NixOS, governance 
If you care about the future of #NixOS, its governance, and its policies, right about now would be a good moment to get involved.
Some of the issues currently on the table:
- NixCon sponsorship by an arms dealer (Anduril)
- Moderation issues in the community, safety threats to marginalized folks
- What acceptable forms of participation are for the formal RFCs
A lot of things feel like they are coming to a head right about now, with the community growing rapidly, and I suspect that the decisions made are going to have long-term effects.
So if you've been waiting for a moment to get involved, that moment is probably now.
NixOS, governance 
NixOS, governance
@monk Because money never comes with strings, and you really don't want arms dealers involved in your community to begin with - it's basically a guarantee that they will end up using your contributions to kill vulnerable folks.
Money makes it worse; the reason these companies spend money on things like NixOS is because it legitimizes their reputation and serves as a recruitment tool, which makes the world worse for everyone. It's not charity, it's marketing budget.
This is blood money almost as literally as it gets, with all the consequences (moral and practical) that come with it.
NixOS, governance
@someonetellmetosleep @monk Oops, yeah, you're right. No editing on this instance though...
CW: racial violence, death, weapons, trans/homophobia RE: NixOS, governance
@monk adding onto the previous answer by @joepie91, I know myself and many people I know personally would not be comfortable attending a conference or working on/with a project that had corporate sponsors whose entire business is propped up on killing. As a trans person, they are selling guns and other weapons to cops who don't have my personal interest in being properly gendered when the cops are called on me because someone thinks I'm in the wrong restroom. They are selling guns to cops who are killing black and brown folks for seemingly no reason, and those cops are getting away with it. They're making guns for people who would like nothing more than for me and most of my friends to be wiped off the face of the earth, since "the gays are corrupting the youth" and "being trans is a trend and you're an evil groomer!"
As someone who can maybe do something about it, I think it's morally imperative to try and do what I can, to help not just myself and my friends, but people who I don't know, people who I will never know, because the world deserves to be a better place.
Plus, these companies don't really care about you, they just want the reputation of seeming like they care about the community. They don't care if NixOS survives forever, they just care about what will help them next quarter. It's all short-term gain for them, no thoughts about longevity and who is behind the faces and the contributors to Nix. That's why we shouldn't accept these companies.
NixOS, governance 
At least we have made some progress on this front. It seems all accept that sponsorships ≠ donations. Donations are one-way offerings without return. Sponsorships are mutually agreed on and contain different perks for the sponsor.
I personally would be much more comfortable when such parties just donated instead of trying to get the benefits of being a sponsor.
The main discussion is here: https://discourse.nixos.org/t/should-organizations-relating-to-the-defense-sector-being-able-to-sponsor-nixos/41252/
NixOS, governance :boost_requested:
@joepie91@social.pixie.town forgive me for what is maybe a google-able question, but… do you have any advice on how to get involved? In particular, I’m deeply unhappy with the Anduril thing (I’m definitely worried about the other two; I just have no context for them at the moment).
I think nixOS is a fantastic OS and fantastic tool for so many things and I would like to see positive growth. I have some personal investment in it, too, but am not sure how to go about helping on these issues. Thank you!
NixOS, governance :boost_requested:
@joepie91@social.pixie.town ooops, I see this question has been asked already! Sorry, I usually remember to check posts at their home server (mine isn’t syncing the replies, so it looked empty).
NixOS, governance
@aud No worries :) And yep, I was about to link that. I wish I had a better answer.
NixOS, governance :boost_requested:
@joepie91@social.pixie.town I see your response now; time to fire up matrix I suppose!
NixOS, governance :boost_requested:
@joepie91@social.pixie.town I see someone asked a question about what the problem of being sponsored by an arms dealer is (because it would take money from the arms dealer, leaving less for arms), and I would say this: no capitalist project, especially the military industrial kind, gives money that they don’t expect to see returned X-fold. I guarantee that for every dollar they ‘give’, they get more back.
NixOS, governance 
@joepie91 i signed the letter as well: https://nixos-users-against-mic-sponsorship.github.io/
NixOS, governance
Some places where conversation about the Anduril sponsorship is currently ongoing:
- https://discourse.nixos.org/t/should-organizations-relating-to-the-defense-sector-being-able-to-sponsor-nixos/41252 (discussing whether the sponsorship is desirable)
- https://matrix.to/#/#nixcon-sponsor-discussion:nixos.org (Matrix room with currently a discussion how to respond to it as a community - please read back some history before getting involved to avoid reruns!)