Hi!
I didn't want to voice this concern before the conference (figuring that, like me, the planning team had plenty to do already), but now I have something pretty important to say. Read on.
Some background: I'm a Free Software user. That means that when you tell me "Southern California Linux Expo", I wonder why "GNU" isn't included. I also wonder why BSD and Haiku (among other, non-Linux operating systems) are included.
But those things are not the real reason I'm emailing today. It is because, this year, I noticed a marked absence of free software talks and programs. The FOSS Mentoring program, which was a step in the right direction, remained (though, I think, was added very late). Many other, new programs were added that represent the Open Source ideals. There are also new programs that represent the Linux community. There were presentations on nonfree cloud services (in fact, the Saturday keynote focused on one). There were several presentations on Oracle projects, which cannot be in *perfect* keeping with Free Software ideals. In fact, the only other example of a Free Software presentation I can see is Tom Callaway's, for which I commend him.
This brings me to a question: Is the Free Software community so diminutive that no speakers wanted to address them? Or is this a preference of the SCaLE planners that is manifesting in policy? Another question: Is it wise, given this conference's need for attendees, to systematically exclude any community that would otherwise want to attend? I hope to discuss this further upon replies.
I, for one, refused to attend for those very reasons, so I hope that you will consider changing these policies, or maybe asking for term-agnostic presentations, before next year's conference. Thanks.