and Cantuccini!
Show threadArmin HanischJul 20, 2025
@stefano Happy Birthday BSDCafe and congrats to you, Stefano! 👏🏼🎊🥳👍🏼
Show threadKaiXinJul 20, 2025
Happy anniversary and thanks for creating this amazing community!
Show threaddliteJul 21, 2025
@stefano Happy birthday, bsd.cafe! And many thanks to you, Stefano, for being such a great Barista, both technically and socially.