Disable February banner

assets/scss/custom.scss

@@ -121,3 +121,53 @@ blockquote p:first-of-type {
         content: "" !important;
     }
 }
+
+// Revolt chat server
+.revolt-form-section {
+  max-width: 600px;
+  margin: 2rem auto;
+  padding: 0 1rem;
+}
+
+.revolt-form .form-group {
+  margin-bottom: 1.25rem;
+}
+
+.revolt-form label {
+  display: block;
+  margin-bottom: 0.5rem;
+  font-weight: 600;
+}
+
+.revolt-form .required {
+  color: #e74c3c;
+}
+
+.revolt-form input,
+.revolt-form textarea {
+  width: 100%;
+  padding: 0.75rem;
+  border: 1px solid #ccc;
+  border-radius: 4px;
+  font-size: 1rem;
+}
+
+.revolt-form input:focus,
+.revolt-form textarea:focus {
+  outline: none;
+  border-color: #3498db;
+}
+
+.revolt-form button {
+  background: #3498db;
+  color: white;
+  padding: 0.75rem 1.5rem;
+  border: none;
+  border-radius: 4px;
+  font-size: 1rem;
+  cursor: pointer;
+}
+
+.revolt-form button:hover {
+  background: #2980b9;
+}

config/_default/menus.en.toml

@@ -2,19 +2,8 @@
 
 # main menu
 [[main]]
-name = "Conferences"
-weight = 1
-
-[[main]]
-parent = "Conferences"
-name = "Seattle"
-url = "/Seattle"
-weight = 2
-
-[[main]]
-parent = "Conferences"
-name = "Boston"
-url = "/boston"
+name = "Meetups"
+url = "/meetups"
 weight = 1
 
 [[main]]
@@ -23,60 +12,59 @@ url = "/news"
 weight = 2
 
 [[main]]
-name = "Media"
-url = "/media"
+name = "Guide"
+url = "/guide"
 weight = 3
 
 [[main]]
 name = "Explore"
-weight = 4
-
-[[main]]
-parent = "Explore"
-name = "Operation 2030"
-url = "/operation2030"
 weight = 3
 
 [[main]]
 parent = "Explore"
-name = "Meetups"
-url = "/meetups"
+name = "Chat"
+url = "/chat"
 weight = 1
 
 [[main]]
 parent = "Explore"
-name = "Donate"
-url = "https://donorbox.org/handmadecities"
+name = "Media"
+url = "/media"
 weight = 2
 
+[[main]]
+parent = "Explore"
+name = "Cowork"
+url = "/cowork"
+weight = 3
+
 [[main]]
 name = "About"
 url = "/about"
-weight = 5
-
+weight = 4
 
 # footer menu
 [[footer]]
-name = "Tickets"
-url = "/tickets"
-weight = 1
+name = "Guide"
+url = "/guide"
+weight = 4
 
 [[footer]]
-name = "Members"
-url = "https://donorbox.org/handmadecities"
+name = "About"
+url = "/about"
 weight = 5
 
 [[footer]]
 name = "Meetups"
 url = "/meetups"
+weight = 1
+
+[[footer]]
+name = "Chat"
+url = "/chat"
 weight = 3
 
 [[footer]]
-name = "Seattle"
-url = "/seattle"
+name = "News"
+url = "/news"
 weight = 2
-
-[[footer]]
-name = "Boston"
-url = "/boston"
-weight = 4

config/_default/params.toml

@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ google_adsense = ""     # example: ca-pub-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 # custom script on header, example: custom_script= "<script>console.log(\"Hello World\")</script>"
 custom_script = ""
 # copyright
-copyright = "© 2025 Handmade Cities LLC"
+copyright = "© 2026 Handmade Cities LLC"
 
 # Preloader
 # preloader module: https://github.com/gethugothemes/hugo-modules/tree/master/components/preloader
@@ -38,8 +38,8 @@ preloader = "" # use jpg, png, svg or gif format.
 # Navigation button
 [navigation_button]
 enable = true
-label = "tickets"
-link = "tickets"
+label = "Chat"
+link = "chat"
 
 # search
 # search module: https://github.com/gethugothemes/hugo-modules/tree/master/search
@@ -55,9 +55,9 @@ show_categories = true
 # announcement
 # announcement module: https://github.com/gethugothemes/hugo-modules/tree/master/components/announcement
 [announcement]
-enable = true
+enable = false
 expire_days = 7
-content = "2025 Update: Check out our new [advisory board](/about)."
+content = "Official February [Memos](/memos)"
 
 # seo meta data for OpenGraph / Twitter Card
 # seo module: https://github.com/gethugothemes/hugo-modules/tree/master/seo-tools/basic-seo

content/english/_index.md

@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 ---
 # Banner
 banner:
-  title: "<span class='boston-color'>Boston</span> in the Summer.<br>
-   <span class='seattle-color'>Seattle</span> in the fall.<br> 
-   <span class='meetups-color'>Meetups</span> all year round."
-  content: "We are the largest indie conferences for low-level programmers. This is your portal to meet with folks into graphics, game engines, kernels, compilers, and more!"
+  title: "<span class='boston-color'>Come</span> for programming,<br>
+   <span class='seattle-color'>stay</span> for the friends.<br> 
+   <span class='meetups-color'>Meetups</span> all year round!"
+  content: "We are the largest offline events for systems programmers: 100% indie. This is our portal to meet engineers super into game engines, compilers, terminals, kernels and more:"
   image: "/images/hmc_spread.png"
   hide_banner_img: true
   live_banner:
@@ -54,9 +54,9 @@ banner:
     alt_text_right: "right"
   button:
     enable: true
-    label: "Tickets"
-    link: "/tickets"
-    icon: "fa fa-ticket pl-2"
+    label: "Quick Guide"
+    link: "https://guide.handmadecities.com"
+    icon: "fa fa-book pl-2"
     class: "btn text-white seattle-bg"
   button2:
     enable: false
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ features:
     image: ""
     section_class: "pb-24"
     side: "center"
-    content: "<span class='block mx-auto mt-24 text-black dark:text-white w-1/2'>Companies hunting for Handmade talent. They've attended our conference, but don't shape our agenda.</span>"
+    content: "<span class='block mx-auto mt-24 text-black dark:text-white w-1/2'>Sample of companies hunting for Handmade talent. Ready to [join](https://guide.handmadecities.com/docs/support/employment/) the list?</span>"
     content_class: "mt-12"
     img_grid:
       imgs:
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ features:
     button:
       enable: false
 
-  - title: "Hundreds in person,<br> Thousands online"
+  - title: "Meet in person,<br> not online"
     title_class: "text-white"
     transition:
       start: "/images/transition4.svg"
@@ -150,12 +150,12 @@ features:
     image: "/images/nystrom.webp"
     image_link: "https://vimeo.com/780000746"
     image_class: "rounded-md shadow-lg"
-    content: "Every year hundreds of systems programmers convene physically while thousands more watch from the comfort of their couch."
+    content: "Every month hundreds of caring programmers convene around the world to discuss the need for software quality."
     content_class: "p-4 px-6 rounded-md bg-[rgba(0,0,0,0.7)]"
     section_class: "text-white"
     button:
       enable: true
-      label: "Register"
-      link: "/tickets"
+      label: "Attend Our Events"
+      link: "/meetups"
       button_class: "bg-white text-black"
 ---

content/english/about/index.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 title: "About Handmade Cities"
-meta_title: "About"
+meta_title: "About | Handmade Cities"
 layout: "about"
 description: "About Handmade Cities"
 draft: false
@@ -16,25 +16,25 @@ features:
       img: "/images/starry_night.png"
     grid:
       - title: "Sponsor-free tech events"
-        content: "**100% indie.** We reject sponsorship because we must be allowed to criticize anyone’s software. Accepting “free” bags of money destroys our ability to change the software industry."
+        content: "**100% indie.** We reject sponsorship deals because we must be allowed to criticize anyone’s software. Accepting “free” bags of money destroys our ability to change the software industry."
         color: "#FC6D36"
         content_class: "text-white"
       - title: "An obligation to software quality"
-        content: "The industry’s incentives erode ownership to extract rent from consumers. We’ve abandoned the love for our craft, the user's quality of experience, and their right to privacy."
+        content: "Our industry’s incentives destroy ownership to extract rent from customers. We’ve abandoned the love for our craft, the user's quality of experience, and their right to privacy."
         color: "#A456EA"        
         content_class: "text-white"
       - title: "Self-host wherever possible"
-        content: "Essential services for our conferences and meetups are processed in-house. For example, our servers personally generate your conference ticket—removing spying middlemen like Ticketmaster."
+        content: "We operate our own chat server and mailing lists. For purchases, payment processors ping our servers to process orders ourselves."
         color: "#6B8EE8"        
         content_class: "text-white"
       - title: "Direct funding approach"
-        content: "We grow through obvious means, funded primarily through ticket sales, followed by independent donations and fixed-rate job booth rentals: straightforward, mom-and-pop transactions."
+        content: "We grow through obvious means, funded by users purchasing Handmade software. **Zero investors.**"
         color: "#60E3C4"                
         content_class: "text-white"
     button:
       enable: true
-      label: "Operation 2030"
-      link: "/operation2030"
+      label: "Official Memos"
+      link: "/memos"
       icon: "fa fa-ticket pl-2"
       class: "btn text-white meetups-bg"
 
@@ -53,92 +53,6 @@ features:
       start_dark_color: "black"
     bg_color: "#060610"
     content_class: "mt-4"
-    content: "[Abner](https://abner.page) is founder of Handmade Cities and the sole organizer for our conferences.<br><br>At a young age he was mentored by Kennedy Space Center on how they make software. After winning NASA’s Intern of the Year, Abner penned an essay on their programming philosophy: featured in the [news](https://observer.com/2017/07/a-look-into-nasa-coding-philosophy-kennedy-space-center-programming/). He was subsequently promoted to launch control engineer.<br><br>Abner started the [Handmade Network](https://handmade.network/), an online community learning to make quality software. He went on to work under Jonathan Blow for several years and finally Cyan Worlds to ship the [Myst remake](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1255560/Myst/).<br><br>Now in his early thirties, Abner's mounting concern of declining software standards—both ethical and technical—pushed him to run conferences and grow meetups full-time. (He still loves [programming](https://terminal.click) though.)"
+    content: "[Abner](https://abner.page) is founder of Handmade Cities and full-time [indie dev](https://terminal.click).<br><br>Born and raised in Puerto Rico, he was mentored by Kennedy Space Center on how they make software. After winning NASA’s Intern of the Year, Abner penned an essay on their programming philosophy: featured in the [news](https://observer.com/2017/07/a-look-into-nasa-coding-philosophy-kennedy-space-center-programming/). He was subsequently promoted to launch control engineer.<br><br>Abner started the [Handmade Network](https://handmade.network/), an online community learning to make quality software. He went on to work under Jonathan Blow followed by Cyan Worlds to ship the Myst Remake.<br><br>Now in his early thirties, Abner's concern for declining software standards—both ethical and technical—pushed him to become a community organizer."
 
-  - title: "Our Advisory Board"
-    title_class: "mb-20 text-center text-white"
-    image: ""
-    side: "center"
-    content_class: "mt-16 mb-12"
-    bg_img: 
-      parallax: true
-      img: "/images/starry_night.png"
-    grid:
-      - title: "Zac Nowicki"
-        content: "Tech lead at [Kagi](https://kagi.com) Search."
-        color: "#9B8EE8"
-        content_class: "text-white"
-      - title: "Mary Bush"
-        content: "Seattle indie developer, formerly in logistics/healthcare tech."
-        color: "#9B8EE8"        
-        content_class: "text-white"
-      - title: "Jon Stevens"
-        content: "Senior game developer at Bitshift Entertainment: new studio by Notch, creator of Minecraft."
-        color: "#9B8EE8"        
-        content_class: "text-white"
-      - title: "Matthew Knight"
-        content: "Organizer at [Software You Can Love](https://softwareyoucanlove.ca): plus meetups, workshops, and more."
-        color: "#9B8EE8"                
-        content_class: "text-white"
-      - title: "Unlisted Member"
-        content: "Systems programmer, community member, and a friend of Handmade Cities. Values Privacy™"
-        color: "#9B8EE8"                
-        content_class: "text-white"
-      - title: "NASA Observer"
-        content: "Hardware engineer at NASA. Observer role, no voting power. Anonymous involvement given the current climate."
-        color: "#9B8EE8"                
-        content_class: "text-white"
-    button:
-      enable: true
-      label: "Governance"
-      link: "/board"
-      icon: "fa fa-ticket pl-2"
-      class: "btn text-white meetups-bg"
-    notice: "**Note:** The advisory board is comprised of volunteers. Member's opinions are their own, not their employer's."
-
-  - title: "Morgan Rammell"
-    title_class: "text-white"
-    subtitle: "Event Coordinator"
-    subtitle_class: "!text-[#F7CE3B]"
-    bg_color: "#060610"
-    image: "/images/people/morgan_cropped_512.webp"
-    image_class: "rounded-full"
-    content_class: ""
-    section_class: "!pt-24 text-white"
-    content: "Morgan’s done corporate event planning for several years but is now interested in the indie space. She oversees the logistics of running and facilitating Handmade conferences, working with the venue to solve any issues that arise in real-time.<br>
-
-  Born and raised in Washington state you’ll find Morgan snowboarding, hiking, camping, and even rock-climbing!"
-  - title: "Phil Homan"
-    title_class: "text-white"
-    subtitle: "Technical Producer"
-    subtitle_class: "!text-[#F7CE3B]"
-    bg_color: "#060610"
-    image: "/images/people/phil_homan_512.webp"
-    image_class: "rounded-full"
-    content_class: ""
-    section_class: "!pt-16 text-white"
-    content: "Phil Homan, who goes by [PH Test](https://phtest.tv/), is a Seattle developer with a knack for multidisciplinary work: live-performance visuals, experimental programs, games, and video production—often with tools he made himself!<br>
-
-  Phil joined Handmade Cities to help Abner with matters related to streaming, recording, and A/V support at the conferences."
-  - title: "Devon aka [tek256](https://tek256.com)"
-    title_class: "text-white"
-    subtitle: "Editor"
-    subtitle_class: "!text-[#F7CE3B]"
-    bg_color: "#060610"
-    image: "/images/people/devon.jpg"
-    image_class: "rounded-full"
-    content_class: ""
-    section_class: "!pt-16 !pb-32 text-white"
-    content: "Devon is a guy who makes things.<br>(Like a PSX-style souls game in C on [stream](https://twitch.tv/tek256))"  
-
-  - title: "Mr. Perkins"
-    title_class: "text-white"
-    subtitle: "Secretary"
-    subtitle_class: "!text-[#F7CE3B]"
-    bg_color: "#060610"
-    image: "/images/people/perkins.png"
-    image_class: "rounded-full"
-    content_class: ""
-    section_class: "!pt-16 !pb-32 text-white"
-    content: "Mr. Perkins is our year round part-time assistant, usually plowing through the backlog of texts, emails and invoices."  
 ---

content/english/boston/index.md

@@ -1,25 +1,39 @@
 ---
 title: "Handmade Boston 2025"
-subtitle: "The East Coast's premier conference for systems programmers. Fully offline"
+subtitle: "The East Coast's premier event for systems programmers. Fully offline"
 image: "/images/hmb/boston-dark-mode.svg"
 layout: "event"
 
 # Event Details
-event_dates: "August 1-2, 2025 (Fri-Sat)"
-registration_date: "April 11, 2025"
-venue_name: "John F. Kennedy Library"
-venue_address: "Columbia Point, Boston, MA 02125"
+event_dates: "Saturday August 16th, 2025 (Sat 2PM)"
+registration_date: "August 1st, 2025"
+venue_name: "Boston Public LIbrary"
+venue_address: "700 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116"
 
 # Coming Soon Section
-coming_soon_text: "Agenda Coming Soon"
-coming_soon_description: "We're assembling an incredible roster. Check back often."
+coming_soon_text: "We've Changed Venues!"
+coming_soon_description: "We meet at the Boston Public Library, Saturday at 2PM. Check the top banner"
 
 # Initial Speakers
 initial_speakers:
-  - name: "Jim Calabro"
-    topic: "Software Engineer at Bluesky"
-    affiliation: "calabro.io"
-    image: "/images/people/calabro.jpg"
+  - name: "Abner Coimbre"
+    topic: "Author of Terminal Click"
+    affiliation: "terminal.click"
+    image: "/images/people/abner.jpg"
+  - name: "Caden Parker"
+    topic: "Senior Graphics Programmer"
+    affiliation: "vectrx.substack.com"
+    image: "/images/people/caden.png"
+  - name: "Gwen Lofman"
+    topic: "Livecoding for Music and Visuals"
+    affiliation: "glfmn.io"
+    image: "/images/people/gwen.png"
+  - name: "Switch Angel"
+    topic: "Livecoding Co-Presenter"
+    affiliation: "tinyurl.com/switchangel"
+    image: "/images/people/switchangel.jpg"
+  - name: "This is You"
+    topic: "Audience is demoing projects"
 
 # Call to Action Buttons
 enable_newsletter: true
@@ -28,12 +42,12 @@ enable_discord: true
 discord_link: "https://handmadecities.com/discord"
 enable_cfp: true
 cfp_link: "mailto:submissions@handmadecities.com"
-cfp_deadline: "July 2, 2025"
+cfp_deadline: "August 1st, 2025"
 
 # Content Display
 show_description: true
 ---
 
-Handmade Boston brings together the brightest minds in low-level programming for two days of technical lectures, networking, and job booths.
+Handmade Boston brings together the brightest minds in low-level programming for inspiring technical lectures.
 
