Thank you for an amazing OpenSF!

[Pepper Mint]

The banner has been furled and the crowds have gone home, changed.  OpenSF was wild, and groundbreaking, and illuminating, and it is over.

Thank you all so much for attending, and putting yourselves and your efforts into this conference!  The staff provided the framework and much labor, but it was the presenters that brought the (incredible!) content, the volunteers who kept things running, and the attendees who participated and made it all worth it.

I want to give out some very special thank-yous to folks who went way beyond the call of duty.  Juana Tango poured herself into this conference, only to be pulled away by a crisis during the weekend itself.  We are incredibly grateful for her efforts, in particular the huge effort she put into diversity and inclusiveness.  Randy Cone showed up late in the game and rescued our A/V situation.  Jon Spinner took on the task of managing volunteers, which turned out to be massive, and devoted much of the last couple months to managing it.  My partner Jen and her partner Ari did an incredible amount of work for the conference, much of it at the last minute, and they somehow still like me.

Also, on behalf of OpenSF I want to thank the keynote speakers for their efforts and input.  The keynote speeches were incredible to the point of being historic.

I am pleased to say that the feedback around the conference has been overwhelming positive.  I am particularly happy to hear a number of people say that they found a home and felt included at this conference in a way that has not happened to them at other conferences.  (And if you did not feel well-included, please let us know!  We always want to make people more comfortable.)

A number of people have expressed that they are very sad that OpenSF is not coming back next year.  I am as well, but conferences are hard work and life intervenes.  However, I now can tell y'all all sorts of things about how to run an awesome conference of your own.  If you want to lead such an effort, or are willing to make a serious time commitment towards such an effort, let me know and I'll get folks together.  Also, I encourage you to look towards other sexuality conferences in the area, such as Dark Odyssey, International Ms Leather, and Northwest Leather Celebration.

As many of you noticed, we videotaped the keynotes and some sessions.  Stay tuned!  The video will become available sometime soon, giving you the opportunity to see some of the things you may have missed.

Pepper