This is a summary of the work done by Fedora Infrastructure & Release Engineering teams as of Q3 2024. As these teams are working closely together, we will summarize the work done in one blog post by both teams.
This update is made from infographics and detailed updates. If you want to just see what’s new, check the infographics. If you want more details, continue reading.
This is a summary of the work done on initiatives by the CPE Team. Every quarter, the CPE team works together with CentOS Project and Fedora Project community leaders and representatives to choose projects that will be being worked upon in that quarter. The CPE team is then split into multiple smaller sub-teams that will work on the chosen initiatives + day-to-day work that needs to be done. Some of the sub-teams are dedicated to the continuous efforts in the team whilst some are created only for the initiative purposes.
This update is made from infographics and detailed updates. If you want to just see what’s new, check the infographics. If you want more details, continue reading.
Flock to Fedora 2024, held in Rochester, New York from August 7th to 10th, soared to new heights, bringing together Fedora contributors and enthusiasts for four days of immersive learning, dynamic collaboration, and vibrant community building. The event seamlessly blended in-person interactions with live stream and recorded sessions via YouTube for the first two days, ensuring accessibility for a wider audience. Using Matrix Chat for seamless communication and a well-structured online schedule, Flock 2024 successfully fulfilled its mission of uniting the Fedora community, fostering connections, and sparking a wave of innovation.
Target Audience
The primary target audience was Fedora contributors, encompassing developers, packagers, designers, documentation writers, and anyone actively involved in the Fedora Project. The event also welcomed newcomers and those curious about Fedora and open source.
Attendees
Rochester welcomed a diverse and passionate group of attendees, including, but not limited to:
The majority of the Fedora Council, FESCo, and Mindshare Committee members.
Fedora Project Leader Matthew Miller, Fedora Operations Architect Aoife Moloney, Fedora Community Architect Justin W. Flory
Representatives from sponsor communities, like Rocky Linux, Lenovo, Microsoft Azure, AlmaLinux, CentOS, openSUSE, ARM, Meta, and SureStep.
Numerous passionate Fedora community members. See badge scans for a full list.
Key Highlights From The Event
Engaging Keynotes: Matthew Miller’s “State of Fedora” keynote provided valuable insights into the project’s trajectory. Other impactful keynotes included Pat Riehecky’s “It is OK not to know things” and Anita Zhang’s “How (Not) To Get Into Tech,” offering diverse perspectives on the open source journey.
Dynamic Sessions and Workshops: The event featured many sessions catering to diverse interests, with popular choices including panel discussions from the Fedora Council and FESCo, “What does Red Hat want?”, and numerous talks on Bootc.
Diverse Tracks: Attendees explored three tracks, including the Flock general track, the CentOS track, and the Mentor Summit track. These tracks tool place across several rooms, like the Red Hat main stage, and the breakout rooms sponsored by Lenovo, Rocky Linux, and Microsoft Azure. Topics ranged from technical deep dives (OpenQA, Konflux, eBPF, AI/ML, RISC-V) to community-building initiatives and DEI efforts.
International Candy Swap: This unique tradition fostered cross-cultural connections as attendees shared sweets and stories from their home countries.
Fedora Community Engagement
The Fedora community was actively involved throughout the event.
Community members contributed as speakers, workshop leaders, and attendees, driving discussions and knowledge sharing.
Topics like Bootc and the future of Fedora sparked lively conversations and collaboration.
Community Participation and Recognition
Booth Staff/Volunteers: The dedicated volunteer team, including those listed on the Flock 2024 – Volunteers sign-up sheet, ensured a smooth and welcoming experience for all attendees. Their tireless efforts were critical to the event’s success.
Speakers: A diverse group of speakers shared their expertise and insights, fostering learning and inspiring attendees. Myself and two of my fellow interns, Adrian Edwards and Roseline Bassey, presented a hybrid presentation of pre-recorded and live sessions as part of the Mentored Projects Showcase. You can see the full speaker list on the conference schedule.
Virtual Events
Livestream & Recordings: The event’s first two days were live-streamed and recorded, allowing virtual participants to engage with the content.
Viewership Data:
Day 1:
Red Hat Room: Over 1,000 views
Lenovo Room: 888 views
Rocky Linux Room: 427 views
Microsoft Azure Room: 324 views
Day 2:
Red Hat Room: 674 views
Lenovo Room: 288 views
Rocky Linux Room: 286 views
Azure Room: 213 views
Online Engagement: Social media platforms buzzed with activity, with attendees and virtual participants sharing their experiences and insights using the official hashtags #FlockToFedora, and #FlockRochester.