-We're the sister conference to Seattle and a fully-offline counterpart: enjoy deeper lectures exclusively in-person and make some new friends for life.
+We're the sister event to Seattle and a fully-offline counterpart: enjoy deeper lectures exclusively in-person and make some new friends for life.

content/english/invite.md

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+---
+title: "Invite a Friend to our Chat!"
+layout: "invite"
+---

content/english/media/_index.md

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 +++
 title="Media"
+meta_title="Media | Handmade Cities"
 image="/images/film.svg"
 +++

content/english/media/seattle-2024/hms-day-one.md

@@ -19,6 +19,6 @@ image="/images/people/abner_2022.png"
 
 ## The year that triggered the Handmade civil war
 
-Partly due to our keynote talk (timestamped), Handmade Cities [paid a price](/news/splitting-from-handmade-network/) for it. This was, however, [not the only reason](/news/hms-2024-clear-the-air/). In response to everything, we ratified a new advisory [board](/board) and published [Operation 2030](/operation2030).
+Partly due to our keynote talk (timestamped), Handmade Cities [paid a price](/news/splitting-from-handmade-network/) for it. This was, however, [not the only reason](/news/hms-2024-clear-the-air/).
 
-The Twitch stream is not available as individual recordings yet, but luckily our team archived a backup on YouTube.
+The Twitch stream is not available as individual recordings yet, but as you can see our team archived a backup on YouTube.

content/english/meetups/atlanta.md

@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ bio="daniel@handmadecities.com"
 image=""
 +++
 
-#### Optional Discord Server
+#### Optional Revolt Server
 
-The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join the Discord for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/australia.md

@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ bio="khrob@handmadecities.com"
 image=""
 +++
 
-#### Optional Discord Server
+#### Optional Revolt Server
 
-The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join the Discord for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/berlin.md

@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ bio="marcel@handmadecities.com"
 image=""
 +++
 
-#### Optional Discord Server
+#### Optional Revolt Server
 
-The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join the Discord for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/boston.md

@@ -5,11 +5,11 @@ description="Receive Handmade meetup invites from the Hub of the Universe!"
 api_endpoint="https://api.handmadecities.com/v1/meetups/boston"
 
 [[hosts]]
-name="Caden Parker"
-bio="caden@handmadecities.com"
+name="Margret Riegert"
+bio="margret@handmadecities.com"
 image=""
 +++
 
-#### Optional Discord Server
+#### Optional Revolt Server
 
-The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join the Discord for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/cambridge.md

@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ bio="josh@handmadecities.com"
 image=""
 +++
 
-#### Optional Discord Server
+#### Optional Revolt Server
 
-The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join the Discord for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/dc.md

@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ bio="felix@handmadecities.com"
 image=""
 +++
 
-#### Optional Discord Server
+#### Optional Revolt Server
 
-The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join the Discord for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/denmark.md

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
++++
+title="Denmark's Mailing List"
+date="2024-11-03T12:00:00-08:00"
+description="Receive Handmade meetup invites from the happiest place on earth!"
+api_endpoint="https://api.handmadecities.com/v1/meetups/denmark"
+
+[[hosts]]
+name="Patrick Jakobsen"
+bio="patrick@handmadecities.com"
+image=""
++++
+
+#### Optional Revolt Server
+
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/detroit.md

@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ bio="seth@handmadecities.com"
 image=""
 +++
 
-#### Optional Discord Server
+#### Optional Revolt Server
 
-The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join the Discord for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/gothenburg.md

@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ bio="sam@handmadecities.com"
 image=""
 +++
 
-#### Optional Discord Server
+#### Optional Revolt Server
 
-The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join the Discord for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/grenoble.md

@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ bio="martin@handmadecities.com"
 image=""
 +++
 
-#### Optional Discord Server
+#### Optional Revolt Server
 
-The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join the Discord for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/israel.md

@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ bio="eternalstudent@handmadecities.com"
 image=""
 +++
 
-#### Optional Discord Server
+#### Optional Revolt Server
 
-The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join the Discord for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/london.md

@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ bio="jack@handmadecities.com"
 image=""
 +++
 
-#### Optional Discord Server
+#### Optional Revolt Server
 
-The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join the Discord for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/minneapolis.md

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
++++
+title="Minneapolis' Mailing List"
+date="2024-11-03T12:00:00-08:00"
+description="Receive Handmade meetup invites from the city of lakes!"
+api_endpoint="https://api.handmadecities.com/v1/meetups/minneapolis"
+
+[[hosts]]
+name="Dan Grigsby"
+bio="dan@handmadecities.com"
+image="/images/people/dan_grigsby.webp"
++++
+
+#### Optional Revolt Server
+
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/montreal.md

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
++++
+title="Montreal's Mailing List"
+date="2024-11-03T12:00:00-08:00"
+description="Receive Handmade meetup invites from cultural and economic capital of Quebec!"
+api_endpoint="https://api.handmadecities.com/v1/meetups/montreal"
+
+[[hosts]]
+name="Mitchell Amihod"
+bio="mitchell@handmadecities.com"
+image=""
++++
+
+#### Optional Revolt Server
+
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/nyc.md

@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ bio="mark@handmadecities.com"
 image=""
 +++
 
-#### Optional Discord Server
+#### Optional Revolt Server
 
-The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join the Discord for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/portland.md

@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ bio="sid@handmadecities.com"
 image=""
 +++
 
-#### Optional Discord Server
+#### Optional Revolt Server
 
-The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join the Discord for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/seattle.md

@@ -5,22 +5,22 @@ description="Receive Handmade meetup invites from the Emerald City!"
 thumbnail="/images/meetups/distantworlds_space.jpg"
 api_endpoint="https://api.handmadecities.com/v1/meetups/seattle"
 
-[[hosts]]
-name="Allen Webster"
-bio="Founder of [Mr. 4th Lab](https://mr4th.com). Hosts the classic monthly meetups"
-image="/images/people/allen_square.webp"
-
-[[hosts]]
-name="Phil Homan"
-bio="Staff [member](https://handmadecities.com/about). Hosts the coworking sessions (bi-weekly)"
-image="/images/people/phil_homan.jpg"
-
 [[hosts]]
 name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio="Staff [member](https://handmadecities.com/about). Hosts the third place (weekly)"
+bio="Hosts the classic monthly meetups"
 image="/images/people/abner_2022.png"
+
+[[hosts]]
+name="Peter Slattery"
+bio="Hosts the Seattle [coworking](/cowork) sessions"
+image="/images/people/peter.jpg"
+
+[[hosts]]
+name="Taylor Robbins"
+bio="Hosts the Kirkland [coworking](/cowork) sessions"
+image="/images/people/robbins.jpg"
 +++
 
-#### Optional Discord Server
+#### Optional Revolt Server
 
-The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join the Discord for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/sf.md

@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ bio="xander@handmadecities.com"
 image=""
 +++
 
-#### Optional Discord Server
+#### Optional Revolt Server
 
-The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join the Discord for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/tokyo.md

@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ bio="miguel@handmadecities.com"
 image=""
 +++
 
-#### Optional Discord Server
+#### Optional Revolt Server
 
-The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join the Discord for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/vancouver.md

@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ bio="gabriel@handmadecities.com"
 image=""
 +++
 
-#### Optional Discord Server
+#### Optional Revolt Server
 
-The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join the Discord for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/vegas.md

@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ bio="jstevens@handmadecities.com"
 image=""
 +++
 
-#### Optional Discord Server
+#### Optional Revolt Server
 
-The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join the Discord for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/meetups/vienna.md

@@ -10,6 +10,6 @@ bio="patrick@handmadecities.com"
 image=""
 +++
 
-#### Optional Discord Server
+#### Optional Revolt Server
 
-The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join the Discord for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.
+The mailing list is how you get official invites, but you may join Revolt for extra updates or to chat with the meetup group.

content/english/memos/index.md

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+---
+title: "Official Memos"
+meta_title: "Official Memos"
+layout: "board"
+description: "Memos from our founder"
+draft: false
+---
+Handmade Cities publishes memoranda written by [our founder](/about), usually addressed to prominent community members. The public nature of these documents lets you:
+1. Keep tabs on how we govern
+2. Call out faulty reasoning or inconsistencies (but don't *"well actually"* us)
+3. Increase chances for participation e.g. because you saw a new initiative
+
+Memos are published once a month as PDF documents below.
+
+## MEMORANDA
+
+**January 2026**
+
+- [HMC Memo 001 - Wiki Ownership](/memos/HMC-Memo-001-Wiki-Ownership.pdf)
+- [HMC Memo 002 - UXUI](/memos/HMC-Memo-002-UXUI.pdf)
+
+**February 2026**
+
+- [HMC Memo 003 - Server Admin](/memos/HMC-Memo-003-Server-Admin.pdf)
+- [HMC Memo 004 - Meetup Hosts](/memos/HMC-Memo-004-Meetup-Hosts.pdf)
+
+Date of publication varies.

content/english/news/_index.md

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 title: "News"
-meta_title: ""
-description: "this is meta description"
+meta_title: "News | Handmade Cities"
+description: "The latest Handmade Cities news"
 newsletter_signup:
   active: true
   title: "Join our newsletter"
@@ -14,9 +14,9 @@ newsletter_signup:
   button_class: "btn text-white meetups-bg col-3"
   section_class: ""
 text_sidepanel:
-    active: true
-    title: ""
-    title_class: ""
+    active: false
+    title: "RSS Feed"
+    title_class: "mb-6"
     text_class: ""
-    text: "[RSS](/news/index.xml)"
+    text: "[Subscribe](/news/index.xml)"
 ---

content/english/news/computer-club-atelier-hivernal-2026.md

@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+---
+title: "Computer Club - Atelier Hivernal - Lyon"
+meta_title: ""
+description: "Martin Fouilleul is our French meetup host. Read their latest announcement"
+date: 2026-01-10T12:00:00Z
+image: "/images/meetups/france.jpg"
+categories: ["Meetups"]
+author: "Martin Fouilleul"
+tags: ["meetups", "france"]
+draft: false
+---
+
+> [Martin Fouilleul](/media/seattle-2023/orca/) is our [French](/meetups/grenoble) meetup host. You may reach the author at martin@handmadecities.com
+
+<p>Bonjour, et bonne année,</p>  <p>Pierre-Louis, que vous avez déjà pu croiser aux meetups Grenoblois, vous propose une nouvelle après-midi d&rsquo;échanges et de bricolage autour de vos projets software/hardware. Ça se passe le <strong>17 janvier</strong> à partir de 14h, à <strong>Grrrnd Zero</strong>, 60 avenue de Bohlen, Vaulx-en-Velin.</p>  <p>La capacité maximale étant de 10 personnes, pensez à réserver à l&rsquo;avance en écrivant à <a href="mailto:meetup@pld.tf">meetup@pld.tf</a>. Un repas est proposé pour les personnes en avance entre 12h30 et 13h30, merci de prévenir lors de votre réservation.</p>  <p>En espérant vous y retrouver nombreux·ses !</p>  <p>Martin</p>  <p><img src="https://rel.pld.tf/meetup/20260117.png" alt="Affiche" /></p>
+

content/english/news/farewell-to-distant-worlds.md

@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+---
+title: "Farewell to Distant Worlds"
+meta_title: ""
+description: "One of Seattle's most popular coffee shops is winding down. Guest article by Allen Webster"
+date: 2025-08-29T12:00:00Z
+image: "/images/meetups/distantworlds_space.jpg"
+categories: ["Meetups"]
+author: "Allen Webster"
+tags: ["meetups", "seattle"]
+draft: false
+---
+
+A special Handmade meetup: one of Seattle's most popular coffee shops is winding down.
+
+> Allen Webster is a meetup host for [Seattle](/meetups/seattle). You may reach the author at allen@handmadecities.com
+
+Seattle area folks,
+
+As the last Saturday of the month approaches, we’re looking forward to our usual Handmade meetup, but a few things will be very different this month. Please read to the end to catch all the details.
+
+The big news:
+-------------
+
+First and foremost, the venue we have been with since the beginning, Distant Worlds Coffeehouse, is closing on August 31st, making our meetup one of the last events to occur in the space. This news came rather suddenly and saddens us deeply, not to mention the owner and staff at Distant Worlds. Abner has made an effort to reach out to as many people as possible to give Distant Worlds the send off they deserve, and all sales will go towards an employee severance fund, so please buy your drinks and snacks as usual (or splurge!)
+
+{{< image src="images/meetups/dw.png" caption="Distant Worlds - Seattle Roosevelt" alt="Distant Worlds" height="400" width="400" position="center" command="fill" option="q100" class="img-fluid" title="Distant Worlds (Seattle)"  webp="false" >}}
+
+Second, while Abner will still be in attendance, he wants to focus at least some of his attention on talking with the staff with whom he has a long standing relationship. So he’s asked me, his backup host, to step in for the month. Many of you may know me, but in case you don’t I look forward to meeting you. I am Allen Webster, creator of [4coder](https://4coder.net) and [Mr. 4th Lab](https://mr4th.com), and I’ve been the host of a few meetups before, so you’re still in good hands.
+
+The details:
+------------
+
+-   **Where:** Distant Worlds Coffeehouse (in Seattle)
+-   **When:** Saturday, August 30th, 2PM-4PM
+-   **Parking:** While there is street parking around the neighborhood, the most reliable place to park is “Green Lake Park & Ride”.
+-   Afterwards those who are up for more time together migrate down the road for pizza and time at the pub.
+
+Submitting Topics:
+------------------
+
+Many of us in the community work on software projects on our own. The goal of the meetup is to get a chance to get help where we’re stuck, to get feedback on what we’ve built, and to practice explaining our ideas to other programmers.
+
+Usually we gather up topics on the fly at the start of the meetup, but to make the most of our time I am going to try **an experiment!**
+
+I’m asking you to take a few minutes to write a short pitch of what you’d like to bring and send it to me ahead of time at allenw@mr4th.com. Tell me about your topic, and what questions you might like to get answers to, what new features of your project you might like to demo, or what you’d like a chance to discuss.
+
+I will sort through pre-submitted topics ahead of time to pick an order and see how much time we can give each topic, that way we can dive right in. I want to be sure we pack our last meetup at Distant Worlds with as many opportunities for people to participate as possible, while we celebrate our meetup community. I’ll still take topics on the fly if there’s time, but I’m going to give first priority to pre-submitted topics.
+
+*See you on Saturday!*
+
+-Allen
+
+{{< button label="Employee Severance Fund" link="https://venmo.com/u/distantworldscoffee" style="solid" >}}
+
+---
+
+> Staff Note: Can't make it in person? Use the Employee Severance Fund button above!
+

