April 5th, 2022 IRC Meeting

Decisions/Endorsements

XRBoston Freedom from Fossil Fuels Tour, April 22nd

Details: https://xrboston.org/action/freedom-from-fossil-fuels-tour/

Platform

Planks: https://github.com/masspirates/planks

What we are working on now:

• competition
• crypto/NFT.

Projects

Outreach

Leader: Malt

What topics should we discuss Saturday?

Video Newsletter/Podcast

Leader: Joseph

• Pirate news recording scheduled for Sundays, 7pm with go-live at 7:30pm. Unless changed

Other To Do

• Application to PPI

Upcoming Events

• Democracy Meeting, Sat., April 9th, 11am-1pm
• Pirate Moot, Sat., April 23rd, noon-2pm
• XR Boston Earth Day Protest, April 22nd
• Free the Vaccine Protest, April 28th

Participants

• jokeefe (James O’Keefe)
• yari
• srevilak (Steve Revilak, Arlington)
• joe (Joseph Onoroski, Lowell)
• malt (sam capradae, worcester)

Observers

• davidd_
• hvxgr
• slerman

Summary

XRBoston demonstration

• https://xrboston.org/action/freedom-from-fossil-fuels-tour/
• Motion to endorse passes.

Crypto/NFT plank adopted:

 
We Need True Decentralized Technologies

Pirates believe in decentralized technologies. While Napster was sued out of existence, peer-to-peer tools such as BitTorrent or protocols like the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) continue to help people to share our culture freely. Cryptocurrencies and related technologies promise decentralized exchange, but are only successful when wrapped in centralized scaffolding.   They concentrate power and wealth while often claiming vast amounts of electricity that further destroys the planet on which we all rely.  We have seen other large corporations do this exact same maneuver and we want to stop the greedy from taking advantage of an unsuspecting public. The exchange are centralized in the hands of a small number of mining consortiums and trading sites. Ownership of 99% of coins are controlled by 10% of users. Not even the stock market is that concentrated.

Cryptocurrencies are merely speculative assets. They are not used to buy and sell anything of use, and the fees are excruciating. They are virtual gold to be hoarded by digital Smaugs hoping to unload them at an immense profit to unsuspecting marks. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are the ultimate extension of this technology. They are scams peddling content-free Digital Rights Management (DRM) schemes. Pirates support encouraging people to freely share our culture and encouraging people to create. NFTs are an infrastructure of fraud that harms artists, patrons, and the planet.

By decentralizing technologies, the focus can be on autonomy, resilience, protocols over products, and exercising our ability to tinker and create.  These opportunities allow the community to build, play, and innovate,  creating a whole that is much greater of the sum of its parts. Data sovereignty belongs to us, those who use it.

• Pirate news this Sunday. Usual time.

Minutes

 
21:05 < Joe> Ahoy
21:06 <~jokeefe> Agenda:
        https://masspirates.org/wiki/April_5th,_2022_IRC_Meeting
21:06 <~jokeefe> ids
21:06 <~jokeefe> Anything to add?
21:06 < srevilak> Steve Revilak, Arlington
21:06 < malt> sam capradae, worcester
21:06 <~jokeefe> James O’Keefe
21:06 <~jokeefe> Somerville
21:08 <~jokeefe> Decisions/Endorsements
21:08 <~jokeefe> XRBoston Freedom from Fossil Fuels Tour, April 22nd
21:08 < malt> what's that?
21:09 <~jokeefe>
        https://xrboston.org/action/freedom-from-fossil-fuels-tour/
21:09 < srevilak> XR = Extinction Rebellion
21:09 < malt> neat! i don't think i'll be making it out
21:09 <~jokeefe> I plan to be there
21:09 < srevilak> In the UK, they deflate SUV tires to stop them from
        burning gasoline :)
21:10 <~jokeefe> going to take a lot of tire deflation
21:10 < Joe> Sry, Joseph Onoroski, Lowell
21:11 <~jokeefe> endorse?
21:12 < malt> i do
21:13 < srevilak> I (heart) discobedience
21:13 < srevilak> second motion to endorse
21:14 <~jokeefe> all in favor?
21:14 < Joe> Abstain
21:14 <~jokeefe> aye
21:15 < srevilak> aye
21:16 <~jokeefe> any opposed?
21:17 <~jokeefe> motion passes
21:18 <~jokeefe> will contact them
21:20 <~jokeefe> also, I found out when the planning meetings for the
        no vaccine patents protest are. I plan to join them and will get the
        details of that protest. I think it will be the end of April.
21:21 <~jokeefe> Platform
21:21 <~jokeefe> We were last working on
        https://etherpad.pp-international.net/p/MAPPCryptoNFT
21:24 <~jokeefe> haven’t had a chance to update it in light of
        srevilak’s suggestion
21:27 < Joe> I made some updates at the end, you like?
21:29 <~jokeefe> nice change
21:31 < Joe> Ty
21:33 < Joe> It looks good to me.  Motion to accept?
21:34 <~jokeefe> Still focuses more on what we are against than what we
        are for
21:34 < srevilak> I'd like to propose a change: Blockchain technologies
        are fraud futures.  Change "blockchain tech" -> cryptocurrency
21:35 < srevilak> (Had a very long night of deliberations and votes on
        a town board last night.  Brain is still slightly mushy.)
21:36 <~jokeefe> that sounds find, srevilak, though we have three
        paragraphs that start with Cryptocurrencies/y
21:36 <~jokeefe> s/find/fine/g
21:37 < srevilak> Good point - merged that into one of the other
        paragraphs
21:43 <~jokeefe> thanks
21:44 <~jokeefe> do the changes address your concerns srevilak?
21:45 < srevilak> I think that's good
21:46 <~jokeefe> any other changes needed?
21:46 < Joe> I like it.
21:47 <~jokeefe> malt?
21:48 <~jokeefe> Changed the first sentence of the last paragraph to:
        By decentralizing technologies, the focus can be on autonomy, resilience,
        protocols over products, and exercising our ability to tinker and improve>
21:50 <~jokeefe> Actually: By decentralizing technologies, the focus can
        be on autonomy, resilience, protocols over products, and exercising our
        ability to tinker and create.
21:50 < srevilak> That's good
21:52 <~jokeefe> All in favor of adopting this text?
21:52 < Joe> Aye
21:52 < srevilak> aye
21:53 <~jokeefe> aye
21:53 <~jokeefe> malt?
21:53 <~jokeefe> any opposed?
21:54 < malt> aye
21:54 < malt> wait i mean i'm in favor
21:54 <~jokeefe> :-)
21:55 <~jokeefe> plank adopted
21:55 < malt> woohoo!
21:55 <~jokeefe> Projects
21:55 <~jokeefe> Pirate News on Sunday?
21:56 < malt> I should be able to make it!
21:56 < Joe> Aye
21:56 < srevilak> Will be there
21:56 <~jokeefe> Great.
21:57 <~jokeefe> Shall we adjourn?
21:57 < Joe> One more thing.
21:57 <~jokeefe> sure
21:57 < Joe> I have the boat.
21:58 < malt> thw what
21:58 <~jokeefe> Sail boat
21:59 < Joe> In better condition than expected as well. Mostly electrical
        and tirm work to be done.
21:59 < malt> oh lordy
21:59 <~jokeefe> nice
21:59 < srevilak> cool
22:00 < srevilak> Motion to adjourn?
22:00 < Joe> 2nd
22:00 < malt> aye
22:00 < srevilak> aye (will post transcript)