April 22nd, 2020 IRC Meeting

Projects

Goals for Q3 2020:

• Organize meetups
• Organize Fundraiser
• Organize candidate trainings
• Revise platform

Regional Meetings/Events

All meetings on hold due to Covid-19.

Leader: jokeefe

• Boston (jokeefe)
• Worcester (Malt)
• Lowell (Joe)
• Boston Pride Festival (emailed them that we transferred our table to 2021)
  • table booked
  • setup signup sheet
  • Announce
  • Need to purchase insurance
  • Need volunteer sign up form
  • Tie to an activity, mapping the CCTV cameras in Boston or along the Pride parade route?

Video Newsletter/Podcast

Leader: Joseph

• Next pirate news recording scheduled for Sunday, 7pm unless changed

Computer Donations

On hold

• srevilak/jokeefe working on sign up form.
• Joe Location still being worked on.

Bills

No clue where things are now due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Right to Repair

• out of committee
• next email will urge supporters to call their state senator/rep. and urge them to support it
• see if people willing to setup meeting with reps.

Facial Recognition and other bills still in committee.

Platform Discussion

Moved to 2020 Platform Discussion

Tabled Projects

FOSS Tutorials

Worcester farm group is interested in having some FOSS tutorials. Perhaps:

• how to do basic labels in GIMP,
• work through a few sample spreadsheets related to seed cost and
• similarly applicable real-world situations, depending on the needs of the group

Basically how to do graph design & product management with open source tools. Malt will put together a one paragraph description of what we need and we can mail it out to ask pirates to help.

Upcoming Events

• 4/29, 7-9pm, Boston Cryptoparty, Encuentro 5, Boston
• Summer 2020, ?, Boston Meetup
• Summer 2020, ?, Worcester Meetup
• Summer 2020, ?, Springfield Meetup
• ?/?, 7-9pm, Mass MeshNet Tech Meeting, Culture House, Harvard Square
• ?/?, 7-9pm, Mass MeshNe Tech Meeting, Encuentro 5, Boston
• ?/?, 7-9pm, Mass MeshNet Tech Meeting, Democracy Center, Cambridge
• ?/?, 7-9pm, Mass MeshNet Tech Meeting
• 5/?, 2pm-4pm, Democracy and Dogfood (Tech) Meeting, on-line

Participants

• jokeefe (James O’Keefe, Somerville)
• srevilak (Steve Revilak, Arlington)
• Malt (sam capradae, worcester)
• Joe (Joseph, Onoroski, Lowell)
• cparker[p]

Observers

• davidd
• ChanServ
• hvxgr
• Deffy
• mikey

Summary

Malt considering reaching out to folks in Worcester, re: computer drive. Lots of discussion about how to safely handle hardware that might have come in contact with the virus. We decide to reach out to local mutual aid working groups, and offer assistance with computer donations. Rules for donations: https://pad.riseup.net/p/RulesForDonations. Steve to do civi form for donations.