content/english/news/first-boston-meetup-2026.md

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+---
+title: "Boston Meetup 01/24"
+meta_title: ""
+description: "Margret Riegert is our Boston meetup host. Read their latest announcement"
+date: 2026-01-12T12:00:00Z
+image: "/images/meetups/boston.jpg"
+categories: ["Meetups"]
+author: "Margret Riegert"
+tags: ["meetups", "boston"]
+draft: false
+---
+
+> Margret Riegert is our [Boston](/meetups/boston) meetup host. You may reach the author at margret@handmadecities.com
+
+<h2>Meetup Details</h2>  <ul> <li>Date: January 24th, 2026</li> <li>Time: 12-2pm</li> <li>Address: 700 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02116</li> <li>RSVP: <a href="https://partiful.com/e/vUcDz66dzwi4k9L6iJiy\">https://partiful.com/e/vUcDz66dzwi4k9L6iJiy</a></li> <li>Boston Meetup Revolt: <a href="https://revolt.handmadecities.com\">https://revolt.handmadecities.com</a></li> </ul>  <hr />  <h2>The Agenda</h2>  <ul> <li><strong>Software Project Demos:</strong> Bring a project you&rsquo;ve been working on, ask questions, get constructive feedback, etc.</li> <li><strong>Presentation:</strong> Give a mini talk about something you&rsquo;ve been working on and that you think others in the handmade community would find interesting</li> <li><strong>Special Topics:</strong> Talk as a group about anything relevant in the handmade community</li> <li><strong>Social After:</strong> Afterwards, we can head out and grab something to eat</li> </ul>  <p>You&rsquo;re not required to bring a project or anything; showing up is good enough!</p>  <hr />  <h2>Getting there</h2>  <p>We&rsquo;ll be in the mezzanine conference room #3.</p>  <p>If you enter through the Boylston Street entrance, you want to head to the left and look for where it says Community Learning Center.</p> 

content/english/news/first-boston-meetup-reminder-2026.md

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+---
+title: "Boston Meetup Reminder"
+meta_title: ""
+description: "Margret Riegert is our Boston meetup host. Read their latest announcement"
+date: 2026-01-23T12:00:00Z
+image: "/images/meetups/boston.jpg"
+categories: ["Meetups"]
+author: "Margret Riegert"
+tags: ["meetups", "boston"]
+draft: false
+---
+
+> Margret Riegert is our [Boston](/meetups/boston) meetup host. You may reach the author at margret@handmadecities.com
+
+<p>Hello! This is just a friendly reminder about the Handmade meetup <strong>tomorrow</strong> at the library.</p>  <h2>Meetup Details</h2>  <ul> <li>Date: January 24th, 2026</li> <li>Time: 12-2pm</li> <li>Address: 700 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02116</li> <li>RSVP: <a href="https://partiful.com/e/vUcDz66dzwi4k9L6iJiy\">https://partiful.com/e/vUcDz66dzwi4k9L6iJiy</a></li> <li>Boston Meetup Revolt: <a href="https://revolt.handmadecities.com\">https://revolt.handmadecities.com</a></li> </ul>  <hr />  <h2>The Agenda</h2>  <ul> <li><strong>Software Project Demos:</strong> Bring a project you&rsquo;ve been working on, ask questions, get constructive feedback, etc.</li> <li><strong>Presentation:</strong> Give a mini talk about something you&rsquo;ve been working on and that you think others in the handmade community would find interesting</li> <li><strong>Special Topics:</strong> Talk as a group about anything relevant in the handmade community</li> <li><strong>Social After:</strong> Afterwards, we can head out and grab something to eat</li> </ul>  <p>You&rsquo;re not required to bring a project or anything; showing up is good enough!</p>  <hr />  <h2>Getting there</h2>  <p>We&rsquo;ll be in the mezzanine conference room #3.</p>  <p>If you enter through the Boylston Street entrance, you want to head to the left and look for where it says Community Learning Center.</p> 

content/english/news/first-dc-meetup-2026.md

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+---
+title: "D.C. Meetup: API Design & Single-Header Libraries"
+meta_title: ""
+description: "Felix Ulmanu is our Washington D.C. meetup host. Read their latest announcement"
+date: 2026-01-12T12:00:00Z
+image: "/images/meetups/dc.jpg"
+categories: ["Meetups"]
+author: "Felix Ulmanu"
+tags: ["meetups", "dc"]
+draft: false
+---
+
+> Felix Ulmanu is our [Washington D.C.](/meetups/dc) meetup host. You may reach the author at felix@handmadecities.com
+
+<p>Join us this Saturday, 24 January 2026, from 1:45pm to 2:45pm, to discuss API design and single-header libraries. How should we structure and program libraries to impose as few usage constraints as possible? We&rsquo;ll look at <a href="https://github.com/nothings/stb">the STB libraries</a> and other examples as case studies.</p>  <p><strong>Please note the slightly different time than usual</strong> (though after 2:45pm, we may continue chatting over lunch nearby). We&rsquo;re still at the <strong>West End Library</strong>, 2301 L St NW, Washington, DC 20037, in <strong>Meeting Room 2</strong>. See you soon!</p>  <h2>Contact</h2>  <ul> <li><code>_felixu_</code> on Discord, or reply to this email</li> </ul>  <p>Note that it appears Gmail may send this announcement to &ldquo;Promotions&rdquo;. To prevent this, you can set emails from this address to always go to your primary inbox. (We will never send spam!)</p>

content/english/news/first-dc-meetup-correction-2026.md

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+---
+title: "D.C. Meetup: POSTPONED to Sunday, 1 February"
+meta_title: ""
+description: "Felix Ulmanu is our Washington D.C. meetup host. Read their latest announcement"
+date: 2026-01-22T12:00:00Z
+image: "/images/meetups/dc.jpg"
+categories: ["Meetups"]
+author: "Felix Ulmanu"
+tags: ["meetups", "dc"]
+draft: false
+---
+
+> Felix Ulmanu is our [Washington D.C.](/meetups/dc) meetup host. You may reach the author at felix@handmadecities.com
+
+<p>Due to Winter Storm Fern, the next DC meetup, previously scheduled for this Saturday, is <strong>postponed to Sunday, 1 February, from 2pm to 4pm</strong>. See the last email for our topic and location, which both remain unchanged. Sorry for the trouble, and we hope to see you soon!</p>  <h2>Contact</h2>  <ul> <li><code>_felixu_</code> on Discord, or reply to this email</li> </ul>  <p>Note that it appears Gmail may send this announcement to &ldquo;Promotions&rdquo;. To prevent this, you can set emails from this address to always go to your primary inbox. (We will never send spam!)</p>

content/english/news/first-kirkland-cowork-2026.md

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+---
+title: "Friday Co-Working in Kirkland"
+meta_title: ""
+description: "Taylor Robbins is our Kirkland co-working host. Read their latest announcement"
+date: 2026-01-08T12:00:00Z
+image: "/images/meetups/kirkland.jpg"
+categories: ["Meetups"]
+author: "Taylor Robbins"
+tags: ["cowork", "kirkland"]
+draft: false
+---
+
+> Taylor Robbins is our [Kirkland](/meetups/seattle) co-working host. You may reach the author at taylor@handmadecities.com
+
+<p>Dear Handmade folks,</p>  <p>Happy New Year! Tomorrow is our first Kirkland Co-Working session of 2026. Now that the holidays are done it&rsquo;s back to work, and what better way to work than in the company of others. Come hang out, anyone is welcome, even if you need to work on your day-job tasks while you&rsquo;re there, but we always love hearing what people are working on if you have something to share.</p>  <p><strong>When:</strong> 2:00pm-5:00pm (Friday January 9th)</p>  <p><strong>Where:</strong> Thruline Coffee - 136 Park Ln, Kirkland, WA 98033</p>  <p><a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/CmeFmdPdLZkycXHw6">Google Maps Link</a></p>  <p><img src="https://www.robbitay.com/handmade/thruline_coffee_512.png" alt="Thruline Coffee Image" /></p>  <p>I still recommend charging your laptop beforehand, but if you need we often get the table in the back with an outlet and I&rsquo;ll bring a extension cord + splitter. If you don&rsquo;t see us when you first walk in make sure you check behind the counter on the right, the table we sit at is not visible from the door.</p>  <p>If you have any questions don&rsquo;t hesitate to reach out! (reply to this email, or DM/ping on Discord <code>@ProfessorSil</code>)</p>

content/english/news/first-london-meetup-2026.md

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+---
+title: "London Meetup, January 11th"
+meta_title: ""
+description: "Jacques Heunis is our London meetup host. Read their latest announcement"
+date: 2026-01-04T12:00:00Z
+image: "/images/meetups/london.jpg"
+categories: ["Meetups"]
+author: "Jacques Heunis"
+tags: ["meetups", "london"]
+draft: false
+---
+
+> Jacques Heunis is our [London](/meetups/london) meetup host. You may reach the author at jacques@handmadecities.com
+
+<p>Hey everyone</p>  <p>It&rsquo;s now 2026, time for everybody to mis-type the year for the next two months! \\o/ More importantly, its a new month and that means a new meetup. I&rsquo;m sending this out a bit late so we&rsquo;ll schedule for the 18th of January.</p>  <p>As usual we&rsquo;ll book a table at The Fellow (a pub near Kings Cross Station, N1 9AA). There&rsquo;s no agenda so anybody is free to bring any topics or demos that they&rsquo;d like to discuss. If anybody wants to bring a laptop or gadget or what-have-you to demo something that&rsquo;s awesome but most often its just a casual chat about recent projects or topics that interest people. The only ask is that attendees grab a drink or some food to compensate the pub for so kindly allowing us to use their space.</p>  <p>We&rsquo;ll schedule for 14:00 on the 18th of January (2 weeks from now) and people are welcome to stay for as long as they fancy. Since space is limited, please do respond <a href="https://rsvp.handmadecities.com/event/BodEJGrM\">on the event page here</a> by the end of Sunday the 11th if you&rsquo;d like to attend, just so that I can make a reservation for the table.</p>  <p>Looking forward to seeing you there!</p>  <p>Jacques</p>

content/english/news/first-london-meetup-correction-2026.md

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+---
+title: "Correction: Handmade London Meetup, January 18th"
+meta_title: ""
+description: "Jacques Heunis is our London meetup host. Read their latest announcement"
+date: 2026-01-05T12:00:00Z
+image: "/images/meetups/london.jpg"
+categories: ["Meetups"]
+author: "Jacques Heunis"
+tags: ["meetups", "london"]
+draft: false
+---
+
+> Jacques Heunis is our [London](/meetups/london) meetup host. You may reach the author at jacques@handmadecities.com
+
+<p>Hey everyone</p>  <p>Just a correction from my previous email since the subject disagreed with the body on the date of the next meetup. As shown <a href="https://rsvp.handmadecities.com/event/BodEJGrM\">on the event page</a> <strong>the event will be on the 18th of January</strong>, not the 11th.</p>  <p>Sorry for the confusion, please do not show up at The Fellow on the 11th!</p>  <p>Looking forward to seeing you there!</p>  <p>Jacques</p>

content/english/news/first-vancouver-meetup-2026.md

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+---
+title: "First Vancouver Meetup of the Year is Tomorrow!"
+meta_title: ""
+description: "Gabriel Dechichi is our Vancouver meetup host. Read their latest announcement"
+date: 2026-01-23T12:05:00Z
+image: "/images/meetups/vancouver.jpg"
+categories: ["Meetups"]
+author: "Gabriel Dechichi"
+tags: ["meetups", "vancouver"]
+draft: false
+---
+
+> Gabriel Dechichi is our [Vancouver](/meetups/vancouver) meetup host. You may reach the author at gabriel@handmadecities.com
+
+<p>Hi there! Happy new year!</p>  <p>Our first Vancouver Handmade Meetup of the year will be this Saturday (tomorrow), January 24th at 2pm PST.</p>  <p>Same location as usual, right next to the Brentwood Town Centre Station.</p>  <p><strong>Location</strong>: <a href="https://www.google.ca/maps/place/1955+Alpha+Wy.,+Burnaby,+BC+V5C+0K5/@49.26672,-123.0032249,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x5486773aed540b73:0x8115d594509db9c4!8m2!3d49.26672!4d-123.00065!16s%2Fg%2F11hhm5l_nk?entry=tts&amp;g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDQzMC4xIPu8ASoASAFQAw%3D%3D&amp;skid=5dbe0e2f-2f48-479d-acad-b25f3371746e\">1955 Alpha Way, Burnaby BC V5C 0K6</a> </br><strong>Date: Saturday, January 24th</strong> </br><strong>Time: 2pm - 4pm</strong></p>  <p>On this meetup we will have a very special <em>talk from Sab on handling segfaults when working close to hardware</em>, which many of us were looking forward to, so hope you can all make it!</p>  <p>If you&rsquo;re considering attending you can RSVP <a href="https://luma.com/i49vxiqs\">by clicking this link</a>.</p>  <p>Looking forward to meeting y&rsquo;all soon!</p>

content/english/news/hmb-meeting-instructions-2025.md

@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+---
+title: "Boston Conference Instructions"
+meta_title: ""
+description: "Where we're meeting for 2025"
+date: 2025-08-14T12:00:00Z
+image: "/images/companies/bpl.jpg"
+categories: ["Press Release"]
+author: "Abner Coimbre"
+tags: ["meta", "hmc"]
+draft: false
+---
+
+All the details for our special event in Boston this weekend.
+
+*UPDATED 8/15: Additional FAQ at the end*
+
+Dear Handmade folks,
+
+I'm motivated to see you this weekend. This is a reminder there was a shakeup and downsizing that you can read about [here](/news/winding-down). With that said, everyone attending is in great spirits and we're looking to get inspired.
+
+#### Where do we meet?
+
+I'll be at the entrance to the Boston Public Library at 1:45PM. At 2:05 I'll start heading to the conference room. If you're arriving late, our friend Caden (who kindly reserved the space for us) has this for instructions:
+
+> It's Mezzanine Conference Room 2. From the entrance on Boylston street, you veer slightly to the left to the DVD section, and go up the stairs. From there you'll be able to see all the mezzanine conference rooms.
+
+If you're still lost, you should ask library staff how to get to Mezzanine Conference Room 2.
+
+#### Can I demo something?
+
+If we have extra time after the proper presentations, attendees can demo their own Handmade projects: it can be a side-project, but it can also be commercial software you work on, as long as you get into interesting technical details (we don't want this to be an ad.)
+
+#### What do we do after the meetup?
+
+The plan is to go until 5PM or so. For those with time and motivation left, we'll walk to a nearby park for casual chatter until we do a 6PM dinner together. It's fun to play it by ear, so we'll decide where to eat and drink in person!
+
+#### I'm here in Boston already
+
+Make sure you're in the HMC [Discord](https://handmadecities.com/discord) so you can sync up with other attendees in the area. There's a public `#handmade-boston` channel and a private `meetups-boston` channel and you may use either of them. 
+
+NOTE: If you don't see the private `#meetups-boston` channel, select **Channels & Roles** in your Discord app and choose "Boston" as a city of interest.
+
+Your indie organizer,<br>Abner Coimbre
+
+---
+
+#### Additional FAQ
+
+1. **I'm a 2024 fundraiser supporter. Can I join?**
+
+If you got lifetime perks from the 2024 fundraiser, you can join all future Handmade events including this one. Just state your name when I see you! It also helps to let me know ahead of time you wish to RSVP, since I can't always guarantee a seat.
+
+2. **I'm a monthly donor. Can I join?**
+
+If you're a monthly [donor](/donate) to Handmade Cities, you can join all future Handmade events including this one. Just state your name when I see you! It also helps to let me know ahead of time you wish to RSVP, since I can't always guarantee a seat.
+
+3. **I'm a regular Boston meetup member**
+
+If you've attended Caden's Handmade Meetups somewhat regularly, you should be fine for this event! First come, first served in terms of available seats.
+
+4. Can I bring my laptop for my demo?
+
+Of course; the conference room has a giant TV with HDMI cable. I should also have an adapter for Macbooks.
+
+Please bring your laptop fully charged in case we run out of outlets. If your laptop isn't HDMI-compatible and it isn't a Macbook, you should carry any special cables or adapters that you need.

content/english/news/hmc-2025.md

@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ Conference tickets, community submissions, our new advisory board, and more.
 - Call for Submissions  
 - Our New Advisory Board  
 - New Meetup Hosts  
-- Operation 2030  
 - Terminal Click - Beta Access
 
 Dear Conference Goer,  
@@ -56,16 +55,6 @@ A huge thanks to our hosts for fostering monthly gatherings of programmers who e
 
 Interested in hosting a meetup? Email us at support@handmadecities.com!  
 