Challenges, Lessons Learned, and Recommendations
Streaming Capabilities: Available resources constrained our ability to live stream the entire event, while the impact of this for virtual attendees was minimized with creative scheduling, the hope is to explore improvements to the event streaming setup in the future.
Weather Disruption: The scavenger hunt was unfortunately affected by a storm, highlighting the importance of contingency plans for outdoor or weather-dependent activities.
Survey Feedback: We conducted a post-event attendee survey to collect feedback from attendees and speakers. This valuable input has guided us and will continue to guide us in implementing improvements and addressing areas of concern for future Flock events.
Conclusion
Flock to Fedora 2024 was a success, showcasing the strength and vibrancy of the Fedora community. We are already looking forward to Flock to Fedora 2025! To stay informed about future events and opportunities to get involved, visit the Fedora Project website, join the Fedora Matrix room, and follow us on social media!
Special Thanks to Our Sponsors
We extend our deepest gratitude to all our sponsors, whose generous support made Flock to Fedora 2024 possible. Your commitment to open source and the Fedora community is invaluable.
This change is being made to reflect actual practice. For example, there is clear overlap between the use-cases and potential user-bases for the current Server, Cloud, and CoreOS Editions, but each takes a different approach. We are currently considering adding an exception for a KDE Desktop Edition, which would overlap with Fedora Workstation.
Currently part of the policy currently reads in a way that prevents this exception from being possible:
A Fedora Edition:
addresses a distinct, relevant, and broad use-case or user-base that a Fedora Edition is not currently serving;
is a long term investment for the Fedora Project; and
is consistent with all of Fedora’s Four Foundations.
We propose an additional line:
The Council may make exceptions to the “distinct” rule when we determine that doing so best fits the Project’s Mission and Vision.
This topic is open for community discussion, following our Policy Change Policy. After two weeks, the Council will vote in a new ticket, and if approved, the policy will be updated.
Approval of this change would not automatically mean the approval of a KDE Desktop Edition, but would allow that possibility.
This is a summary of the work done on initiatives by the CPE Team. Every quarter, the CPE team works together with CentOS Project and Fedora Project community leaders and representatives to choose projects that will be being worked upon in that quarter. The CPE team is then split into multiple smaller sub-teams that will work on the chosen initiatives + day-to-day work that needs to be done. Some of the sub-teams are dedicated to the continuous efforts in the team whilst some are created only for the initiative purposes.
This update is made from infographics and detailed updates. If you want to just see what’s new, check the infographics. If you want more details, continue reading.
July 16, 2024 / rwright / Comments Off on Introducing the Fedora Community Operations Initiative
We’re excited to unveil the Fedora Community Operations initiative, an endeavor to boost community engagement, support everyone with more events and contribution points, and build on our amazing culture.
What is the Fedora Community Operations Initiative?
At its heart, the Community Operations Initiative is all about making Fedora an even better place to collaborate and connect. We’re focusing on two main contribution areas: Contributor Experience and Community Social Analytics. Contributor Experience means working on unified documentation, improving onboarding processes, and organizing fantastic virtual events like the Fedora Linux 40 and 41 Release Parties. Community Social Analytics will explore data from our infrastructure tools, applications, and services to help Fedora leadership and the community make smarter decisions, ultimately making Fedora an even more welcoming and efficient community for everyone.
August 1st 2024 edit: On Tuesday, July 30th, Mel Chua passed away in the company of close family and friends. We are heartbroken by this news. You can find more information on their CaringBridge page or LWN coverage by Joe Brockmeier. Mel, we miss you. <3
The Fedora Council recently received the news that Mel Chua, a Fedora contributor in the early and formative days of the Project, was placed in hospice care after a long battle against cancer. On behalf of the Fedora community, we extend our condolences and love for Mel and their loved ones. In May, we asked the community to share stories and memories of Mel at the F40 Release Party opening remarks. To honor their memory for the next generation of Fedora contributors, we compiled the stories and a reflection on Mel’s impact on Fedora, its trajectory as a Free Software community, and most importantly, their impact on the people of our community.
June 13, 2024 / madelinepeck / Comments Off on Fedora Linux 40 wallpaper talk: Unveiling the art of Open Source and nature
The Fedora Linux wallpaper is always on such a journey 😄. You can explore the creative process behind Fedora wallpapers in my previous F36 blog post.
As I write this, Fedora Linux 40 is live, and being the big four-zero the other Fedora Design Team members and I thought we should do something special. Instead of drawing inspiration from a historical STEM figure with an O last name, we opted for the word “Open” (which conveniently also starts with O!).
We always create a mind map to brainstorm different ways of interpreting the theme we could go with.
This post is a brief summary of the team’s highlights over the course of the first quarter of 2024 (January to March). The new year brought new highlights:
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