Minutes

 
21:02 <@jokeefe> Ahoy
21:02 <@jokeefe> Agenda:
       https://masspirates.org/wiki/April_22nd,_2020_IRC_Meeting, but really
       just wanted to check in and see how everyone is doing
21:02 <@jokeefe> ahoy cparker[p]
21:02 <@jokeefe> Agenda:
       https://masspirates.org/wiki/April_22nd,_2020_IRC_Meeting, but really
       just wanted to check in and see how everyone is doing
21:02 <@jokeefe> ids please
21:02 <@jokeefe> James O’Keefe, Somerville
21:03 < Joe> Joseph Onoroski, Lowell
21:03 < srevilak> Steve Revilak, Arlington
21:04 <@jokeefe> Anything to add?
21:04 < Malt> a
21:04 < Malt> sam capradae, worcester
21:05 < Malt> hi cparker
21:05 < Malt> i actually had something i wanted to add
21:05 < Malt> about Joe's PC cleanup service idea
21:05 <@jokeefe> ok
21:05 <@jokeefe> shoot
21:06 < Malt> we can do that after the
21:06 < Malt> ok, I've noticed some requests coming through the mutual
       aid group for working PCs/laptops
21:06 < Malt> I think reaching out to the Boston/Worcester group to
       offer assistance with a PC pickup and cleanup drive isn't a terrible idea
21:07 < Malt> if that's something they want to undertake
21:07 < Malt> both for kids in distance ed but also people trying to
       look for work
21:07 < Malt> aw joe it's not THAT bad an idea :P
21:07 < Malt> welcome back!
21:08 < Malt> that was it!
21:08 < Malt> that was my idea
21:08 <@jokeefe> What is involved with cleaning computers?
21:08 < srevilak> compressed air
21:08 < Malt> lol
21:08 < srevilak> lots of compressed air
21:08 < Malt> i was thinking wiping data
21:08 < Malt> checking for rootkits or other nasties
21:08 <@jokeefe> I was thinking clorox
21:08 < Malt> updating the OS to whatever the most current of their
       obsolete version is
21:08 < Malt> that too
21:09 < Joe> they really want computers up here as well but I have not
       had any success in securing a location for a drop off. We could just
       offer our time for PC repairs.
21:09 < srevilak> you might want to consider installing linux (and wiping
       drive in the process)
21:09 < Joe> Maybe do it for donations to the party?
21:11 < Malt> not a bad idea
21:11 < Malt> donations or access to the folks in the group
21:11 <@jokeefe> We can ask for donations, but I am concerned about
       pickup, cleaning and distribution
21:11 < Malt> "we'll help you do this if you let us advertise this group
       call for recruiting people interested in 3rd parties"
21:12 < Malt> for pickup i think we can do it delivery style
21:12 < Malt> we pull up, they set the stuff outside, we give it a
       cursory wipedown while wearing masks and gloves
21:13 < srevilak> For pickup, we probably have to do interview questions
       ("do you have flu-like symptoms")
21:13 < Malt> then we trust the mutual aid working group for distribution
21:13 < Joe> At this point, it would have to be on an individual basis.
       Covid-19 has a shelf life of 3 days so if we had a place to store them
       for that time period we should be ok.
21:13 < Malt> i think the insides of the computers prolly aren't much
       of a risk for contagion
21:13 < Joe> Well, could we have them dropped off at the mutual aid
       locations directly, then after 3 days come in and repair them?
21:14 < Joe> I disagree Malt
21:14 < Joe> Computers are good with Air flow and this is an airborne
       virus.
21:14 < Joe> Best to be safe.
21:15 < Malt> if it's a spare machine which hasn't seen much use, though,
       it probably hasn't seen much exposure
21:15 < Malt> the aid groups don't have centralized locations, for the
       most part
21:15 < Joe> Fair enough
21:15 < Malt> fwiw you're not wrong
21:15 <@jokeefe> True, but 3 days wait won’t hurt anything.
21:15 < Malt> we could say "secure it in a plastic bag 3 days prior
       to pickup?"
21:15 < Malt> then spray down the bag
21:16 <@jokeefe> sure
21:17 < Joe>
       https://www.webmd.com/lung/how-long-covid-19-lives-on-surfaces
21:17 <@jokeefe> It doesn’t seem right to say “would you hold
       this stuff for us while we wait for nature to kill any potential virus
       they have”
21:17 < Malt> i was real fucked up at the start thinking 14 days was