----
-### Operation 2030  
-I’m proud to share [Operation 2030](/operation2030), a document I authored to channel the sentiments of my audience. It’s the official goal for Handmade Cities from now on:  
-
-> Handmade Cities (HMC) is on a mission to reshape the software industry for systems programmers. Our mandate is to clear a path for anyone—from juniors to seniors—to become well-connected, well-paid practitioners embodying the Handmade ethos.  
-
-While not everyone may agree with every detail, most of us are aligned on the big picture—and that’s enough to move forward. If you’ve always been curious about my vision for the future of systems programming, this document lays it all out.  
-
-The best way to support Operation 2030 right now? **Attend a conference this year.** At the conferences, I’ll share concrete steps for how you can help drive Operation 2030 forward (during breaks, after-parties, and private chat server discussions.)
-
 ---
 ### Terminal Click - Beta Access  
 
@@ -75,7 +64,7 @@ The closed beta for **Terminal Click** is in [full swing](https://terminal.click
 
 My latest April devlog, [The Wizard and His Shell](https://terminal.click/posts/2025/04/the-wizard-and-his-shell/), hit the [top spot](https://lobste.rs/s/ndlwoh/wizard_his_shell) on Lobsters for multiple days. It’s been fascinating to see the growing commentary with each devlog we release.
 
-As outlined in Operation 2030, I believe it’s crucial for leadership to independently ship Handmade software. That’s why I’m sharing this project here—it’s a direct reflection of the ethos we’re building together.
+I believe it’s crucial for leadership to independently ship Handmade software. That’s why I’m sharing this project here—it’s a direct reflection of the ethos we’re building together.
 
 In closing, I hope you’ll register for the conferences. If you like what I’m doing, registering early is the best way to show your support, and it means the world to me.
 

content/english/news/hms-meeting-instructions-2025.md

@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+---
+title: "Seattle Conference Instructions"
+meta_title: ""
+description: "Where we're meeting for 2025"
+date: 2025-12-03T12:00:00Z
+image: "/images/meetups/obc_counter.jpg"
+categories: ["Press Release"]
+author: "Abner Coimbre"
+tags: ["meta", "hmc"]
+draft: false
+---
+
+All the details for Handmade Seattle Lite happening this Saturday.
+
+Dear Handmade folks,
+
+I'm motivated to see you this weekend. This is a reminder there was a whole [shakeup and downsizing](/news/winding-down). With that said, everyone attending is in great spirits and we're looking to get inspired.
+
+#### Where do we meet?
+
+The full schedule is on the [Seattle page](/seattle): we discuss the presentations, venue details and any instructions or contingency plans.
+
+I'll be at the entrance to One Bite Cafe (Seattle) at 1:45PM. At 2:05 I'll start turning on the A/V equipment. If you're arriving late, please enter the coffee shop quietly and order some snacks to support this family business. Then find any available seat and enjoy the show!
+
+If you're lost, email me at `abner@handmadecities.com` as I'll be paying attention to it every few minutes until we begin at 2:30PM.
+
+#### Can I demo something?
+
+If we have extra time after the proper presentations, attendees can demo their own Handmade projects: it can be a side-project, but it can also be commercial software you work on, as long as you get into interesting technical details (we don't want this to be an ad.)
+
+#### What do we do after the meetup?
+
+The plan is to go until 5PM or so. For those with time and motivation left, we'll walk to a nearby pizza place followed by drinks at the pub. All of these small shops know about Handmade Cities and appreciate our business. It's fun to play it by ear, so we'll decide where to eat and drink in person based on attendance size.
+
+#### Can I still RSVP?
+
+If you're subscribed to the Seattle [mailing list](/meetups/seattle) you should receive an RSVP link on **Wednesday December 3rd, 2025**. Ticket holders don't need to RSVP.
+
+Please reach out to me if you never received that invite and I'll send you a copy.
+
+Your indie organizer,<br>Abner Coimbre
+
+---
+
+#### Additional FAQ
+
+1. **I'm a 2024 fundraiser supporter. Can I join?**
+
+If you got lifetime perks from the 2024 fundraiser, you can join all future Handmade events including this one. Just state your name when I see you! It also helps to let me know ahead of time you wish to RSVP, since I can't always guarantee a seat.
+
+2. **I'm a monthly donor. Can I join?**
+
+If you're a monthly [donor](/donate) to Handmade Cities, you can join all future Handmade events including this one. Just state your name when I see you! It also helps to let me know ahead of time you wish to RSVP, since I can't always guarantee a seat.
+
+3. **I'm a regular Seattle meetup member**
+
+If you've attended our monthly meetups or weekly co-working sessions somewhat regularly, you should be fine for this event! First come, first served in terms of available seats, with priority given to ticket holders.
+
+4. **Can I bring my laptop for my demo?**
+
+Of course; the coffee shop will have a projector screen with HDMI cable. I should also have an adapter for Macbooks.
+
+Please bring your laptop fully charged. If your laptop isn't HDMI-compatible and it isn't a Macbook, you should carry any special cables or adapters that you need.

content/english/news/revolt-against-discord.md

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+---
+title: "Revolt Against Discord"
+meta_title: ""
+description: "Handmade Cities is killing Discord before 2026"
+date: 2025-10-12T12:00:00Z
+image: "/images/hmc/revolt-promotion.png"
+categories: ["Press Release"]
+author: "Abner Coimbre"
+tags: ["meta", "hmc"]
+draft: false
+---
+
+Handmade Cities is leaving Discord by end of the year.
+
+Time to [Revolt](https://revolt.handmadecities.com) against Discord. Savor the refrain while it lasts, because Revolt will become [Stoat](https://stoat.chat/) eventually. Their rebrand doesn’t change anything about joining now. Your Revolt account will stay the same. Indeed, I’ll call it “Revolt” for the rest of this post.
+
+You might wonder why this move needs to happen in the first place. First, it's a **principles thing.** We want to own chat data to align closer with the values on our [About](/about) page. On Discord, meanwhile, communities can be (and *have* been) shut down with no recourse. Second, there's **real cybersecurity concerns**. Discord has asked for government ID verification and passed that data to third parties — nearly 100k IDs were exposed in a [vendor breach](https://www.pcmag.com/news/discord-70k-govt-ids-exposed-breach-hackers-posting-age-verification-selfies). That’s not acceptable. Ironically, it appears to be their customer support and "Trust & Safety" teams that were collecting this data. Now it's in the hands of hackers:
+
+> "The hackers who compromised Discord are now sharing examples of what they say is stolen data, including selfies of Americans and Canadians holding up IDs." -PCMag
+
+So much for trust. Or safety.
+
+Finally, note that I'm **encouraging people to touch grass.** I’ve [sketched](https://abner.page/post/exit-the-feed/) a path for top engineers to live without addictive social media. Revolt as an invite‑only, verified‑human space is a core piece of that plan.
+#### Did you just say invite-only? How do I join Revolt?
+Invitations will come only from official [meetup hosts](/meetups) or directly from me. If we’ve met at a conference, meetup, or co‑working session, message us and we’ll likely invite you. I’m the one who grants the **Verified Human** badge and I’ll do so if a host can vouch for you. This is an imperfect system and it still requires moderation, of course, but it places a premium on trust over open discoverability. Which is exactly the point.
+
+UPDATE 1/12/2026: Users [can now request](/chat) invite codes directly.
+
+#### Addressing common objections
+There are three typical arguments against using Revolt that I should tackle here.
+
+1. *"Revolt will be a walled garden like Discord and therefore not crawlable."* I believe that private, ephemeral conversations should remain private. We can curate and surface the best technical discussions into a [public wiki](/guide) so important knowledge isn’t lost.
+
+2. *“Abner is a dictator."* Guilty as charged. I’m running this as a BDFL, with a decade of organizing Handmade since my early college days. There’s an escape hatch though, because every meetup host can dump their mailing list locally. I don't lock people in. This cuts both ways too: hosts who violate [community values](/about) -- e.g. running meetups sponsored by Microsoft -- are cut off from the water tap. They won't be able to send newsletters nor access new subscribers to the mailing list.
+
+3. *"There's some friction and missing features."* Revolt is lighter than Discord. I call it Discord Lite™ and it carries a few annoyances:
+
+- **You can't point the Revolt app to a custom domain.** There is a workaround for this: visit `revolt.handmadecities.com` in your phone's native browser (Safari on iOS). Now hit `Add to Home Screen` and the PWA you just installed behaves like any other electron app.
+- **Missing bells & whistles.** There's no message pinning, no threads, and limitations on emoji reactions. These are irritations to me, not deal breakers. Many people find Revolt snappier with zero loading times.
+- **Lack of E2EE.** Discord has this problem too. Handmade Cities policy is to safeguard private DMs and never inspect their contents, but you're choosing to trust us instead of Discord. Never disclose sensitive material on our servers; instead you should ask the person you're talking to for their [Signal](https://signal.org/) username and hop over there.
+#### Final Notes
+To summarize: Our new [Revolt](https://revolt.handmadecities.com) is invite‑only. You must be a verified human; either I know you, or a meetup host does. The easiest way to get invited is to attend an in‑person event. If this feels like too much, consider this your warning: the Discord goes kaput after New Year’s Eve. Exchange contact info, save any important links, and follow our [public newsletter](/news) to stay updated, with or without Revolt/Stoat.
+
+Your indie organizer,<br>Abner Coimbre

content/english/news/revolt-for-fast-updates.md

@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+---
+title: "Revolt for Fast Updates"
+meta_title: ""
+description: "Abner Coimbre is our Seattle meetup host. Read their latest announcement"
+date: 2026-01-16T22:32:38Z
+image: "/images/revolt_community.png"
+categories: ["Meetups"]
+author: "Abner Coimbre"
+tags: ["meetups", "seattle"]
+draft: false
+---
+
+> [Abner Coimbre](/about) is our [Seattle](/meetups/seattle) meetup host. You may reach the author at abner@handmadecities.com
+
+**TL;DR:** Request [invite codes](https://handmadecities.com/chat) for Revolt today! Check out our [brand new](https://guide.handmadecities.com) wiki. Finally, the Seattle co-working session is cancelled as we potentially switch venues.
+
+---
+
+Seattle area folks,
+
+Happy 2026!
+
+Our Discord server is no more: as I [promised](/news/summer-update-2025/) last summer (see **Discord Off-Ramp** section) and then [very explicitly](/news/revolt-against-discord/) in the fall. Indeed I'm going underground to promote offline meetups - may the power of word-of-mouth bless the community.
+
+My own account is scheduled for deletion.
+
+Discord said it will take up to 14 days, so I don't know if that means my account appears active? Anyway, if you're sending me DMs there I'm not seeing them.
+
+## Keeping up with Handmade Cities
+
+There's three official ways to keep tabs on things. As we go down this list the frequency of updates goes way up:
+
+1. [Public Newsletter](/news): this is the slowest one. You get a [Press Release](/categories/press-release) newsletter once in a blue moon, because it's intended for a mass audience. I take into account the events occuring at other Handmade meetups around the world.
+
+2. [Seattle Mailing List](/meetups/seattle): you're already part of this! You get notifications about monthly meetups, co-working sessions or just critical announcements like our Discord shutting down.
+
+3. [Chat Server](https://chat.handmadecities.com): Revolt is the new real-time chat. I send messages there every other day: some of them bubble up to the mailing list and, eventually, a public newsletter.
+
+For Revolt we have an [application process](/chat) for you to get an invite code.
+
+## Quick Guide
+
+We're excited to announce the [HMC Guide](https://guide.handmadecities.com): a proper wiki to document how our community is structured:
+
+<img src="https://guide.handmadecities.com/images/hmc_docs_screenshot_hu5108169931557510214.webp" width="840" height="400">
+
+In the new spirit of [handing off](/memos/HMC-Memo-001-Wiki-Ownership.pdf) ownership to trusted community members, our friend [Zac Nowicki](https://guide.handmadecities.com/docs/support/contact/#editor) is editor of Handmade Cities. If you spot inaccuracies or valuable missing info shoot him a message at `zac@handmadecities.com`.
+
+## Seattle Co-Work on Pause
+
+I am scoping out new venues for co-working in Seattle today. There's a strong chance we're going to use the ol' Third Place Books for the monthly meetup after-party (instead of co-working.)
+
+Our best candidate for a new co-working venue is **Armistice Coffee**, which is in the Roosevelt neighborhood as always. Anyway, until the dust settles I am canceling the co-working session today. Forgive me and stay tuned on this front.
+
+Your independent organizer,<br>Abner Coimbre

content/english/news/second-kirkland-cowork-2026.md

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+---
+title: "Friday Co-Working in Kirkland"
+meta_title: ""
+description: "Taylor Robbins is our Kirkland co-working host. Read their latest announcement"
+date: 2026-01-22T12:00:00Z
+image: "/images/meetups/kirkland.jpg"
+categories: ["Meetups"]
+author: "Taylor Robbins"
+tags: ["cowork", "kirkland"]
+draft: false
+---
+
+> Taylor Robbins is our [Kirkland](/meetups/seattle) co-working host. You may reach the author at taylor@handmadecities.com
+
+<p>Dear Handmade folks,</p>  <p>Tomorrow is another co-working session in Kirkland! I&rsquo;ll be starting a new job in February so the meetup hosting may change hands or change times, but for now it&rsquo;s business as usual (and likely Feb 6th will be normal as well). Come hang out, anyone is welcome, even if you need to work on your day-job tasks while you&rsquo;re there, but we always love hearing what people are working on if you have something to share.</p>  <p><strong>When:</strong> 2:00pm-5:00pm (Friday January 23rd)</p>  <p><strong>Where:</strong> Thruline Coffee - 136 Park Ln, Kirkland, WA 98033</p>  <p><a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/CmeFmdPdLZkycXHw6">Google Maps Link</a></p>  <p><img src="https://www.robbitay.com/handmade/thruline_coffee_512.png" alt="Thruline Coffee Image" /></p>  <p>I still recommend charging your laptop beforehand, but if you need we often get the table in the back with an outlet and I&rsquo;ll bring a extension cord + splitter. If you don&rsquo;t see us when you first walk in make sure you check behind the counter on the right, the table we sit at is not visible from the door.</p>  <p>If you have any questions don&rsquo;t hesitate to reach out! (reply to this email, or DM/ping on Discord <code>@ProfessorSil</code>)</p>

