DebConf team members, Debian Project Leader, We have tried hard to build something that would make DebConf work more inclusive, diverse and enjoyable for everybody involved, because first and foremost we care about the people who work hard year after year to make the conference happen.
Sadly, our efforts have been met with such a resistance by a very vocal minority, that in the end the atmosphere has become unbearably toxic -- for us and for many others. For the benefit of the team, but more importantly for our own health, we have decided to step down. Despite working very hard for a long time trying to follow our mandate, it has become patently clear that some people will keep boycotting any efforts at consensus-building until their particular vision is applied. The "argue until everyone else goes away" approach, which has previously driven away a number of long-term team members, has now succeeded even with us Chairs. We do not take this decision lightly. We care deeply about this conference: it has been a very important part of our life for a long time. Not only have we spent way too much time on DebConf since our delegation as Chairs: we have been involved for many years, some of us for almost a decade, and two of us were local team at some point, with the incredibly hard work that it entails. We believe the course which is being pushed for the organisation team to take is going to be detrimental for both the conference and for the volunteers who have graciously donated their free time to make it happen. But we no longer believe that we are capable of steering the team into another direction. In conclusion, effective immediately, we resign from the position of DebConf Chairs. It is up to the DPL to decide whether to appoint a replacement or to leave the position vacant. We will refrain from being involved in that process. We wish you all good luck, and we sincerely hope things will change for the better. Cate, Tassia, Tincho. _______________________________________________ Debconf-team mailing list Debconf-team@lists.debconf.org http://lists.debconf.org/mailman/listinfo/debconf-team
