Yesterday, the schedule for the next EuroBSDCon, which will be held in Zagreb, Croatia, from 25 to 28 September 2025, was published.

Last year I attended EuroBSDCon and it was a fantastic experience. I enjoyed every single moment, and connecting with the people who conceive, develop, disseminate, and are passionate about *BSD and the open-source world was an unforgettable experience. I flooded the Venue with BSD Cafe stickers and attended some incredibly interesting presentations. I wrote about it in an article for the FreeBSD Journal, where I tried, as much as possible, to convey the positivity I felt at the event.

Such a positive experience pushed me, a few months later, to propose a talk for BSDCan as well – an incredible experience itself, which I will write about in more detail later.

Reading this year’s program, I see a problem that I also had to face last year and last month at BSDCan: there are so many interesting presentations that they will overlap. Fortunately, the video team will provide live streams and recordings of the individual talks, allowing us to watch the presentations even if delayed.

In Zagreb, Jeroen ( @h3artbl33d – admin of Exquisite.social) and I will present “Liberating the social web using *BSD” – a 90 minutes presentation where we will talk about our experiences with Exquisite and BSD Cafe – delving into both technical and human details – an incredible experience from both points of view.

I suggest taking a look at the program and, if possible, participating. I can assure you it’s definitely worth it.

Hey, all! I’m seeking some help testing an application I whipped up for the Geosocial task force of the W3C Social Web Community Group. It’s called https://checkin.swf.pub/ , and it’s a barebones checkin service, similar to Swarm, but implemented as a pure Web client. You can watch the application in action.

videopress.com/embed/zCMu0OeZ?…

It logs into your account on an ActivityPub server using OAuth 2.0. It then reads your inbox, filtering the activities there to only show geosocial ones. You can use the geolocation services in the browser, and the places.pub service for a place vocabulary, to find nearby places. You can then “check in” to one of the places, with a note, and control of the privacy of the activity.

Geosocial activities are part of the core Activity Vocabulary that underlies ActivityPub. But, they’re not as widely implemented as other activities in the vocabulary. This app is trying to change that, by making them available on the network, and making it easy to create them.

To test the client, your service will need to support:

• Webfinger (for login)
• ActivityPub API (“client-to-server”, “C2S”)
• FEP-d8c2 (OAuth 2.0 profile for ActivityPub API)
• proxyUrl (for fetching data from remote servers)

To test federation, your service will need to support:

• Receiving Arrive, Leave, and Travel activities
• Showing those activities to users

As of this writing, Mastodon does not work for either of these. If you want to test receiving federated messages, follow me on evan@onepage.pub . I’ve been using it a lot!

Code for the checkin application is here: github.com/social-web-foundati…

This is my second ActivityPub API client (ap, the command-line client, was my first), and my first one for the Web. I found this process really fun and invigorating. I was able to create a new kind of social networking application (well, new on the Fediverse…) purely from the client side. The app saves no data to the server; everything is done in the browser.

Please reach out on GitHub or comment here if you want to work on interoperability. I’m happy to help debug connections if needed.

Dear friends of the BSD Cafe,

This idea has been in my mind since the very beginning of this adventure, almost two years ago. Over time, several people have suggested it. But until recently, I felt the timing just wasn’t right — for many reasons. Today, I believe it finally is.

So I’m happy to announce a new service: The BSD Cafe Journal.

What is The BSD Cafe Journal?

At first, I thought I’d use BSSG for it (I even added multi-author support with this in mind), but in the end, it didn’t feel like the right tool for the job.

The idea is to create a multi-author space, with content published on a fairly regular basis. A reference point for news, updates, tutorials, technical articles — a place to inform and connect.

Just like people in Italy used to stop by cafés to read the newspaper and chat about the day’s news, the BSD Cafe Journal aims to be a space for reading, sharing, and staying informed — all in the spirit of the BSD Cafe.

What it’s Not

• It’s not here to replace personal blogs, or excellent newsletters like Vermaden’s.
• It’s not an aggregator.

What it Is

• A place where authors can write original content.
• A space to share links to posts on their own blogs or elsewhere.
• A platform to publish guides, offer insights, or dive into technical explanations.

Our Guiding Principles

The guiding principles are the same as always: positivity, constructive discussion, promoting BSDs and open source in general.

• No hype: Sharing a cool new service is fine, posting non-stop about the latest trend is not.
• No drama, no politics: The goal is to bring people together, not divide them. To inform, not inflame.
• Respect, tolerance, and inclusivity are key. Everyone should feel welcome reading the BSD Cafe Journal — never judged, offended, or excluded.

Why WordPress?

The platform I’ve chosen is WordPress, for several reasons:

• It’s portable (runs well on all BSDs).
• It has great built-in role management (contributors, authors, etc.).
• And — last but not least — it supports ActivityPub.

This means every author will have their own identity in the Fediverse and can be followed directly, and it’ll also be possible to follow the whole Journal.

Original and educational content is encouraged, but it’s also perfectly fine to link to existing articles elsewhere. Personally, I’ll link my technical posts from ITNotes whenever I publish them there.