content/english/news/summer-update-2025.md

@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+---
+title: "Our Summer Update"
+meta_title: ""
+description: "See where we stand halfway through the year"
+date: 2025-06-23T12:00:00Z
+image: "/images/hmc/ocean.jpg"
+categories: ["Press Release"]
+author: "Abner Coimbre"
+tags: ["meta", "hmc"]
+draft: false
+---
+
+Catch up on our progress this year. Ticket discounts are ending soon!
+
+**Things to Discuss**
+
+- Conference Theme: Handmade at Home
+- Discord Off-Ramp
+- My Thoughts on AI
+- Bonus Video: Is Handmade like Suckless?
+
+Dear community member,
+
+Summer is here! **I’ve [extended](/tickets) the Spring Sale a few more days,** but the discounts vanish after Wednesday:
+
+{{< button label="Register" link="/tickets" style="solid" >}}
+
+Check out our new [downloadable](/calendar) calendar to keep track of event dates.
+
+---
+### "Handmade at Home"
+This year’s conference theme is *Handmade at Home*, and it has two meanings.
+
+#### Meaning #1: Cleaning House
+
+With our industry in upheaval, it’s tricky to settle down and reflect, let alone evangelize our values. Here’s what we’re facing:
+
+1. Handmade Cities is full of gamedevs and they're [in very hot water](https://www.gamesindustry.biz/topics/layoffs)
+2. International attendance is dropping to [near zero](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44084767). I'm not the only organizer [suffering](https://archive.is/QWmxO) consequences
+3. Morale is at an all-time low due to AI (more on this later)
+
+Therefore I'm keen for talks or demos that offer hope, strategies, and inspiration against these grim realities. The theme is open-ended.
+
+**Reminder:** Our new content will be 80% technical and 20% about programmer well-being.
+
+#### Meaning #2: Elevate Our Own Talent
+
+Historically, I've chosen high-profile speakers outside our community to come talk to us. This is valuable. However, I haven't spent nearly enough time platforming community voices. 
+
+We have astounding system programmers at our [meetups](/meetups) and I wish to hear from them.
+
+{{< image src="images/meetups/cowork_seattle_2025.jpg" caption="Seattle Coworking Session (2025)" alt="cline bot landing page" height="806" width="605" position="center" command="fill" option="q100" class="img-fluid" title="image title"  webp="false" >}}
+
+Someone reading this may be a worthy candidate and not even know it. Send an informal proposal to submissions@handmadecities.com
+
+{{< button label="Submit a Talk" link="mailto:submissions@handmadecities.com" style="solid" >}}
+
+---
+### Discord Off-Ramp 
+It's  not controversial to say I want to shut down Discord: everyone can sympathize for one reason or another! I’ve left all servers except for my own [HMC](/discord) and [TC](https://terminal.click/discord) for now.
+
+I’m moving us to [Revolt](https://revolt.chat) through an invite-only system. Here’s how it’ll work:
+
+- I invite people I know personally
+- Meetup hosts can invite their meetup groups
+- Conference ticket holders are auto-invited (2025 onwards)
+
+Indeed, [meetup](https://handmadecities.com/meetups) hosts will send chat invites with my command-line tool, which they already use to send newsletters. (I'm in the middle of completing this feature.)
+
+{{< image src="images/hmc/revolt.png" caption="Revolt is an open-source Discord copycat (and that's a good thing)" alt="cline bot landing page" height="" width="" position="center" command="fill" option="q100" class="img-fluid" title="image title"  webp="false" >}}
+
+I am, in essence, [heeding the advice](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44331351) of this HN comment:
+
+> I honestly couldn't tell you right now what the long game looks like. Only to find your humans, build your digital fortresses, and help each other as best you can.
+
+Revolt won't be foolproof of course. The host could go rogue and invite randos, or the ticket holder might take on a fake identity. I'm fine with some cracks on the floor though. This transition is happening over the summer and I’ll keep folks posted if they're [subscribed](/news).
+
+---
+### My Thoughts on AI
+All right, it's a stretch to call my take on artificial intelligence a "real" philosophy, but it is informed from careful study.
+
+I'm no longer a stranger to AI; I can effectively use the [cline](https://cline.bot) bot and deploy MCP servers. I review, quantize, and self-host open models. I stay on top of the "latest and greatest" and have vibe coders on speed dial (I keep dissenting opinions closer than friends.)
+
+So what's the conclusion? I offer two.
+
+{{< image src="images/hmc/cline.png" caption="Cline Bot - Landing Page" alt="cline bot landing page" height="" width="" position="center" command="fill" option="q100" class="img-fluid" title="image title"  webp="false" >}}
+
+#### Conclusion #1: Handmade Ethos is Competitive
+
+Serious Handmade projects, like my own [Terminal Click](https://terminal.click), don't gain from AI. It does help at the margins: I've delegated website work since last year, and I enjoy seamless CI/CD for my builds. This is meaningful.
+
+However, it fails at novel problems and isn’t practical for my systems programming work. (Skeptics should check out the bonus video at the end.)
+
+#### Conclusion #2: A Market for the Artisanal
+
+Let's imagine LLM agents become essential for true innovation: the top 5% of 'manual' coders are officially threatened! From what I observe at our in-person events, there remains the eternal craving for what's purely human.
+
+Even True Believers conceded to me users will crave Handmade projects the same way people crave artisanal crafts, furniture or goods. They called this futuristic market fringe - I call it sustainable.
+
+**TL;DR:** I don't lose sleep over my craft disappearing. I lose sleep over the automation of mediocrity.
+
+---
+### Is Handmade like Suckless? (Video)
+
+Anyone who made it this far deserves a cool video! I've set up a permalink at [terminal.click/suckless](https://terminal.click/suckless)
+
+<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/1091637660?badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="Handmade is NOT Suckless"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>
+
+Over the years some new community members often think [suckless](https://suckless.org) and Handmade are similar if not the same. Out of respect for both, I feel it's time to respond.
+
+The payoff is worthwhile if viewers watch patiently.
+
+*P.S. Don’t expect a deep philosophical breakdown. Instead, I casually compare their signature terminal software against my own: two real-world products from competing ideologies.*
+
+Your indie organizer,<br>Abner Coimbre

content/english/news/winding-down.md

@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+---
+title: "Winding Down"
+meta_title: ""
+description: "Our conferences are coming to an end"
+date: 2025-08-12T12:00:00Z
+image: "/images/hmc/out-of-order.jpg"
+categories: ["Press Release"]
+author: "Abner Coimbre"
+tags: ["meta", "hmc"]
+draft: false
+---
+
+Our conferences are coming to an end. I am re-evaluating how we socialize.
+
+Dear Handmade folks,
+
+This shutdown isn't the end of Handmade Cities, but it does mean we're ending our conferences in favor of local meetups. I'm officially collaborating with [The Offline Club](https://www.theoffline-club.com/) in the future, since we both agreed we admire each other's efforts.
+
+Personally I'm optimistic for what's on the horizon. However, in this post I need to be blunt about reality. Stand strong.
+
+*REMINDER: Handmade Cities is NOT affiliated with Handmade Hero nor the Handmade Network. We share the brand and that's it.*
+
+#### What does it mean for the conferences in 2025?
+
+The [Boston](/boston) and [Seattle](/seattle) dates stay on the calendar, but they’re meetups now; likely bigger than usual, just not a traditional tech conference. I expect the lectures and demos to remain exciting but in smaller packaging.
+
+This change is reflected in Boston already, which is coming up this weekend. We changed the venue from the increasingly expensive JFK Presidential Library to the Boston Public Library instead:
+
+{{< image src="images/companies/bpl.jpg" caption="Entrance to BPL" alt="Entrance to Boston Public Library" height="806" width="605" position="center" command="fill" option="q100" class="img-fluid" title="Entrance to BPL"  webp="false" >}}
+
+I've disabled the [tickets](/tickets) portal and, if there’s room, new folks can join free. E-mail me to RSVP: abner@handmadecities.com. We'll meet in front of the library Saturday at 2PM: plus ones welcome.
+
+Ticket holders disappointed with this change can email me directly at abner@handmadecities.com to negotiate refunds. I’ve got sunk costs, so refunds might take up to a small number of weeks. However, I'm already processing them as fast as I can, and I'm deeply grateful to the folks allowing me to keep their contribution.
+
+These upcoming events will be delightful all the same.
+
+#### Why I'm doing this
+
+This story has two parts: financial and personal.
+
+1. **Financial**
+
+I hinted at economic trouble at the beginning of [this](/news/summer-update-2025/) summer update and in the bottom section of my Terminal Click [announcement](https://terminal.click/posts/2025/07/open-beta/). It's common knowledge profitable conferences are a dying breed and I'm surprised I've lasted this long: Deconstruct, Strangeloop, Bang Bang Con, XOXO and other small-to-medium sized events vanished. Even corporate-backed conferences are no longer around: O'Reilly, Xfest, E3 and so on went away.
+
+2. **Personal**
+
+In the last Handmade Seattle I made a mistake with the balance of content. It was definitely jarring to have little in the way of old-school technical presentations. This caused a 50-50 split of positive versus negative feedback: the positive commentary came largely from newcomers, while the negative came largely from veterans. The reader can visit [older](/news) blog posts where I apologized and asked for feedback.
+
+However, I stand by all my speakers and refuse to add disclaimers/warnings inside published recordings. It is obvious giving speakers air time doesn't mean I endorse all their views. In any case, the most controversial talk by far was Andrew Kelley's keynote on [Day One](/media/seattle-2024/hms-day-one/). I received a barrage of vile essays in my Inbox, Discord DMs, and unlisted YouTube videos calling me a communist (what?) for platforming Andrew's message. I lost genuine friendships from people who were caught up in the heat of it all.
+
+This was personally traumatic, and I can't use this trauma to justify running half-hearted conferences, which is an important reason for stopping them.
+
+*UPDATE 8/18/25: In my original post I aired dirty laundry, which feeds into online drama I'm supposed to denounce. It is now removed.*
+
+#### Nature is healing
+
+The Handmade meetups are awesome and they keep growing. We nerd out with demos and side projects. We help local programmers find work or make new friends every month. I train and mentor hosts, then they take the reins, so the scene is decentralized and self-sustaining. Meetups are cheap or free to run so I don't have to chase big revenue. Meanwhile, building [Terminal Click](https://terminal.click) as an indie dev is therapy compared to wrangling humans for a living!
+
+An impressive number of people who ended their relationship with me have apologized as of late. I've forgiven them.
+
+*UPDATE 8/18/25: In my original post I posted examples of private apologies, which is unfair to those friends. These are now removed.*
+
+#### Could things have been different?
+
+Without social media we could've had more perspective: in the end this was just one event. In fact a Seattle meetup member called me a “young grasshopper.” That caught me off guard until I looked around. Important things take time indeed: TED Talks have existed for four decades; DEFCON is thirty years old; many open-source conferences spent twenty years figuring things out. Herding cats is slow and messy.
+
+I’m done running conferences though. Besides the reasons above, they feed the egos of a few “anointed” speakers and require a social media hustle I just won’t play. I’m opting out. I'm excited about building stuff that gets people offline: better meetups, our own server racks, and self-hosted tools for indie devs with serious Handmade projects.
+
+I’ll keep publishing newsletters [here](/news) and on [Terminal Click](https://terminal.click/posts), and occasionally on my [personal](https://abner.page) website. I'd still love to see you at our upcoming events, even if they're not fancy conferences.
+
+See you offline,<br>Abner Coimbre

content/english/operation2030/_index.md

@@ -1,4 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Operation 2030"
-image="/images/telescope.png"
-+++

content/english/operation2030/appendix/_index.md

@@ -1,6 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Appendix"
-date="2024-08-09T09:00:00-04:00"
-enddate="2024-08-10T18:00:00-04:00"
-+++
-

content/english/operation2030/appendix/c-is-evil-so-what.md

@@ -1,81 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="C is Evil"
-mediatype="extra"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="So what?"
-thumbnail=""
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/directives) (Objectives) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/appendix/proper-ai-usage)
-
-### So What?
-
-In early 2025, [File Pilot](https://filepilot.tech) launched to widespread acclaim, stunning the industry with unfathomable performance and breathtaking design (we don’t use those words lightly.) Mainstream articles and big YouTube reviewers praise it as being orders of magnitude cleaner than the default file explorer experience for Windows 11.
-
-This is the power of the Handmade ethos: a single indie dev shipped something vastly superior than what a trillion-dollar corporation could deliver. That’s a serious wake-up call by the way; it's not something to shrug off or accept as remotely normal.
-
-When you dig into File Pilot, you’ll find its author wrote the entire thing in pure C. The loudest Rust enthusiasts might call him evil, but Handmade Cities’ response is simple: *... and?*
-
-Abner pokes fun at Rustaceans too. For example while extending [microui](https://github.com/rxi/microui) to support growable command lists (to queue up more draw commands per frame) he went straight for the jugular:
-
-```c
-function void mu_grow_command_list(mu_Context *ctx, int capacity) __attribute__((nonnull)) {
-    expect(capacity > ctx->command_list.capacity);
-
-    char *old_base = ctx->command_list.items;
-
-    ctx->command_list.items = REALLOC(ctx->command_list.items, capacity);
-    ctx->command_list.capacity = capacity;
-
-    /* patch up pointers (Rust enthusiasts: avert your eyes!) */
-    ptrdiff_t offset =  ctx->command_list.items - old_base;
-
-    // jump commands
-    mu_Command *cmd = (mu_Command*) ctx->command_list.items;
-    while ((char*)cmd < ctx->command_list.items + ctx->command_list.idx) {
-        if (cmd->type == MU_COMMAND_JUMP)
-            cmd->jump.dst += offset;
-        cmd = (mu_Command*)((char*)cmd + cmd->base.size);
-    }
-
-    // root containers
-    for (int i = 0; i < ctx->root_list.idx; ++i) {
-        mu_Container *cnt = ctx->root_list.items[i];
-        cnt->head = (mu_Command *)((char*)cnt->head + offset);
-        cnt->tail = (mu_Command *)((char*)cnt->tail + offset);
-    }
-}
-```
-
-Similarly, NASA repudiates Rust in many areas too, as discussed in our interview with Billy Basso (creator of [Animal Well]()). Timestamped recording below:
-
-<div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;">
-  <iframe 
-    src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KixgF8Ru1Mw?start=2652" 
-    style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;" 
-    allowfullscreen 
-    title="YouTube Video">
-  </iframe>
-</div>
-
-That said, Handmade Cities welcomes Rust with open arms. We do love fast Rust software like ```ripgrep```. But if you pester us to stop using C, Zig, Odin, or Jai we’ll laugh you out of the room. Don’t let yourself become a caricature of the Evangelism Strikeforce.
-
-Rust is, for *most* Handmade devs, too restrictive—a straightjacket limiting the absolute freedom needed to experiment rapidly. Rust is important for many use cases (even preferable. We'll take a Rust web server any day.) But for the kind of Formula 1 race car driving defining our ethos, it’s usually not the right fit.
-
-This isn’t a reactionary stance at all; we’ve thought deeply about these issues. If you'd like a more sophisticated discussion on the merits of being memory unsafe, with representatives on both sides, check out our podcast from Handmade Seattle 2022. It’s as relevant in 2025 as it was then:
-
-{{< vimeo 774890907 >}}
-
-<br>

content/english/operation2030/appendix/proper-ai-usage.md

@@ -1,37 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Proper AI Usage"
-mediatype="extra"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="How Handmade devs should use AI"
-thumbnail=""
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/appendix/c-is-evil-so-what) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/appendix/terminal-click)
-
-Our general stance on AI/LLMs aligns with the article ["Vibe Coding" vs Reality](https://cendyne.dev/posts/2025-03-19-vibe-coding-vs-reality.html). In particular, we tend to agree with the following observations:
-
-> Without expert intervention, the best these tools can do today is produce a somewhat functional mockup, where every future change beyond that risks destroying existing functionality.
-
-Or to put it more bluntly:
-
-> These models are trained on average sloppy code, wrong answers on Stack Overflow, and the junk that ends up on Quora.
-
-Handmade's deep appreciation for low-level knowledge affords us the privilege to resist reliance on AI. Indeed, developers who fully embrace our values can do well for themselves in the age of LLMs without having to use them.
-
-For Handmade devs, the proper use of AI is twofold:
-- To stay informed about its progress so we can refine our arguments against its misuse 
-- To use it sparingly and thoughtfully in areas OUTSIDE our core programming work 
-
-Finally, when we do use AI, it has to be through privacy-conscious services like Kagi’s Assistant or by running models locally. Anything else violates who we are.

content/english/operation2030/appendix/terminal-click.md

@@ -1,41 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Terminal Click"
-mediatype="extra"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="Our leaders must ship Handmade software"
-thumbnail=""
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/appendix/proper-ai-usage) | [Contents](/operation2030)
-
-[Terminal Click](https://terminal.click) (TC) is a terminal emulator created by Abner Coimbre, founder of Handmade Cities. From its very first git commit it works natively on Windows, Mac, and Linux. At the time of writing one hundred beta testers use it across all three platforms. It’s currently a 1MB download:
-
-![](/images/tc_proton_drive.png)
-
-Which, [according to Abner](https://terminal.click/posts/2025/04/the-wizard-and-his-shell/), is still too bloated.
-
-### Why does this matter for Operation 2030?
-
-Why does Abner's side gig matter for Operation 2030? Because he isn’t just talking about what Handmade devs should accomplish—he’s doing it himself. Leadership means taking risks, enduring criticism, and paving the way for others. For example, power users have been [quite vocal](https://lobste.rs/s/ndlwoh/wizard_his_shell) in their dislike of TC, and Abner semi-regularly receives hate mail about it (we're not kidding.) Yet he continues undeterred, with the understanding progress must meet some resistance.
-
-### Killing versus Preserving Shells
-
-Abner's fiercest competitor is [ghostty](https://ghostty.org/) by Mitchell Hashimoto. Watch their Twitch discussion from 2023 below. They explored their shared values until philosophical disagreements came to a head:
-
-{{< vimeo 854038896 >}}
-
-### Accessing the Closed Beta
-
-To join the closed beta send an email to abner@terminal.click or, optionally, drop by the TC [Discord](https://terminal.click/discord). Let us know why you’d be a good fit to test an experimental terminal!

