[BiggusDijkus]

Its the 25th anniversary of this volunteer organized event. Potentially Europe's largest open source festival. I feel so darn privileged to attend it in person on the ULB campus.

For those who are curious about what powers streaming from FOSDEM, here are some docs on those [FOSDEM boxes](https://github.com/FOSDEM/video-hardware)

[stavros]

It might be too big. I'm there right now, and the queues are so long that it's put me off from watching a lot of the talks.

[s3krit]

This has been the case of years. My first FOSDEM was about a decade ago and it felt like that then. You go to a room a talk or two before the talk you actually want to see because of the queues, which means you’re in a talk you didn’t necessarily want to go to, at the expense of someone who might have wanted to. So they’ll queue a talk or two ahead next time, ad infinitum

[weinzierl]

True, depends on the room of course. Rust was crazily crowded last year but this year they had a much bigger room and it was OK.

The queue for the Belgian Fries truck is always longest;-)

[unconed]

Tbh fosdem has long felt like an event that runs on autopilot because it mostly serves as a regular meeting point for the same cliques of people every year. They are not in a rush to change anything.

The fact that you can't catch talks unless you camp in the room is a consequence.

I don't think it's too big, just uncurated and not very accessible. Everyone is there to talk to their own circles.

[bosse]

The queues are one thing, another is the terrible ventilation inside the devrooms. I ended up most of today listening to talks in the Janson auditorium, as it at least has breathable atmosphere.

[belter]

"The FOSDEM 2025 live streaming box" - https://youtu.be/UcOWAD8b12g

[ghaff]

Kubecon is probably bigger these days but it's much more corporate and expensive.

[BiggusDijkus]

Yeah! Been to Kubecon EU twice, I think you're right. Valencia and Amsterdam. Way too expensive, corporate and marketing(ish) in my view. I couldn't have gone without employer's support. It's not the same crowd one would meet at these events though.