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Below you can find some of the many ways to socialize at LibrePlanet 2024: Cultivating Community. Come as you are – everyone is welcome at all events! We celebrate all identities, ages, and ethnical backgrounds.

Friday night "open" office


On Friday night, the LibrePlanet festivities start early at the Free Software Foundation office. Join us for socializing and snacks, but arrive early! We have a small office, so for everyone's safety, we're capping the attendance at fifty. FSF staffers will be letting more people in as others leave, so you may have to wait at the door.

You'll be able to pick up your conference badge (and purchase raffle tickets), allowing you to skip the line on Saturday morning! The FSF office is a short walk from the Downtown Crossing, State, and Park Street MBTA stops. The FSF office is an accessible space, and is at 51 Franklin Street, 5th Floor, Boston, MA 02110.

  • Time: 18:00--20:00, Friday, May 3, 2024
  • Location: FSF office
  • Sign up: Not necessary

GNU Boot Install Party


Would you like to free your computer? Come to the GNU Boot Install party and install GNU Boot, a free software BIOS/UEFI replacement, on your computer. Volunteers will be available to help you with the installation and the GNU Boot maintainers will be available remotely for questions and feedback. We will support the following computers: ThinkPad X200, ThinkPad X60, ThinkPad X60s, ThinkPad X60t, ThinkPad T60 with an Intel GPU. Note that GNU Boot is still experimental. You can help to improve it by installing it. Visit the LibrePlanet wiki for more information.

  • Time: Saturday, May 4, 09:30-13:00 EDT, and Sunday, May 5, 09:30-13:00 EDT
  • Location: Wentworth Institute of Technology, room Beatty 419
  • Signup: The signup is not mandatory but it could help us prepare better, especially if you specify which computer you will bring and what BIOS is on this computer. You can add this information to the list of attendees on the BOF page.

Saturday night walk


On Saturday evening, starting at 18:35, join us for a walk from the venue, along the Emerald Necklace, up Newbury Street, through the Boston Gardens and Commons, to Quincy Market in the North End, where we will have a huge number of restaurants to choose from for dinner (5.6 kilometers or 3.5 miles (about 100 minutes, since we'll be in a group and therefore slower)). We'll be playing a game while we walk, "Who knows the FSF best?," with the winner being awarded their prize at the end of the walk. It's an opportunity for you to get some fresh air and exercise, see a bit of Boston, and, if you want, interact with other conference goers in a relaxed environment. We'll be going past a number of Boston landmarks and past many restaurants, in case you wanted to cut out earlier. In the event of bad weather, we will all take the Green Line from the MFA to Quincy Market. An RSVP to info@fsf.org, while not required, is greatly appreciated; it will help us gauge interest.

  • Time: 18:35–20:15, Saturday, May 4, 2024
  • Location: Wentworth Institute of Technology to Quincy Market, via Newbury Street and the Boston Gardens and Common
  • Sign up: Contact info@fsf.org

Hack night


Looking for a little quieter social time? The FSF office will be open late for hacking and hanging out. Snacks, drinks, and power will be provided! Please be aware that this is an alcohol-free event. We have a small office, so for everyone's safety, we're capping the attendance at fifty.

  • Time: 19:00 - 21:30, Saturday, May 4, 2024
  • Location: FSF office
  • Signup: Not necessary

Diversity breakfast

Hosted by Savvy Smith

This is a space for women, nonbinary people and all those who have been traditionally excluded from technological and social causes to feel at home and find ways for people of similar backgrounds to participate. We'll have breakfast together and can take public transport to get to the conference together afterwards. Please RSVP by emailing info@fsf.org, so we can make sure there's enough food for everyone.

Annual FSF associate members meeting


Get together with other FSF associate members to share your feedback with the FSF. Share your thoughts on the Foundation, the free software movement, and what you want to see more of. This event is organized by associate members and notes from the meeting will be shared with FSF staff. To participate in the meeting remotely, jump on the FSF member forum #fsf-members to join the discussion.

  • Time: 13:00--14:00 EDT (17:00 UTC), Saturday, May 4, 2024
  • Location: Wentworth Institute of Technology, room Saturn
  • Link for remote participants: will be shared on the associate member IRC channel #fsf-members
  • Sign up: Become a member

Licensing table


Have you ever had a question about the GNU General Public License (GPL) or free software licenses that you didn't find time to ask? Now you will have an unique opportunity to meet the Licensing and Compliance Lab in person and talk about anything related to licensing. Krzysztof and Craig will be at the registration booth on Sunday, 13:00–14:00.

  • Time: 13:00–14:00, Sunday, May 5, 2024
  • Location: Wentworth Institute of Technology, registration booth (Space Station)
  • Sign up: Not necessary

Newcomer orientation

Hosted by Savvy Smith

Is this your first LibrePlanet? A very warm welcome! Looking to connect with other people and to get an overview what's going on? Ask at the registration booth for our newcomer orientation.

Birds of a Feather social events


You can host a social get-together during LibrePlanet too! Read more information about how to organize a Birds of a Feather session.

  • Sign up: https://libreplanet.org/wiki/LibrePlanet:Conference/2024/BOF