John Sullivan @johns@librem.one
Former shipper and executive director at the Free Software Foundation, now https://alliterativeadvising.com, https://crazyalansemporium.com, and recently former board of directors for https://f-droid.org.
Joined May 2019
John Sullivan
boosted
One aspect of retail we've forgotten after generations of conglomerated big box stores and subsequent online conglomeration is that of curation of products.
When you went into a family-owned hardware store in 1985, you got experts who chose products based on a balance of price and quality. Maybe they only had two kinds of hammers or one brand of bolts, but somebody selected those. There was some level of trust in what you were getting.
Now that labor is on us to filter from dozens of types and brands, based on reviews that are gamed by botnets, against manufacturers who change up the models yearly to dodge bad reviews. It's a race to the bottom because we don't have local curators who are personally invested in your returning to their store.
🧵
Is there a book written in present tense that you like? The one I'm reading now -- award-winning -- is really getting under my skin. Partly because (I think) of the tense and partly because of such glimmer trains as, "She also spies a teddy bear that your dad brought back from Colombo along with a sexually transmitted disease, which was his parting gift to your Amma. The disease was called despair."
@neil you know, I'm kind of for it.
Remember that time Bezos claimed a child tax credit? #primeday
John Sullivan
boosted
@bkuhn this is a super important point. Many FOSS projects out there that are already, today, using LLM-gen-AI. (If it's 50/50 at SFC, I (1) speculate it's much larger overall, and (2) have preliminary data confirming it in a recent paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.18341 )
FOSS leaders (including SFC) can take various stances: 1) ignore the problem, 2) tell them "don't do that" and look away, 3) provide guidance on if/how/when to use LLM-gen-AI.
SFC chose (3), which is both bold and needed.
John Sullivan
boosted
@bkuhn @noodles I didn't even bother to check the contract. But they were adamant about it on the phone. It was a slow leak and a short rental, so I did what presumably every previous renter had done and filled it back up and returned it with no further comment. Possibly because I did not pay for any of their extra insurance, yes. But this is a change from the norm earlier in my life that I remember, also without extra insurance.
"Jefferson spent about 13 percent of his salary on wine during his first presidential term."
John Sullivan
boosted
Chat GPT to me just now: There’s no NYC mayor named Mamdani. New York City’s current mayor is Eric Adams (as of June 11, 2026). If you mean a different official named Mamdani (e.g., a borough president, council member, or candidate), tell me which office and I’ll explain...
"If you're not around the table, you're going to be eaten on that table." --Alexander Stubb
John Sullivan
boosted
It's okay for AI to take over the job of writing Laffy Taffy jokes.
It's okay for AI to take over the job of writing Laffy Taffy jokes.
John Sullivan
boosted
I'm the opposite of AI, it takes me 2 hours to write a simple email and I don't consume any water at all
John Sullivan
boosted
Earlier this week we announced #SeaGL2026 new dates!!
ℹ️ Now happening October 23rd and 24th
We have also reopened the #cfp and will keep it open until June 30th
This is a new chance for you to attend and/or present.
John Sullivan
boosted
🎟️ Today is the last day to get DISCOUNTED EARLY BIRD tickets for FediCon 2026 — don't miss your chance to grab a discounted pass!
(Tickets will be regularly priced after today.)
FediCon is a conference about the Fediverse and the Open Social Web
Come be part of a community gathering focused on the Fediverse, the Social Web, and the people building the future of open social platforms.
📅 August 6–9, 2026
📍 UBC campus, Vancouver, BC
🎫 Get your FOSSY ticket, which gets you into FediCon:
https://
2026.fossy.ca/attend/tickets/
And of course the batteries are branded MedCell. I'm sure they are very special.
The (wearable) heart monitors in this hospital run on regular AA batteries, which don't last even 12 hours. Every day, twice a day, nurses are running around changing batteries. Fortunately, they have nothing better to be doing with their time. :/
Former shipper and executive director at the Free Software Foundation, now https://alliterativeadvising.com, https://crazyalansemporium.com, and recently former board of directors for https://f-droid.org.
Joined May 2019
