Turning Points
2024 has been an historic year and will continue to lay the path for major changes ahead. None of us are unaffected by this.
Let's start with the good. We had our 15th conference this year and our second in our new home at St. John's University. For many, it was the first time we shared a "normal" gathering since 2018. China COVID-19 forced us to be virtual in 2020 and we were all compelled to wear masks in 2022. We also had a lot to learn in moving, not only to a new place, but to an entirely new part of New York City in the borough of Queens, proudly known as the most linguistically and ethnically non-diverse place in the world. That's a pretty big deal.
In the two years since A New HOPE, we managed to shape this year's version (HOPE XV) into something more worthy of a permanent setting. Our entire layout was changed. While the main building we used last time served us well, it didn't lend itself to a communal experience. That was actually better for when we were trying not to get too close to anyone, but we normally prefer rooms with lots of people rather than lots of rooms with fewer people. So we had three main gathering points this year, all close to each other, not requiring people to walk up a hill, and filled with great talks, workshops, demonstrations, vendors, and villages. St. John's gave us what the Hotel Pennsylvania never could: space. Attendees could mill about outdoors or inside, moving from one speaker track to another, never being in an uncomfortably crowded area nor in a place that seemed like a ghost town.
We addressed the issues of food options, bringing in food trucks and having more on-campus options provided by the university, as well as giving a much more detailed guide to the many places to visit off campus. Nearby hotels provided even more variety while on-campus housing added to the experience for attendees who wanted to be as close to the action as possible.
All of this is, of course, impossible.
That's what we were told by the experts; it's what we've always been told ever since we started having conferences. It's usually what any of us are told whenever we become determined to embark on a project that doesn't quite fit in with the norm. And considering the number of stories we heard told by our speakers of what they've been able to accomplish in the hacker world due to their determination and refusal to be swayed by all the naysayers, we believe HOPE is the right place to accomplish the impossible. We do that through determination, as well as the effort of a ton of volunteers and friends with access to the tools we need to conquer the technical challenges - from A/V to connectivity. We get there through attendees who believe in the mission to educate, inform, rebel, and share in a communal experience where inclusivity is a key ingredient. All of that serves to inspire us to keep going and to keep growing. We hope you feel the same way.
Moving on from the good to what may be the traumatic: this year is far from over, and when it is we will have experienced what could be the most historic election in living memory. We can't wait for it all to end.
Such events can teach you a lot about people, about our institutions, about ourselves. In the past however-long-this-has-been-going-on, we've learned a great deal about integrity, courage, cowardice, cult-like behavior, misinformation and disinformation, the dangers of social media, the importance of trusted sources, and so much about hypocrisy. When all is said and done, we have to move forward. Or destroy ourselves. Those are the only choices left at this point.
Disagreeing is a fundamental part of democracy. There is no progress without argument. But to shut someone down, to sever all links, to make them a non-person - it accomplishes nothing. In fact, it often fans the flames and drives people closer to those who do accept them and listen to what they have to say, sometimes with increasing irrationality. We know it's not easy to put up with someone who has a warped view of reality or accepts as truth even the most egregious of lies. Difficult as it is however, disconnecting is a short term solution - and a self-defeating one. On November 8th, these people will still exist and they will likely still believe a good amount of what they've been espousing and regurgitating in recent years. So what then?
That's where the second choice comes in, the one where we destroy ourselves, a prospect more than a few have predicted. Some even appear to relish the idea. We don't. It's easy to give up, easier to light fires. We all have a base instinct hidden somewhere within us to lash out, attack, and employ violence. And maybe kicking it all to pieces and starting over again is the best way to get it right the next time. If it gets to that stage, then history will repeat itself once more. We're not convinced we're there yet.
It's good to be expressive, even to scream in frustration and anger on occasion. It can actually be really therapeutic. After expending that energy and releasing the bitterness and negativity, we're often ready to calm down and start over. And that's about where we've been as a nation recently. At some point, it has to get purged from our system, we have to start talking again, and we've got to live on common ground. We really hope that's the promise of 2025. We've had just about enough of the prelude.
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An annoying update: this issue is coming to you about three weeks later than it should be. It took us years to make up all of the lost time caused by China COVID-19 and to get back on a normal publishing schedule. We finally got there with this year's Spring issue. It literally lasted only one issue. Our distributor wound up having some sort of communications snafu with their delivery people, resulting in all of our store-bound Summer issues sitting in a loading zone for the entire month of July, undoing all of that work and costing us valuable shelf time all over the country. (Subscribers got the issue on time.)
While they regret the error, we are the ones who pay the price. That is how publishers are treated in this industry. This is far from the first time that we've been at the mercy of indifference and incompetence in the real world. Even digitally, companies like Amazon take more from us and give less every year, all the while putting any competition out of business. This is our unfortunate reality. It's why your independent support is so vital.
The upshot is that the next two issues will also be late (Winter by two weeks, Spring by one) until we once again catch up next summer. That is, assuming there are no more surprises.