Its the 25th anniversary of this volunteer organized event. Potentially Europe's largest open source festival. I feel so darn privileged to attend it in person on the ULB campus.

For those who are curious about what powers streaming from FOSDEM, here are some docs on those [FOSDEM boxes](https://github.com/FOSDEM/video-hardware)

Kubecon is probably bigger these days but it's much more corporate and expensive.

Yeah! Been to Kubecon EU twice, I think you're right. Valencia and Amsterdam. Way too expensive, corporate and marketing(ish) in my view. I couldn't have gone without employer's support. It's not the same crowd one would meet at these events though.

The Linux Foundation events are actually probably more relevant to the topics I covered at Red Hat and again as an analyst. But I wouldn't pay for passes out of my own pocket. I was at the Kubecon in Amsterdam but skipped Valencia. Been to quite a few over the years starting fairly early-on (maybe 2nd or 3rd) when they were still quite small.

It might be too big. I'm there right now, and the queues are so long that it's put me off from watching a lot of the talks.

This has been the case of years. My first FOSDEM was about a decade ago and it felt like that then. You go to a room a talk or two before the talk you actually want to see because of the queues, which means you’re in a talk you didn’t necessarily want to go to, at the expense of someone who might have wanted to. So they’ll queue a talk or two ahead next time, ad infinitum

Last time I went was 2018, I don't really remember any queues back then. I might be misremembering, but I do remember attending a lot of the talks I wanted to.

If you are going to specific devrooms instead of specific talks, you usually don't need to wait in line before getting in. At least that was my experience last year: I got there early in the morning and the rooms were not very full.

True, depends on the room of course. Rust was crazily crowded last year but this year they had a much bigger room and it was OK.

The queue for the Belgian Fries truck is always longest;-)

Tbh fosdem has long felt like an event that runs on autopilot because it mostly serves as a regular meeting point for the same cliques of people every year. They are not in a rush to change anything.

The fact that you can't catch talks unless you camp in the room is a consequence.

I don't think it's too big, just uncurated and not very accessible. Everyone is there to talk to their own circles.

I think that's all pretty true. The last couple times I went, I mostly camped out in a few Devrooms that I was more interested in (for the most part) and it was a much more pleasant experience than trying to constantly hop from room to room. You can always watch the videos--although the reality is that most of us don't really get around to it in general.

I wouldn't put off newcomers though. While people do connect with those they already know, generally all groups are friendly and welcoming to newcomers, too.

The queues are one thing, another is the terrible ventilation inside the devrooms. I ended up most of today listening to talks in the Janson auditorium, as it at least has breathable atmosphere.

"The FOSDEM 2025 live streaming box" - https://youtu.be/UcOWAD8b12g

Do the Java talks in the video recordings have audio?

The mic in the room isn‘t working (and I find the room too warm), so I have given up. But maybe they are recording a separate audio track using a smartphone or so for later post-processing, so the videos will be good?

Aspects of FOSDEM are really great but there are way too many people and trying to move from room to room is pretty much impossible for the most part. Last couple I went to, I pretty much camped out at a Devroom that interested me and that was much better. Also CfgMgmtCamp in Ghent which is right after FOSDEM holds less interest for me than it used to as that space has changed a lot.

I feel somewhat badly being negative but probably not my thing any longer.

It‘s my first FOSDEM, and I just learned that queuing up half an hour beforehand doesn‘t necessarily mean you get inside.

But enough negativity, it really is awesome!

The popular hallway track! Talk to the people while you queue up, what they are working on, what their interests are etc may be super interesting than the actual talk itself. It may be intimidating at first but almost everyone I have encountered at fosdem are fellow nerds and easy to talk to. Remember there (almost) always streaming and recording, don't be so disappointed if you miss a talk.

what are your favorite events? :)

I like some of the smaller events a couple of analyst firms put on. I like the Linux Foundation's Member Summit; that's invite only but I've spoken there a number of times. Also their Open Source Summit. Kubecon has gotten pretty big but I will actually be going to the one in London because I'll be over there anyway. When I was at Red Hat, I usually went to their Summit which I liked--in part because I knew so many people there. Devconf.cz. Also have been to Devconf.us but Red Hat may be rationalizing some of the pure open source US events they're the primary sponsor of.

I have liked FOSDEM in the past. But, as I say, it's gotten pretty big and crowded and some other events in Europe that have been timed to coincide with it aren't of as much interest to me these days.

Yes video stream and recording has proper audio. Always be ready for layering up and down when visiting FOSDEM. Probably not helpful this time but for the next.

Room sound issues in the Java Devroom has just been fixed! Thanks to the folks that worked so hard on it since the morning

The combination of very squeaky stairs, a lack of microphone, and hallway noise made it really hard to follow any of the talks. Will have to rewatch some of them later.

Looking at the news,

>Treasure hunters, we have an update! Unfortunately, some of our signs have been removed or stolen, but don’t worry—the hunt is still on!

Amuses me. I like to imagine it's black hat treasure hunters trying to hamstring the competition, but I know it's probably the cleaning staff.

Ooh, that's what those posters are. I saw them and was perplexed. Didn't know there's a treasure hunt.

FOSDEM these days is best experienced online. The streaming is great.

It was my first FOSDEM, and I managed to see everything I wanted on my schedule. I met a man from Poland in the tramway the first day and apparently, it's not supposed to be possible (but he was right about there are always two talks you want to see at the same time). I just wish Lennart had enough time to talk about everything he planned, I need to learn more about mkosi.

Anyway, my only regret was not able to stay longer to meet other contributors due to my trains constraints. I didn't plan anything, I need to do better.