Most of us appreciate the freedom to get along with people, even the ones we disagree with. Not the freedom to disagree, although that's nice too. Just the freedom to, at least some of the time, stop arguing and let the other person be wrong.
That freedom is under threat!
You wouldn't think it, since who could get mad at you for just not arguing? But thanks to social media activism, this option is disappearing. The new rule is: anyone who isn't with us is against us, and every group, however apolitical, needs to interrogate its members to make sure none of them have incorrect opinions.
We refuse to remain silent and let that happen.
Background
In 2014, a small group of programmers founded LambdaConf. They had never organized a conference before. But they had enthusiasm, a beautiful Rocky Mountain setting, and, most importantly, people from all walks of life eager to attend and talk code, to share their work and their knowledge, that others might benefit from it. In the two years since then, it has grown into one of the most popular functional programming conferences in the world.
They host a wide range of presenters speaking on a myriad of technical topics. They organize training seminars, workshops, and various other activities. They offer diversity scholarships and boast on-site childcare. It is, in their words, "a magical place where faraway travelers can come to make new friends, share new experiences, and find renewed hope and passion for writing better software."
LambdaConf has a submission process similar to an academic journal: papers are submitted, author information is redacted, and a group of people read the proposals and decide which are interesting and innovative enough to warrant sharing with attendees. This blind review process guards against unconscious bias, and their code of conduct is radically inclusive, committed to protecting anyone who just wants to share their work and is willing to be tolerant and civil.
Unfortunately, that very focus on inclusivity has made LambdaConf a target.
A Manufactured Controversy
One of the speakers invited is Curtis Yarvin, mathematician and programmer, there to talk about his work, a programming environment called "Urbit."
Curtis Yarvin also used to be a blogger, years ago. Not just a blogger; a blogger about that dread subject, politics. Not just a political blogger; one from far political fringes, with ideas almost no one agrees with and many are offended by.
The blog had nothing to do with his selection for the conference - after all, the submissions are anonymized - and doesn't affect the technical merits of his work. But social media activists targeted LambdaConf anyway, demanding they remove him from the conference.
LambaConf listened to the demands, and responded with long and well-considered reflection on the decision-making process that led to his invitation to speak. With the conference organizers standing by their code of conduct and their principles, the activists turned on the sponsors of the event. Because they couldn't get their way, they hoped to sink the conference entirely.
This Campaign
No conference can be all things for all people. Some spaces are political, and people should be free to choose to enter those spaces, or not. But other spaces, especially professional spaces where we earn our livings or advance the state of our arts, should be allowed to check politics at the door. We oppose the ideological crusade of these activists to force all conferences to cater to their agenda or be de-funded.
To that end, we at Status 451 decided to put our money where our mouth is, to the tune of $3,000. We are proud to be official sponsors of a conference dedicated to sharing knowledge on the basis of public interest and technical merit, rather than miring itself in personal or political matters irrelevant to professional spaces.
With so many sponsors withdrawing their backing due to a coordinated campaign to bleed the conference out, money is tight. We hope, with your help, to recoup for them what they've lost.
We support LambdaConf's mission to provide a space where all are free to share their work with the community, that we may benefit from what they know, and do good work as well.
Please join us by donating.
If you can spare $50 or $250, that will help a lot. Even if you’ve got just $15, please pitch in. Help support LambdaConf and help support a culture where not everything is politicized - a culture where have the freedom to disagree with each other but still teach and learn and contribute.