content/english/operation2030/business/_index.md

@@ -1,6 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Our Revenue"
-date="2024-08-09T09:00:00-04:00"
-enddate="2024-08-10T18:00:00-04:00"
-+++
-

content/english/operation2030/business/donations.md

@@ -1,31 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Donations"
-mediatype="rev"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="Independent donors AKA conference members"
-thumbnail=""
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/business/tickets) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/business/miscellaneous)
-
-### How Donations Work
-
-Ticket sales and trade show booths cover the operating expenses for Handmade Cities: renting large venues, paying staff and security, securing A/V equipment, catering, event insurance and more. They run into tens of thousands of dollars per event.  
-
-Independent donors, known as [conference members](/member), keep the founder himself afloat. It's a kind of Patreon that allows Abner to remain a full-time social butterfly. Donations cover his Seattle rent, groceries, healthcare, and the occasional night out. Conference members give with no strings attached because they believe in the founder's vision with the advisory board's [guidance](/board). 
-
-Your donations to Abner are designed to outlast him. The bus factor is mitigated by his advisory board, meetup hosts, and paid staff, some of whom are learning the ropes of running this business. To ensure continuity, Abner has also implemented a dead man’s switch and written his will.
-
-Of course Abner intends to live a long and fruitful life. He dreams of becoming the Geoff Keighley of systems programmers—or perhaps growing old as a lovable Alex Trebek for computer nerds. (The parallels aren’t perfect, but you get the idea!)

content/english/operation2030/business/miscellaneous.md

@@ -1,43 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Miscellaneous"
-mediatype="rev"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="Experiments in additional income"
-thumbnail=""
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/business/donations) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/business/trade-show)
-
-We must diversify revenue to weather the tough years. For example, depressed conference attendance due to mass layoffs could be devastating to our business. Indeed this nearly happened in 2024, where we came close to shutting down like many other tech conferences. We survived through fundraisers, but we’d prefer to build a buffer by creating bonus revenue streams—although ticket sales will always be our primary source.  
-
-Ideas we’re currently exploring:  
-
-- **Software Sales**  
-  Selling our own software is the most promising avenue. Handmade conferences have inspired other indie conferences, so it makes sense to offer them the apps we wrote ourselves to self-host a tech conference.
-
-- **Magazine Sales** 
-
-  As part of [Return to Meatspace](/operation2030/directives/meatspace) we’re publishing physical magazines every quarter (starting January 2026.) We don’t expect meaningful profits here, but they will generate significant word-of-mouth buzz for conference tickets.
-
-- **Merch Shop**  
-  We’ve been promising merch for AGES but have not delivered yet. Operation 2030 must address this, especially now that Jes Chuhta gave us a [fresh coat](/news/anniversary-rebrand-2024/) of paint. Even if profits are peanuts a merch shop will indirectly boost ticket sales.
-
-- **Twitch Subscribers**  
-  Twitch streams generate hundreds of dollars every few months (nothing to sneeze at when you're indie.) With a stronger presence we can grow this into the thousands. 
-
-If we succeed diversifying, we’ll also be able to do more than just cover conference costs or Abner’s living expenses:
-- Help meetup hosts rent fancier venues for their own local events
-- Professionally design and mass print flyers, pamphlets, etc. to spread the word everywhere
-- Offer paid contract work to accelerate our Key Objectives—especially [Self-Hosting for All](/operation2030/directives/self-hosting-for-all) which requires a lot of manpower.

content/english/operation2030/business/tickets.md

@@ -1,55 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Conference Tickets"
-mediatype="rev"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="Ticket sales"
-thumbnail=""
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/structure) (Structure) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/business/donations)
-
-Ticket sales are the primary source of revenue for Handmade Cities, far surpassing other revenue streams. This is intentional. We want to remain accountable to ticket holders.  
-
-#### **Physical Track: In-Person Tickets**
-
-Both Handmade Boston and Handmade Seattle feature a physical track. The standard ticket is 249.00 USD, comparable to much larger conferences like Twitch Con. Starting in 2025 it will be our "forever price"—we intend to keep this standard price unchanged for as long as we’re in business.
-
-Exceptions include:  
-- **Early bird:** 199.00 USD
-- **Last-minute (door) prices:** 299.00 USD
-
-#### **Online Track: Online Tickets**
-
-Only Handmade Seattle has an online track because it's a fully-hybrid event. Here’s how it works:  
-- The entire event is live-streamed for free on Twitch (and YouTube as backup)
-- Live Q&A and access to speakers occur in a private chat server, which requires a ticket
-- Even the physical track must use the server to ask questions. Online attendees are treated as first-class citizens
-
-The online ticket is pegged to 30% of the in-person cost:  
-- **Early bird:** 59.00 USD
-- **Standard:** 74.00 USD
-- **Last-minute:** 89.00 USD
-
-These prices are also "forever prices."
-
-In order to grow, we have to increase attendance rather than raise ticket prices. We may also [diversify](/business/miscellaneous) into extra revenue streams. This approach to pricing is designed to give ticket holders a predictable sense of stability.  
-
-#### **Discounts for the Financially Disadvantaged**  
-
-We offer discounts to struggling students or those facing financial hardship and also frequently give out free tickets when possible—thanks to generous donations from senior engineers. If you live in a country where your purchasing power is significantly lower, we wish to help you too.  
-
-To request assistance, email us at tickets@handmadecities.com with a brief explanation of your circumstances. *Correspondence to this address is strictly confidential.*
-
-We ask those who are financially secure to respect this system of trust. Do not abuse it to obtain discounts or free tickets.

content/english/operation2030/business/trade-show.md

@@ -1,38 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Trade Show"
-mediatype="rev"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="Job booths and demo booths"
-thumbnail=""
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/business/miscellaneous) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/directives) (Key Objectives)
-
-### Job Booths
-
-Employers can rent job booths at Handmade Boston or Handmade Seattle for a fixed rate. The price is the same for all companies, regardless of size.  
-
-This setup creates a win-win-win scenario:  
-- Handmade Cities earns meaningful revenue from booth rentals.  
-- Employers gain access to a large in-person audience, which naturally acts as a strong resume filter.  
-- Ticket holders have the opportunity to meet employers and potentially get hired. 
-
-Importantly, employers are not allowed to sponsor or influence the event itself. Job booth revenue is also intentionally kept much smaller than ticket sales to prevent any risk of a hostile takeover.
-
-### Demo Booths
-
-At the time of writing demo booths are free of charge once your submission is approved. If this changes in the future we will install a program for the financially disadvantaged [as we do](/operation2030/business/tickets) for conference tickets.
-
-**Secretary's Note:** The reason this may change is because venues started raising their fees significantly for renting trade show floors. We must adapt with the times.

content/english/operation2030/directives/_index.md

@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Key Objectives"
-date="2024-08-09T09:00:00-04:00"
-enddate="2024-08-10T18:00:00-04:00"
-+++

content/english/operation2030/directives/meatspace.md

@@ -1,49 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Return to Meatspace"
-mediatype="key"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="Abandon FOMO"
-thumbnail=""
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/directives/small-software-shops) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/directives/self-hosting-for-all)
-
-By 2030, Handmade Cities will make it significantly more appealing for programmers to spend time offline, drinking in the real world, rather than being glued to the Internet. When we are online, it should be intentional, free from FOMO or addiction. To make this happen we’ll focus on growing local meetups while also taking the following steps:
-
-- **Printed Magazines**: Physical bookstores are making a comeback, especially as Gen-Z seeks relief from doom scrolling. Even tech magazines are regaining traction. Starting January 2026, Handmade Cities is publishing quarterly magazines featuring news and articles written by highly-regarded community members. If you’re a technical writer, please reach out to magazine@handmadecities.com.
-
-- **No Social Media**: Specifically, Handmade Cities doesn’t use platforms like Twitter/X, Bluesky, or Mastodon at all. We’ve proven we're profitable through our website and newsletter. Our goal is to encourage devs to build their own newsletters to market their work. Most social media sharing Twitter's DNA are finicky platforms to make a living from. Reducing or eliminating our dependence on them is the wisest choice.
-
-- **Healthy Outreach**: Platforms like Twitch and YouTube, where real people are visible, are more stable options for occasionally promoting your work online. Hacker News and Lobsters are generally fine as well. However, these shouldn’t become a *crutch* for making income.
-
-- **The Return of Mailing Lists**: Mailing lists, like the legendary Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKM), are timeless. They’re accessible on any device, indexable, and distraction-free. If there’s one mantra to take away here, it’s this: *mailing lists and meetups*.
-
-- **Touch Grass Technology**: It sounds hilarious, but TGT\* refers to tech which motivates in-person meetups. By 2030 Handmade Cities will have built, curated or contributed to a comprehensive list of TGT tools for the community.
-
-**Secretary's Note:** We don't want to go back too far in time! Modern UX matters! We're open to alternatives to mailing lists, or newer clients to make the reading experience cleaner.
-
-**References** 
-
-- [Don’t build your castle in other people’s kingdoms](https://howtomarketagame.com/2021/11/01/dont-build-your-castle-in-other-peoples-kingdoms/)
-- Tras Otro Progreso: Filosofia de la Tecnologia desde la Periferia (Spanish)
-
-**Secretary's Note:** If anyone knows of an English translation for the book above, email us at support@handmadecities.com
-
----
-\* Touch Grass Tech is based on a theory from Puerto Rican philosopher Dr. Hector Huyke, who researches philosophy of technology. Abner studied under Huyke and helped proofread his little-known Spanish book *Tras Otro Progreso* (roughly translated as *In Search of Another Kind of Progress*). Written twelve years ago, this obscure book was rather omniscient, predicting today’s issues with how software gets deployed: loss of community, mass layoffs, social media addiction, and even a glimpse into AI-generated slop.
-
-Huyke’s proposed solution is a concept called *Tecnología Arraigante*, which is rather tricky to translate. Literally, it means "technology for keeping you rooted to the ground." The imagery is striking—like your feet growing tree roots and anchoring you into place. After consulting a professional translator, we found the closest English equivalent is indeed "Technology for Touching Grass." The gist is to use tech for increasing human presence without abandoning the benefits of software.
-
-Examples include the [Light Phone](https://www.thelightphone.com/), which eliminates addictive distractions, or couch co-op games, which bring people together. (Even Pokémon GO met this description for a time.)

content/english/operation2030/directives/self-hosting-for-all.md

@@ -1,53 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Self-Hosting for All"
-mediatype="key"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="Make self-hosting actually desirable"
-thumbnail=""
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/directives/meatspace) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/appendix) (Appendix)
-
-You can’t realistically own every app or service you use, but you should aim to get closer to that ideal over time. The more of your computing you can run on your own servers—even if they’re initially hosted on something like a DigitalOcean Droplet, AWS instance, or Azure—the more self-sufficient you’ll become. And self-sufficiency is the core trait of a Handmade dev.
-
-By 2030, our goal is to make self-hosting a desirable and mainstream idea in the software industry. Even if we don’t convince everyone, we must inspire enough developers to make the broader industry blink and take notice.
-
-#### What Handmade Cities is Doing:
-
-- Built a replacement to Ticketmaster/Eventbrite for selling conference tickets
-- [Self-hosting](https://chat.handmadecities.com) Revolt for live conference chat
-- [Actively](/operation2030/structure/meetups) replacing meetup.com
-- Created our own [newsletter](/news) infrastructure
-
-- **Migration Off Discord**: While Discord is [still in use](https://handmadecities.com/discord) by us, it’s fallen prey to enshitification and we can be shut down too easily. We’ve begun migrating to Revolt for year round discussions, not just live conference chat. 
-
-**Secretary's Note:** The full migration will be completed by the end of 2025.
-
-#### What You Might Try:
-
-- Join the [Indie Web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IndieWeb)
-- Host your personal website off a Raspberry Pi
-- If you use [AI models](/operation2030/appendix/proper-ai-usage), learn to run local ones and fine-tune them
-- Browse [curated](https://selfh.st/apps/) self-hosted apps, adopt one, and contribute back to the project (e.g., by submitting thoughtful GitHub issues or PRs)
-- When self-hosting isn’t practical go for privacy-respecting companies: [ProtonMail](https://protonmail.com) instead of Gmail, [Kagi](https://kagi.com) instead of Google, [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md) instead of Notion, [Ghost](https://ghost.org) instead of Mailchimp, and so on
-- **Advanced:** Build and ship your own alternative to a service that’s been enshitified
-
-#### Notes on UX:
-
-For self-hosting to become desirable, the UI/UX of (most) self-hosted software needs a massive overhaul—it’s utter garbage. This is the Key Objective keeping the founder up at night. Making self-hosting accessible will require more than just programmers too. Artists and designers are essential to this mission.
-
-**References**
-
-- A great starting point is the *Self Host Weekly* [newsletter](https://selfh.st/newsletter/), a curated resource for getting into self-hosted software.

content/english/operation2030/directives/small-software-shops.md

@@ -1,31 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Protect Small Software Shops"
-mediatype="key"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="Protect independent craftsmanship"
-thumbnail=""
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/directives/tech-worker-rights) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/directives/meatspace)
-
-We must protect competent programmers and help them create and sell closed-source software for profit. Whether it’s a solo indie dev or a small team forming a private company, we need to them to succeed.
-
-We shall grow the ranks of successful initiatives as those listed under [Exemplary Software](/operation2030/intro/exemplary-software). Note that while our focus is shipping real-world software, we understand the importance of industrial research or teaching material such as *Handmade Hero*, *Mr. 4th Labs*, or *Ink & Switch*. These projects (though not directly commercial products) have been crucial in shaping the community's values.
-
-By 2030, it will no longer be daunting for a Handmade dev to find a golden path into the industry. If a teenager dreams of becoming a low-level programmer, the answer should be obvious: "Join Handmade Cities—that’s the best place to start."
-
-To achieve this, we’ll expand our conferences to form partnerships with organizations providing funding or grants to Handmade devs. Handmade Cities itself is a small business funded by ticket sales, not an angel investor, so we’re keen to connect ticket holders with life-changing opportunities instead. The alliances that we create shall conform to our [core principles](/operation2030/philosophy/core-principles).
-
-Imagine a future where attending a conference means more than just learning from speakers: it’s a chance to meet people foaming at the mouth to fund your next project or publish your game. A place where job booths are filled to the brim with lean companies (not corporations or VC-funded startups) offering meaningful work, great pay, and real autonomy.