The goal is simple: a news-oriented site, rich in content, ad-free, respectful of privacy — all under the BSD Cafe umbrella.

Getting Involved

Content coordination will happen in a dedicated Matrix room for authors. There’s also a public room for discussing ideas, giving feedback, and sharing suggestions.

Of course, I can’t do this alone. A journal with no content is just an empty shell.

So here’s my call to action:

Who’s ready to lend a hand? If you enjoy writing, explaining, sharing your knowledge — the Journal is waiting for you!

Welcome to The BSD Cafe Journal! This platform is an extension of the BSD Cafe, born from a long-held vision to create a central, multi-author space for the BSD and open-source communities. Just like the traditional Italian cafés (called “bar“) where people gathered to read the news and chat, our Journal aims to be a vibrant hub for reading, sharing, and staying informed.

What You’ll Find Here

The BSD Cafe Journal is dedicated to providing original, educational, and insightful content on a regular basis. You can expect:

• News and Updates: Stay current with the latest happenings in the BSD and Open Source worlds.
• Tutorials and Guides: Learn new skills and deepen your understanding.
• Technical Articles: Dive into detailed explanations and analyses.
• Author Contributions: Our writers will share original articles, link to their own blog posts (but not only), and offer unique perspectives.

This isn’t an aggregator, nor is it here to replace your favorite personal blogs or newsletters. Instead, it’s a complementary space where authors can contribute high-quality content that informs and connects our community.

Our Guiding Principles

The BSD Cafe Journal operates on the same core values that define the BSD Cafe:

• Positivity and Constructive Discussion: We aim to build up, not tear down. Supporters, not haters.
• Promoting BSDs and Open Source: Our focus is on the advancement and sharing of knowledge within these communities.
• No Hype, No Drama, No Politics: We steer clear of trends, conflicts, and divisive topics. Our goal is to unite, not inflame.
• Respect, Tolerance, and Inclusivity: Everyone is welcome here. We strive to create an environment where readers and contributors alike feel respected, never judged, offended, or excluded.

Our Platform: WordPress and the Fediverse

We’ve chosen WordPress for its robust features, including excellent role management for contributors and authors, its portability across BSDs, and crucially, its ActivityPub support. This means:

• Individual Author Identities: Each author can have their own identity within the Fediverse and be followed directly.
• Follow the Journal: You can also follow the entire Journal to get all our updates.

We encourage original content, but also welcome links to relevant articles published elsewhere. For example, the founder will link technical posts from ITNotes when they’re published. Our aim is a content-rich, ad-free, privacy-respecting news site under the BSD Café umbrella.

Join the Conversation!

Content coordination for authors happens in a dedicated, private Matrix room. We also have a public Matrix room (matrix.to/#/#bsdcafejournal:bs…) where you can discuss ideas, provide feedback, and share suggestions with the community.

The success of the Journal depends on its contributors. If you enjoy writing, explaining, and sharing your knowledge, we invite you to join us! The Journal is waiting for your unique voice.

Red Feather is dedicated to improving housing conditions on the Hopi and Navajo nations in the Four Corners region. It has helped thousands of families with stove replacement, heat pump installation and weatherization assistance. The group has been doing this work for decades, but in recent years, it has seen a surge in work, in part due to increased funding from the federal government.

A big part of that funding, a $500,000 environmental justice grant Red Feather received from the Environmental Protection Agency, has now been terminated.

Red Feather is just one of hundreds of groups that have had grants meant to help disadvantaged communities canceled by the Trump administration. An Inside Climate News analysis, which relied on federal government spending data and federal court filings from the Trump administration, found the EPA’s grant terminations focused almost entirely on cutting spending on poor and minority communities, affecting 384 primary grants worth more than $2.4 billion.

“At the end of the day, we’re about solutions,” said Joe Seidenberg, Red Feather’s executive director. “And the solutions we’re advancing—clean heating, affordable energy, local workforce development—deliver real value, no matter who’s in office.”

Full Article

cross-posted from: rss.ponder.cat/post/216468

EU leaders have reached a political agreement to extend existing sanctions against Russia for another six months, but they did not approve the new, 18th package of restrictive measures.

Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty editor Rikard Jozwiak on X (Twitter), as reported by European Pravda

Details: Jozwiak’s sources said that the leaders had agreed to extend all current sanctions against Russia for another six months.

"No agreement among EU leaders on the latest sanctions package – 18th. Slovakia is still not giving green light. Discussions likely resume among EU ambassadors in the coming days", the journalist wrote.

Jozwiak did not mention Hungary, which had also previously threatened to block the sanctions.

Background:

Earlier, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico stated that Slovakia would demand a postponement of the vote on the 18th sanctions package against Russia until its concerns over gas supply after 2027 are addressed.Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár said that Slovakia was ready to support the sanctions package. However, he added that Slovakia would demand "guarantees" and EU support to mitigate the impact of a potential halt in Russian energy supplies.Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa stated that although she was not sure the 18th sanctions package would be approved on 26 June, her country would continue to push for additional sanctions against Russia.

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