       standard
21:17 < Joe> Correction, metal they are saying 5 days now.
21:17 < Malt> hrmmmm
21:18 < Malt> so, i think we're not out of bounds asking folks to bag
       stuff before pickup. we can ask them how long it's been bagged and wait
       the rest of the time
21:18 < Malt> if we needed a new thing to be doing
21:18 < Malt> what if,
21:18 < Joe> Ask them to put the date on it?
21:18 < Malt> this disease just ruins everything!
21:19 < Malt> it is the absolute antithesis of building popular power
21:19 < Malt> the capitalists could not have asked for a better plague
21:19 <@jokeefe> not wrong
21:20 < Malt> ok
21:20 < Malt> we reach out to the MAWGs
21:20 < Malt> say "if you have PCs people want to donate, bag and tag
       them, we'll make them safe for use"
21:20 <@jokeefe> I setup https://pad.riseup.net/p/RulesForDonations
21:20 < Malt> oh
21:21 <@jokeefe> Should we want to refine the rules
21:21 < Malt> wait did it just get deleted
21:21 < Joe> It's blank
21:21 <@jokeefe> No, I just created it. It will last for 60 days
21:21 < Malt> pffft ok
21:21 <@jokeefe> I deleted the boilerplate text they add
21:21 < Joe> ah
21:22 < Malt> that threw me
21:22 <@jokeefe> No worries.
21:23 <@jokeefe> BTW: The audio came through in the last recording. I
       updated the text and it is live.  Also, put up a blog post for it.
21:23 < Malt> wewt!
21:23 < Malt> y'all can see what I'm adding, right
21:23 < Malt> ?
21:23 < Malt> @srevilak, i think linux might be beyond most folk
21:24 < Malt> i think there's also an issue with compatibility for a
       lot of online learning modules
21:24 < Malt> as nice as that would be :-/
21:24 < srevilak> Malt: back in the day, I & some friends used to do
       linux installs at South End Tech Center
21:25 < srevilak> Ubuntu (in a variety that matched the hardware
       capabilities) was usually easy for people to pick up
21:25 < srevilak> mint as well
21:25 < Joe> I have a window cd though we will need to get keys for them.
       Or perhaps the share can get something else?
21:29 < Malt> if it comes down to janky windows keys vs ubuntu i'm all for
       ubuntu as long as the person who is recieving it knows what they're in for
21:29 < Malt> if y'all think it'll be okay i won't be a roadblock
21:30 < Malt> but when i got started online teaching, a lot of platforms
       were fairly browser specific
21:30 <@jokeefe> Will likely be faster. Would be good to install
       openoffice or other productivity tools
21:30 < Malt> oh totally
21:30 < Malt> this is a great OSS outreach opportunity
21:31 < Joe> More user friendly for those who do not compute often.
21:31 < srevilak> and there's no licensing stuff to worry about
21:31 < Malt> i mean i wasn't about to pay the man for any of this either
       way ;)
21:31 < Malt> we're helping people, that makes crime legal
21:31 < Malt> pffft that wasn't smart to admit on a public transcript
21:31 < Malt> hello me 10 years from now trying to run for office,
       hope that didn't torpedo your hopes! lmao
21:32 < Joe> lol, I wish that was the case.  But we can not open the
       party to those whom would see us crushed.
21:32 < Joe> best to keep things above board. <3
21:32 < Malt> i think the only dude who wants to see us crushed fucked
       off to Super Happy Fun America?
21:32 < Malt> who was the pepe troll who quit shortly after i joined
21:33 < Malt> that guy
21:33 < Malt> anyway
21:33 < Malt> i don't want to make this more complicated than it has to be
21:33 < Malt> i think a friendly e-mail offering our assistance to the
       MAWG admins is probably a fine start
21:35 < Malt> I'd like to make a proposition: we e-mail the leaders of
       boston and worcester's mutual aid working groups to offer our assistance
       with the preparation of computers for donation
21:35 <@jokeefe> made a minor update to the text
21:36 < srevilak> Malt: sounds reasonable
21:36 < Malt> B) all in favor?
21:36 < srevilak> aye
21:36 < Joe> We can add Wish Project as well?
21:36 < Joe> Same thing but local for me.
21:37 < srevilak> Joe: fine by me
21:37 <@jokeefe> is there open source anti-virus software?
21:37 < Joe> avast is free
21:37 <@jokeefe> ok