content/english/operation2030/directives/tech-worker-rights.md

@@ -1,61 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Mainstream Tech Worker Rights"
-mediatype="key"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="Your skills are valuable—but do you have a voice?"
-thumbnail=""
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/business) (Revenue) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/directives/small-software-shops)
-
-### Make it a Normal Discussion
-
-Handmade Cities isn’t the place to stage political revolution. However, by 2030, we will already be the best space in tech for open discussions on labor rights and the balance between labor and capital. (Don't underestimate the power of public forums.)
-
-Discussing worker rights is as American as apple pie: remember how we pulled off 40-hour work weeks or outlawed child labor? The tech industry needs to reckon with this reality. 
-
-The more skilled a programmer you are the more you must care about this—it directly impacts your economic future. We welcome thoughtful disagreements as much as thoughtful support. These debates must occur without resorting to thought-stopping clichés like calling one side “robber barons” or the other “communists.”
-
-#### Progress So Far
-
-At the end of 2024, Handmade Cities took a risky step by shifting the Overton window of acceptable discourse. We platformed Andrew Kelley (creator of the Zig programming language) and his divisive keynote—a condemnation of the software industry’s financial incentives. 
-
-**Secretary's Note:** The Twitch stream is not available as a recording yet, but we have a backup on YouTube (timestamped): 
-
-<div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;">
-  <iframe 
-    src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zYAif5PhhoQ?start=7129" 
-    style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;" 
-    allowfullscreen 
-    title="YouTube Video">
-  </iframe>
-</div>
-    
-Andrew's sharp tongue is *partially* responsible for the civil war within the Handmade community (see [here](https://handmade.network/blog/p/8989-separating_from_handmade_cities#30378) and [here](/news/splitting-from-handmade-network/)) and we’re still recovering from the fallout. However, we stand by the decision.
-
-Personally, Abner believes Andrew’s diagnosis of the industry’s problems was largely accurate. However, unlike Andrew, Handmade Cities disagrees open-source software or non-profits will rescue us; read our other Key Objective: [Protect Small Software Shops](/operation2030/directives/small-software-shops). In addition, we're betting on a culture where social status is conferred to long-term business owners. Companies like [Sublime HQ](https://www.sublimehq.com) and the mighty [Valve](https://store.steampowered.com/) (no longer small!) are excellent examples of this approach. We require the presence of nimble competitors keeping Big Tech [on their toes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrmqC2A3QK8).
-
-That said, Abner and Andrew are aligned on a crucial point: tech workers need collective bargaining power. Not everyone can start a business or join a benevolent employer. So whether it's through guilds, unions, or another form, workers (not management) need a seat at the table pronto: being well-paid no longer cuts it. Without negotiating power we bear witness to the continued rise of mediocre software. Workers are forced to swallow hostile AI/LLM takeovers without a proper say. Mass layoffs march on.
-
-#### Handling Future Controversy
-
-This subject matter is part of the 20% of our [80-20](/operation2030/structure/80-20) content split, so it’s straightforward for community members to skip if there’s no interest. Advisory board members, meetup hosts, and paid staff are also not strictly required to promote this subject themselves if it conflicts with their views.
-
-Lastly, we're open to creating debate panels after a hotly contested talk. This all is in accordance with our philosophy [Zero Favoritism](/operation2030/philosophy/zero-favorites).
-
-Pierce the taboo.
-
-**References** 
-- Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech

content/english/operation2030/intro/_index.md

@@ -1,13 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Introduction"
-date="2024-11-20T09:00:00-04:00"
-enddate="2024-11-22T18:00:00-04:00"
-[[notes]]
-type="notice"
-text="""
-**How to Share Easily**
-
-You may use **operation2030.com** to redirect others here.
-"""
-+++
-Handmade Cities (HMC) is on a mission to reshape the software industry for systems programmers. Our **mandate** is to clear a path for anyone—from juniors to seniors—to go on and become well-connected, well-paid practitioners embodying the Handmade ethos.  

content/english/operation2030/intro/exemplary-software.md

@@ -1,47 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Exemplary Software"
-mediatype="intro"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="We need more of these by 2030"
-thumbnail="/images/thumbnails/trophy.jpg"
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/intro/mandate)
-
-The gist of Operation 2030 is simple: to flood the market with competent programmers shipping eye-popping quality software. That’s the ultimate outcome we are seeking: putting the status quo to shame.
-
-In alphabetical order here's some hand-picked examples of developers embodying our ethos. These authors succeeded in creating critically-acclaimed Handmade software, companies, or promising demos:
-
-- [**Animal Well**](https://animalwell.net)
-- [**EmberGen**](https://jangafx.com/software/embergen)
-- [**File Pilot**](https://filepilot.tech)
-- [**fred**](https://fred-dev.tech)
-- [**Ladybird**](https://ladybird.org)
-- [**Mr. 4th Labs**](https://mr4th.com)
-- [**Orca**](https://orca-app.dev)
-- [**Raylib**](https://raylib.com)
-- [**Serenum**](https://samhsmith.com/serenum/)
-
-These projects—or the people behind them—have presented at our tech conferences, often more than once.  
-
-**Note:** The authors may not necessarily endorse Operation 2030; they’re just great examples of what we’re aiming for.
-
-#### Products sharing our values (but aren’t associated with us):  
-
-- **Sublime [Text](https://www.sublimetext.com) | [Merge](https://www.sublimemerge.com)**  
-- **[Affinity Designer 2](https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/designer/)**  
-- **[Scrivener](https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview)**  
-
-There’s more out there, but not nearly enough.

content/english/operation2030/intro/introduction.md

@@ -1,63 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Introduction"
-mediatype="intro"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="The how and why of Operation 2030"
-thumbnail="/images/thumbnails/ignition.png"
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/intro/mandate) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/philosophy) (Philosophy)
-
-
-#### Why the Urgency?
-We believe Operation 2030 **MUST** be completed by January 2030 or the software industry risks falling into permanent disrepair: we're building mediocre, fragile ecosystems for a technofeudal universe in which users own nothing. Programmers face mounting job insecurity, reduced autonomy, and stunted career growth. (Mass layoffs continue unabashed.) Meanwhile, Big Tech has grown so massive it operates *beyond the confines* of regular business, rendering smaller companies and indie developers unable to compete.
-
-Five more years of this without organized resistance and the damage is likely irreversible.
-
-This document serves as our marching orders. It will grow increasingly specific, with a finalized PDF and printed copies ready by the end of 2025. When 2030 arrives, we’ll release a postmortem in the first quarter—good or bad, we’ll confront the results head-on.
-
-We can win.
-
-#### What is the Handmade ethos?  
-
-In the Handmade Cities (HMC) [mandate](/operation2030/intro/mandate) we said:
-
-> Our **mandate** is to clear a path for anyone—from juniors to seniors—to go on and become well-connected, well-paid practitioners embodying the Handmade ethos.  
-
-But what IS this so-called ethos?
-
-It is best captured by the 600+ episodes of [Handmade Hero](https://guide.handmadehero.org) (still relevant today—that’s the beauty of low-level programming). It’s also outlined in the Handmade Network [manifesto](https://handmade.network/manifesto) and practiced through software projects like [Terminal Click](https://terminal.click), created by our founder.
-
-**Secretary's Note:** While Handmade Hero 100% inspired us, and Casey Muratori collaborated with us in the past, his company Molly Rocket Inc. is NOT affiliated with Handmade Cities. There are three legal organizations carrying the Handmade brand and Handmade Cities is just one of them. Operation 2030 reflects *our* views, not those of Molly Rocket nor Handmade Network.
-
-#### What do we mean by official portal?  
-
-In the [mandate](/operation2030/intro/mandate) we also said:  
-
-> Whether they choose careers as indie developers, small business owners or by joining lean software shops [...] our website is the official portal to achieve that dream.
-
-"Portal" might sound vague so let’s clarify. Our expertise is organizing tech conferences and local meetups around the world. We don’t offer funding\* or grants directly.
-
-What we DO have is a vast in-person network. Social capital can be as valuable as money, and Handmade Cities has already transformed many lives. Over the past decade, our founder has built an international coalition of highly-driven and caring systems programmers—without third-party funding, relying solely on the strength of the community.
-
-It’s time to mobilize our network to accomplish Operation 2030’s [Key Objectives](/operation2030/directives).
-
-#### Are high-level programmers welcome? Non-programmers?
-
-Absolutely. We love systems programming but completing the operation requires broad alliance: web developers, UI/UX designers, legal experts, technical writers—everyone has a role to play in Operation 2030.  
-
----
-
-\* We’re working to partner with organizations that can provide financial support to indie developers and small software shops. See the Key Objective: [Protect Small Software Shops](/operation2030/directives/small-software-shops) for more info.

content/english/operation2030/intro/mandate.md

@@ -1,41 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Handmade's Mandate"
-mediatype="intro"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="Read the full mandate and join the cause"
-thumbnail="/images/thumbnails/Op2030Binoculars.jpg"
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/intro/exemplary-software) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/intro/introduction)
-
-Handmade Cities (HMC) is on a mission to reshape the software industry for systems programmers. Our **mandate** is to clear a path for anyone—from juniors to seniors—to go on and become well-connected, well-paid practitioners embodying the Handmade ethos.  
-
-We're the gateway for newcomers to emerge ready to succeed, skipping the corporate grind or venture capital. Whether they choose careers as indie developers, small business owners, or by joining lean software shops (with good pay and high levels of autonomy), our website is the official portal to achieve that dream.
-
-Call us crazy if you must—we're making this vision reality by 2030.
-
-**Follow Operation 2030's Progress**
-- Subscribe to the [newsletter](https://handmadecities.com/news)
-- Visit a local [meetup](https://handmadecities.com/meetups) near you
-- Attend a conference: [Boston](https://handmadecities.com/boston) and/or [Seattle](https://handmadecities.com/seattle)
-- Optional: Join our [Discord](https://handmadecities.com/discord)
-
----
-
-**About the Author**
-
-The founder of Handmade Cities ([Abner Coimbre](https://abner.page)) is the original author and maintainer for Operation 2030, who's channeling the sentiments of his audience. This does not mean every community member agrees with Operation 2030. Indeed, even Abner's own team may not fully endorse the entirety of the document. (We are not a monolith.)
-
-What matters is that we're aligned on *most things*. And that's good enough to be getting on with.

content/english/operation2030/philosophy/_index.md

@@ -1,6 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Philosophy"
-date="2024-08-09T09:00:00-04:00"
-enddate="2024-08-10T18:00:00-04:00"
-+++
-

content/english/operation2030/philosophy/anti-corporate.md

@@ -1,31 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Anti-Corporatism"
-mediatype="philo"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="Big Tech forgot our humanity"
-thumbnail=""
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/intro/) (Intro) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/philosophy/anti-vc)
-
-We’re not against corporations as a concept. In fact, we recognize that healthy forms of corporations exist and are gaining traction: Public Benefit Corporations (PBCs) being a prime example. Abner’s father, for instance, retired on a company pension (not a 401k) back when American corporations valued loyalty to their employees.  
-
-But that was then. Today's corporations—especially in big tech—are beyond callous. They’ve become unprecedented economic giants, defying the usual checks and balances of business. Their singular ambition is increasing shareholder value. Software quality, and by extension the user experience, was abandoned long ago. The only incentives that seem to matter are seizing control of our computing devices and extracting ever-increasing rent.  
-
-Handmade Cities subscribes to the view that we’re living under technofeudalism. While this may oversimplify a complex capitalist reality, it’s an accurate enough description—and a dangerous one.  
-
-When healthy competition rises Big Tech crushes it. Smaller competitors are either acquired or outspent. Just about everything is corporatized, leaving indie devs and small software shops extremely vulnerable. Their power is so entrenched they can overindulge in self-interest, delay regulations, or rewrite laws to suit their needs. Anything but real innovation or fair play.  
-
-**Conclusion:** Handmade Cities is keen to see the little guy thrive in an actual competitive market. We reject corporate power and are working to erode it. Big Tech’s choke hold must be broken, so we’ll do everything within our purview to make that happen.

content/english/operation2030/philosophy/anti-vc.md

@@ -1,39 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Anti-VC"
-mediatype="philo"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="Do you love enshitification? 'Cause we don't"
-thumbnail=""
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/philosophy/anti-corporate) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/philosophy/core-principles)
-
-We strongly prefer private companies that are profitable through a direct relationship with their customers. Venture capital, by its nature, often runs counter to this philosophy, so we generally frown upon it.  
-
-The worst excesses of VC-backed startups can be nearly as harmful as Big Tech. Founders are burdened with millions of dollars they’re expected to return many times over. This creates incentives that select for rapid growth and investor returns over product quality or customer satisfaction.  
-
-We interviewed Nuno Leiria: Ex-Optimization Lead for Unreal Engine 5. His new company, [Nuno Technologies](https://www.nilo.xyz/), accepted external funding. Abner laid out his concerns in full. Catch their exchange below (timestamped):  
-
-<div style="position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden;">
-  <iframe 
-    src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/1071219937#t=3257s" 
-    style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border:0;" 
-    allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" 
-    allowfullscreen 
-    title="Vimeo Video">
-  </iframe>
-</div>
-
-The answer was surprisingly thoughtful, but it’s hard not to feel like our friend is swimming in a sea of sharks.

content/english/operation2030/philosophy/core-principles.md

@@ -1,50 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Core Principles"
-mediatype="philo"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="Without these four pillars there's no Handmade Cities"
-thumbnail=""
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/philosophy/anti-vc) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/philosophy/zero-favorites)
-
-1. **Sponsor-Free**  
-   Handmade Cities (HMC) rejects all sponsorship deals. You’ll never see a “sponsored by” disclaimer at our events. Talks and software demos come from presenters sharing what excites them most free from corporate influence. Speakers, demoers, and guests are welcome to criticize any tech company or software as they deem fit.  
-
-2. **Software Quality**  
-   The industry abandoned its users, wresting control from their devices to deliver miserable experiences while violating privacy. HMC is keen to reverse the trend. Users deserve respect as customers and should feel delighted when using our software.
-
-3. **Self-Hosted Software**  
-   We strongly encourage community members to self-host wherever possible or [practical](/operation2030/directives/self-hosting-for-all). Self-sufficiency is a bulwark against monopolies. HMC practices what it preaches: whatever's essential to our conferences or meetups is processed in-house.
-
-4. **Directly Funded**
-
-   [Direct funding](/operation2030/business) means promoting ourselves through word of mouth without chasing ad revenue or social media trends (we don't have any Twitter-style account.) Our growth comes strictly from:
-   - Ticket sales
-   - Independent donations, no strings attached
-   - Renting booths at trade shows: at a fixed rate for all employers, who have no influence over the event's content.
-
-   In short, we grow our business through mom-and-pop transactions between us (a small business) and our attendees (hopefully, you!)
-
-#### Anti-Corporate, Anti-VC  
-While not a core principle, it’s worth noting we're generally [anti-corporate](/operation2030/philosophy/anti-corporate) and against [venture capital](/operation2030/philosophy/anti-vc). That said, we always welcome audience members from corporations or startups; perhaps we’ll change your mind!  
-
-HMC supports first and foremost:
-- Small software shops  
-- Indie developers 
-- Public Benefit Corporations  
-- Non-profits 
-
-We believe these entities should charge users upfront for quality software that they can own forever. Recurring subscriptions should usually be viewed with skepticism, but closed-source software that’s “free of charge” is the worst offender—think of Google, Instagram, X, Windows and the like.

content/english/operation2030/philosophy/zero-favorites.md

@@ -1,34 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Zero Favoritism"
-mediatype="philo"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="Dissenting views matter"
-thumbnail=""
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/philosophy/core-principles) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/structure/) (Structure)
-
-**Dissenting views matter.** As long as someone genuinely cares about software quality and the craft of making good software (beyond just earning a paycheck), they will virtually\* always have a platform at Handmade Cities: even if their views directly contradict or criticize other contributors, or even the founder himself.  
-
-We intentionally include opposing perspectives. For example:  
-- Andrew Kelley publicly criticized Kagi’s business model while Kagi was actively hiring at the same Handmade conference.  
-- We rented a job booth to K&C, a defense contractor, which outraged a conference speaker who nearly stormed out—until Abner spent half an hour justifying their inclusion.
-- Orca supporters were pissed off when Serenum was given a platform, because Serenum fans openly trash Orca’s work. [Both companies](/operation2030/intro/exemplary-software) demoed at the same event.  
-
-Our stance is clear: the founder and his advisory board curate a buffet of content, and the audience decides what resonates best.
-
----
-
-\* We prohibit the usual suspects like hate speech, doxxing, or incitements to violence.

content/english/operation2030/structure/80-20.md

@@ -1,31 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="80-20 Content Split"
-mediatype="struct"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="80% programming, 20% humanity"
-thumbnail=""
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/philosophy) (Philosophy) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/structure/meetups)
-
-As a general guideline, the content at our conferences and meetups follows an 80/20 split:  
-
-1. **80% Craft of Programming**  
-   The majority of content focuses on becoming a better programmer. This includes engineering talks, lectures and cool demos. While most of it caters to seniors, we’ll always carve out a reasonable space to welcome juniors to the Handmade ethos.  
-
-2. **20% Economic Well-Being**  
-   The remaining content is on improving the programmer’s financial prospects. Topics include marketing yourself as an indie dev, practicing social skills, advocating for your rights as a tech worker, and even safeguarding your own health—because unexpected medical emergencies can devastate anyone’s finances, especially in America.  
-
-Future conferences will clearly label which presentations fall into which category of the 80/20 split, so audience members can skip what doesn’t interest them. We also encourage civil yet vigorous disagreements during Q&A sessions.

