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Pippin
Pippin friendica
I had a PGP key back in the 1990s when I was a Debian developer. (I probably still have the private key.) I remember meeting folks, checking IDs and signing keys. After stopping doing Debian stuff I've never really used it again. Would be nice to generate a new key sometime (the old one was probably 1024 bit RSA) and get signed and signing again. But… time, energy, etc.
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Sharkie
Sharkie • mastodon (AP)

Hey, same! Except I know for a fact my key is lost to time. I miss the debian key signing parties.

I helped with the Debian booth at the first LWE so very long ago.

There was such hope back then.

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Pippin
Pippin friendica
@Sharkie Oh wow, I helped with the Debian stand at the Linux expos in London in the early 2000s. Took my PC, CD burner and printer, burned Debian CDs and printed matching labels for them to order. (This was back when 2x speed burners were "not the fastest but still pretty normal".) I had a script which would verify the burned disk against the image file, extract the label info, merge it into some postscript I'd written and squirt it out the printer. Assured the integrity of the disks and matchingness of the labels. :]
@Sharkie
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Sharkie
Sharkie • mastodon (AP)
Pretty sure I remember your name from around The Project back then, but .. it's been a really long time now.
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Pippin
Pippin friendica
@Sharkie 😳 Oookay! (I haven't a clue what yours was though, so no idea if I remember it, sorry…)
@Sharkie
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Pippin
Pippin friendica
@Sharkie Also the fact that you casually mention that means my RL name is apparently much more findable than I intended. (Or you are just familiar with whois… which sadly RIPE won't let me sanitise, oh well.)
@Sharkie
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Sharkie
Sharkie • mastodon (AP)
I was controversial, because (being trans in a non-accepting time, and oh, also a dragon) I didn't want to give my real name. I went by Kysh back then, too.
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Pippin
Pippin friendica
@Sharkie Aaaah… I think I do remember now, yes. "Kysh" being around in fury after that probably means I remember the name less so from Debian. Also it was a long time ago and much of that time has just faded for me! 🤗
@Sharkie
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Sharkie
Sharkie • mastodon (AP)

Same! I was also 16-22 during my debian years, so I was still trying to figure out how to pretend to be human. Furry was much more welcoming and accepting.

But I miss my #debian / #debian-devel days, and the bay area debian crew. Netgod, knghtbrd, all my peeps.

But yeah, it all blends together hard for me at this point. Dragons like me live lives in ten-year increments, and I'm on my fourth!

#debian
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Pippin
Pippin friendica
@Sharkie A decade does seem quite a convenient chapter length for life. *nod*
@Sharkie
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HankB
HankB • mastodon (AP)

@sekka Thanks both for your contributions to Debian (regardless if you find time to help more.)

best,

@Sharkie
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Sharkie
Sharkie • mastodon (AP)

@HankB Honestly, I very much believe in the Debian project, and have for decades. It means a lot to me, despite the fact that I doubt anyone still involved has any idea who I am. It was a formative part of my life, but I gained a lot by it.

I think my most meaningful input into the project was back when Debian was considering adopting RPM as a secondary format, and I made the allusion that using redhat packages was like sharing underwear with a leper.

The comment was not well-received.

@HankB
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HankB
HankB • mastodon (AP)
@sekka "Unpopular opinion," huh? Everyone can't agree all the time.
@Sharkie
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Sharkie
Sharkie • mastodon (AP)
@HankB No, and Debian folks have (or at least used to have) the spiciest disagreements. (But the world was better for it!)
@HankB
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Pippin
Pippin friendica
@Sharkie @HankB That first paragraph matches my experience too. As for the second, I remember I experimentally added a couple of extra control files to my packages (which would be ignored if unused) because I thought of a good way to better measure whether there was space to install or not, and got called out and shouted down for it on the mailing list. Definitely didn't help me try out anything else again. There were people there very good at making people feel *very* "junior". *sigh*
@Sharkie @HankB
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