21:37 < srevilak> clamav
21:37 <@jokeefe> works for me
21:38 <@jokeefe> So we need a sign up form. Do you have time, srevilak,
       or should I work on it?
21:38 < srevilak> For computer donations?  It sounded like we were
       thinking more in terms of offering help to MAWGs.
21:39 < srevilak> (but perhaps I misunderstood)
21:39 < Malt> yeah, this would be a case by case deal
21:39 < srevilak> I can work on form
21:39 < Malt> the MAWG let's us know there's a PC up for grabs at X
       location, whoever is closest picks it up
21:39 < Joe> Sounds good
21:40 <@jokeefe> ok. Thought we would solicit donations from members
       at least
21:40 < Malt> we totally can
21:42 < Joe> and our twitter base!
21:42 <@jokeefe> true
21:43 < Malt> i'm sketching out an intro e-mail in the rules pad
21:44 <@jokeefe> thanks
21:46 < Joe> is there a national meeting tonight?
21:47 <@jokeefe> nope
21:47 <@jokeefe> canceled. WI won’t be there
21:47 < Malt> phooey
21:47 < Malt> did y'all see there are 7 COVID cases now linked to the
       elections?
21:47 < Malt> it kills me to admit it but Bernie did the right thing
21:48 < Malt> "Hello, I'm _____, a representative of the Massachusetts
       Pirate Party. We'd like to volunteer our services to clean and service
       donated computers. We will sterilize any donated computers, wipe personal
       information, upgrade their OS, and outfit the devices with the latest
       in open source productivity software, including word processors and
       internet b
21:48 < Malt> rowsers.
21:48 < Malt> In exchange, we'd like to invite interested members to
       participate in a group call about the Pirate Party, our mission, and
       how they could be a part of it."
21:48 < Malt> that's what I've got so far, any feedback?
21:50 < Joe> Seems good. Perhaps we should install Tor browsers only. <3
21:50 <@jokeefe> lol
21:50 <@jokeefe> Tor & Brave
21:51 < Malt> i won't stop y'all
21:51 <@jokeefe> I think we should just include a 1 page doc that says
       what we did to setup the computer, who we are and how to contact us.
21:51 < Malt> i'd just ask that we include like a README file placed
       helpfully at the center of the desktop which just explains what the
       programs are and how to update them
21:51 < Malt> @jokeefe exactly
21:52 <@jokeefe> Paper and doc on the desktop
21:52 < Malt> if we throw folks to the sharks they'll hate OSS
21:52 <@jokeefe> agreed
21:53 <@jokeefe> offering quick video training via jitsi would be good.
21:53 < Joe> We could do regular training classes if you like.
21:54 < Joe> maybe twice a month?
21:54 < Malt> i think there's probably videos which do the same thing
21:54 < Joe> true
21:54 < Malt> links to up to date FAQs not a bad idea, but sure include
       our e-mail
21:54 < Malt> it's a great way to get folks familiar with who we are
21:54 <@jokeefe> agreed
21:54 < Joe> but often the older crowd needs help and they often vote too
21:55 < Malt> that's true
21:56 < Malt> "Donated equipment will be collected by a volunteer
       of the Pirate Party and held until 5 days have transpired from
       bagging. Thereafter, any remaining data on the machine will be wiped,
       with a clean and current OS installed.
21:56 < Malt> Machines will come complete with open source internet
       browser, productivity suite, and antivirus.
21:56 < Malt> A brief document will be included on the desktop explaining
       the included software, as well as information on who we are and how to
       contact us for assistance.
21:56 < Malt> We are also interested in offering bimonthly video
       conferences for new users who might be having trouble with their new
       system."
21:57 <@jokeefe> sounds good
21:58 <@jokeefe> I’ll add it to the next email anc.
22:00 < Malt> welp
22:00 < Malt> bout that time
22:00 <@jokeefe> True. I haven’t made progress on other items
22:00 <@jokeefe> Shall we adjourn?
22:00 < Joe> 2nd
22:00 < Malt> aye
22:01 <@jokeefe> aye
22:01 <@jokeefe> thanks all!
22:01 <@jokeefe> stay safe. have a great night
22:01 < Malt> night!
22:01 < Joe> gn
22:03 <@jokeefe> you have the minutes srevilak?
22:03 < srevilak> got them
22:03 <@jokeefe> thanks