content/english/operation2030/structure/_index.md

@@ -1,6 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Our Structure"
-date="2024-08-09T09:00:00-04:00"
-enddate="2024-08-10T18:00:00-04:00"
-+++
-

content/english/operation2030/structure/conferences.md

@@ -1,53 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Tech Conferences"
-mediatype="struct"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="Two annual conferences: from Boston to Seattle"
-thumbnail=""
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/structure/meetups) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/structure/team)
-
-Handmade Cities hosts two major tech conferences each year: [Handmade Boston](/boston) (HMB) in the summer and [Handmade Seattle](/seattle) (HMS) in the fall. 
-
-Early-bird ticket sales typically start sometime in the spring. Subscribe to the [newsletter](/news) to stay updated.
-
-#### Summer - Handmade Boston  
-
-- **The Sister Conference to Seattle**  
-  HMB is a smaller, more intimate event focused on what Abner calls “long-ass technical lectures.” It's the fully-offline counterpart to Seattle: there is no online track. Only in-person tickets are sold.
-- **Return to Form**  
-  Starting in 2025 we’re going back to the exact format of the first HMB conference which was the most well-received (sans homework). We are recreating the old-school lecturing environment.
-
-HMB lectures are typically 90–120 minutes long. They're informal sessions with room for tangents and audience interaction. Think of Martin Mozeiko’s [legendary](/media/boston-2023/errors-and-compilers) HMB recording on compiler errors/warnings—raw, unpolished, but deeply impactful. It’s still referenced by the community today and strongly influenced Abner’s programming habits; he’s now obsessed with arena poisoning!
-
-**Next Handmade Boston:** August 1–2, 2025 (Fri–Sat)  
-
-#### Fall - Handmade Seattle  
-
-- **Our Flagship Conference**  
-  HMS is the largest event featuring a trade show, job fair, and a fully-hybrid experience with both physical and online tracks.  
-- **Professionally Live-Streamed**  
-  Thanks to our [technical producer](/about) HMS is 100% professionally live-streamed.  
-
-HMS is packed with shorter, polished talks and demos. While it’s less of a deep dive than HMB it does reach a broader audience. (Presenters can still tackle technical subjects, but they’ll have less time to do so.) A community favorite is Andreas’ Context is Everything:
-
-{{< vimeo 644068002 >}}
-
-HMS often explores bigger questions that plague the Handmade community. For example, we asked the head of [Ink & Switch](https://inkandswitch.com) why the industry struggles to create simple software. His response led to a masterclass in software complexity:
-
-{{< youtube czzAVuVz7u4 >}}
-
-**Next Handmade Seattle:** December 5–7, 2025 (Fri–Sun)

content/english/operation2030/structure/meetups.md

@@ -1,37 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="Local Meetups"
-mediatype="struct"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="Handmade meetups around the world"
-thumbnail=""
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/structure/80-20) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/structure/conferences)
-
-**meetup.com but handmade**
-
-We’re building a self-hosted [alternative](https://handmadecities.com/meetups) to meetup.com, though it’s still in its early stages.  
-
-Right now, our meetup hosts use a command-line app developed by Abner and the wider community: *Meetup Invite 2000*. It’s user-friendly, packed with features, and generally works like this: you feed it a Markdown file, and it sends out a polished email to all meetup subscribers.
-
-When someone subscribes to notifications on the [Meetup](/meetups) page, the host for that city automatically sees it in their command-line tool. Hosts can also export their mailing list whenever; if they decide to part ways with Handmade Cities they can take their current audience with them.
-
-In the future, we plan to build a web dashboard to complement Meetup Invite 2000 (we already have a basic prototype.) For now, we’ve lucked out because our meetup hosts know their way around terminals. Which leads us to one final observation.
-
-In early 2025 Abner launched the closed beta for Terminal Click (see [Appendix](/operation2030/appendix/terminal-click) for why it's relevant). Around that same time we started meetups in Tokyo, Japan—a milestone that’s been a long time coming. It was very rewarding to see our host, Migue-san, use a terminal emulator written by us to invoke Meetup Invite 2000, also written by us:
-
-![](/images/tc_screenshot_1.png)
-
-Dogfooding what we preach is essential to achieve [Self-Hosting for All](/operation2030/directives/self-hosting-for-all).

content/english/operation2030/structure/team.md

@@ -1,23 +0,0 @@
-+++
-title="The Team"
-mediatype="struct"
-conference="seattle-2022"
-date="2022-11-16T12:00:00-08:00"
-description="The Handmade Cities Team"
-thumbnail=""
-
-[[videos]]
-title="Memory Strategies"
-embed="https://player.vimeo.com/video/774890907"
-service="vimeo"
-download_link="https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/774890907/rendition/720p/file.mp4?loc=external&oauth2_token_id=1777364455&signature=3c443137144bf46966f5607ab00f818dfa5f98e1ac7643e62160f55e0bb27792"
-
-[[speakers]]
-name="Abner Coimbre"
-bio=""
-image=""
-+++
-
-[Prev](/operation2030/structure/conferences) | [Contents](/operation2030) | [Next](/operation2030/business) (Revenue)
-
-Meet our team on the Handmade Cities [About](/about) page. You can contact any of us by emailing support@handmadecities.com first.

content/english/pages/cowork.md

@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+---
+title: "Handmade Co-Work"
+# meta title
+meta_title: ""
+# meta description
+description: "Learn how the co-working sessions, well, work!"
+# save as draft
+draft: false
+---
+
+#### About Co-Working Sessions
+
+When there's no Handmade conference we have in-person meetups all year round. Usually, these are just monthly meetups: once a month we demo the coolest projects or have round-table discussions.
+
+However, some cities also offer co-working sessions: these are more informal and happen more regularly.
+
+#### What to Expect
+
+We're a mixed bag of programmers in these sessions. Some do remote work for their normal 9-5 job (they even have Slack open!) while others are indie devs working on a serious product. Finally, there are those who take time off their work for a side project.
+
+At each session we introduce ourselves and briefly explain what we’re working on for the day. Then we get right to it!
+
+{{< image src="images/meetups/cowork_seattle_2025.jpg" caption="Example session in Seattle (2025)" alt="Seattle Co-Working Image in 2025" height="806" width="605" position="center" command="fill" option="q100" class="img-fluid" title="Seattle Co-Working in 2025"  webp="false" >}}
+
+Sometimes we pause to point at our progress or ask for technical feedback. And sometimes, a couple folks or so team up for a new project! The ultimate goal, however, is to feel connected in meatspace.
+
+Note that you are not expected to work exclusively on systems programming. It's reasonable to do art, marketing, accounting and so on if needed.
+
+#### How do I know if my city offers co-working?
+
+First and foremost, please browse the cities on the [Meetups](/meetups) page and subscribe to your favorite one. If your city is not listed, wishlist one from the dropdown box: the more demand there is for a city, the more likely we can spin up an official group.
+
+Then you should email the meetup host and ask whether they offer co-working sessions (email address is on their meetup page.)
+
+#### Notice to Washington Residents
+
+At the time of writing we only offer a [Seattle](/meetups/seattle) mailing list, which is ALSO used for events in other cities e.g. Kirkland co-working. You should subscribe to Seattle for these so-called "Seattle area" invitations.

content/english/pages/meetupinvite2000.md

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+# Meetup Invite Test
+
+This is a placeholder for tests performed with [MeetupInvite2000](https://git.handmadecities.com/meetups/meetupinvite2000/releases). When you use the `blast` command, your email will be published to [News](/news) instead.

content/english/revolt.md

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+---
+title: "Private Chat"
+layout: "revolt"
+---

content/english/seattle/index.md

@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
 ---
 title: "Handmade Seattle 2025"
-subtitle: "The West Coast's premier conference for systems programmers. Fully Hybrid"
+subtitle: "The West Coast's mini conference for systems programmers."
 image: "/images/hms/seattle-dark-mode.svg"
 layout: "event"
 
 # Event Details
-event_dates: "December 5-7, 2025 (Fri-Sun)"
-registration_date: "April 11, 2025"
-venue_name: "Seattle Center"
-venue_address: "305 Harrison St, Seattle, WA 98109"
+event_dates: "Saturday December 6th, 2025"
+registration_date: "December 1st, 2025"
+venue_name: "One Bite Cafe (2-5PM)"
+venue_address: "1026 NE 65th St, Seattle, WA 98115"
 
 # Event Features
 event_format: "Fully Hybrid"
@@ -20,19 +20,25 @@ event_features:
   - "Networking opportunities"
 
 # Coming Soon Section
-coming_soon_text: "Full Agenda Coming Soon"
-coming_soon_description: "We're still finalizing our complete schedule. Here's a preview of some confirmed speakers."
+coming_soon_text: "Schedule is Ready"
+coming_soon_description: "Scroll below to learn of presentations, venue, and how it all works!"
 
 # Initial Speakers
 initial_speakers:
-  - name: "Taylor Robbins"
-    topic: "UI Tools Engineer"
-    affiliation: "Bungie (Makers of Destiny 2)"
-    image: "/images/people/robbins.jpg"
+  - name: "Abner Coimbre"
+    topic: "The 2026 Roadmap"
+    affiliation: "Handmade Cities"
+    image: "/images/people/abner.jpg"
   - name: "Benjamin Thompson"
     topic: "Math PhD turned Puzzle Designer"
     affiliation: "Cornell University"
     image: "/images/people/thompson.webp"
+  - name: "Caspar"
+    topic: "Full-time Solo Gamedev"
+    affiliation: "Slow Rush Studios"
+    image: "/images/companies/slow-rush-logo.webp"
+  - name: "This is You"
+    topic: "Audience members demo projects"
 
 # Trade Show Information
 trade_show:
@@ -64,6 +70,29 @@ previous_events:
 show_description: true
 ---
 
-Handmade Seattle is our flagship conference for low-level programmers worldwide: two days packed with short impactful talks, demos, and a trade show! The third day is for opt-in meetups across the city.
+**Saturday Schedule (Seattle Timezone)**
 
-We're famously hybrid - attend in person at the iconic Seattle Center or join remotely from anywhere. All talks and demos are streamed professionally, along with a [private](https://chat.handmadecities.com) chat server for live Q&A.
+- [2:00 - 2:30PM] *Snack and drinks*: order some food to support this family shop!
+- [2:30 - 3:00PM] *The 2026 Roadmap*: Handmade Cities is [no longer](https://handmadecities.com/news/winding-down/) running conferences. Abner lays out his plans for a future of decentralized, offline meetups.
+- [3:00 - 3:30PM] *The Multiplayer Sandpit by Caspar: How I got sucked into making a networked falling sand game.* [Caspar](https://www.slowrush.dev/)'s demo video is "A dramatic re-enactment of how briefly revisiting a childhood dream escalated into a full time obsession for 2 years (and counting). Featuring a custom engine written in Rust using Macroquad as a platform abstraction, with cross-platform and in-browser multiplayer."
+- [3:30 - 4:00PM] *Untitled Cube Game: Explore the consequences of a very intuitive, but very deep, rule.* Demo video by [Benjamin Thompson](https://bgthompson.codeberg.page/). "Have fond memories of Bloxorz? Enjoyed what you played of Stephen's Sausage Roll? Interested in games with combinatorial explosions? We present a cube-rolling puzzle game that explores a single intuitive rule with a lot of consequences. Inspired by mathematics, and programmed from scratch in Zig."
+- [4:00 - 5:00PM] *Audience Projects:* At every Seattle event we let members of the audience take to the stage and show off their creations, or discuss a programming topic near-and-dear to their heart. This could be YOU, so make sure to email `abner@handmadecities.com` and request an RSVP link.
+- [5:00 - 8:00PM] *Seattle After Dark:* This is optional! Our tradition is to go out for pizza followed by drinks at the pub. During dinner we tend to get spicier with our takes on the software industry, and by the time we hit the pub all bets are off. (We remain civil all throughout.)
+
+**About the Venue**
+
+The new venue is One Bite Cafe in Seattle, a family-owned shop that loves Handmade Cities. If you're downtown you should take the Seattle light rail up to Roosevelt Station - our venue is right next to it.
+
+One Bite is on the smaller side, so if the RSVP list shows we're too many programmers, then we relocate to Third Place Books (Ravenna, Seattle) which is within walking distance. Third Place knows us too because we host co-working sessions there.
+
+P.S. Subscribe to the Seattle [mailing list](https://handmadecities.com/meetups/seattle) in case the location changes. If you don't get an email and/or this website doesn't change by Friday night, you can feel certain we're sticking to One Bite Cafe. You can always reach out at `abner@handmadecities.com` as Abner will have notifications on full blast.
+
+**In-Person vs Remote**
+
+Abner's 2026 roadmap and audience projects will occur in person. Caspar and Benjamin are Australian independent gamedevs, and due to the difficulties of traveling to the United States, cannot join us in person. We will play their demo videos followed by Q&A sessions: they are beaming in remotely.
+
+**Existing Ticket Holders**
+
+Ticket holders *need not* RSVP anywhere. Simply come to the shop and show your ticket, found under the **General Admission** email. You'll receive priority seating. Those who would prefer a refund due to our downsizing can email me as discussed in [Winding Down](https://handmadecities.com/news/winding-down/). 
+
+The same holds true for online ticket holders: reach out to us if you'd like to request a refund. Note that we're no longer live-streaming Handmade Seattle, although we will make efforts to record.

content/english/tickets/index.md

@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ draft: false
 layout: "tickets"
 
 features:
-  - title: "Tickets"
+  - title: "Discounts Until Friday, August 1st 2025"
     title_class: "text-center text-white mt-2 md:mt-8 lg:mt-8 xl:mt-8 2xl:mt-8"
     side: "center"
     content_class: "mt-16 pt-0 pb-0 text-white"
@@ -17,8 +17,7 @@ features:
       end_img: "/images/software-15.png"
       end_img_class: "relative h-96 bg-contain bg-bottom bg-repeat-x"
     description_class: "mt-4 mb-20"
-    description: |
-      Spring Sale: Early-bird tickets for our annual tech conferences. These discounts are for a limited time.
+    description: ""
     tickets:
       - title: "Physical Track"
         title_class: "text-white"
@@ -34,17 +33,16 @@ features:
             price_class: "text-orange-500"
             price: "199"
             button:
-              title: "Register"
+              title: "Unavailable"
               class: "bg-transparent border border-orange-500 rounded-md cursor-pointer hover:bg-orange-500 hover:border-orange-500 hover:text-white focus-within:bg-orange-500 focus-within:border-orange-500 focus-within:text-white"
-              url: "https://book.stripe.com/fZe4gq8hBdhraGcfZP"
+              url: "/"
               alt_title: "PayPal"
-              alt_paypal_id: "paypal-hmb-physical-ticket"
               alt_class: "text-sm hover:underline mt-4"
             features_class: "text-white"
             features:
               - text: "General Admission"
                 text_class: "font-bold"
-              - text: "Aug 1-2nd, 2025"
+              - text: "Aug 15-16th, 2025"
               - text: "JFK Presidential Library"
               - text: "Technical Lectures"
               - text: "Job Fair"
@@ -58,18 +56,17 @@ features:
             price: "199"
             original_price: "$250"
             button:
-              title: "Register"
+              title: "Unavailable"
               button_class: "seattle-bg"
               class: "bg-transparent border border-orange-500 rounded-md cursor-pointer hover:bg-orange-500 hover:border-orange-500 hover:text-white focus-within:bg-orange-500 focus-within:border-orange-500 focus-within:text-white"
-              url: "https://book.stripe.com/14k8wG1Td6T38y45la"
+              url: "/"
               alt_title: "PayPal"
-              alt_paypal_id: "paypal-hms-physical-ticket"
               alt_class: "text-sm hover:underline mt-4"
             features_class: "text-white text-center"                
             features:
               - text: "General Admission"
                 text_class: "font-black"
-              - text: "Dec 5-7th, 2025"
+              - text: "Dec 12-14th, 2025"
               - text: "Seattle Center"
               - text: "Short Talks & Live Demos"
               - text: "Trade Show"
@@ -84,12 +81,10 @@ features:
             original_price: "$400"
             features_class: "text-white"
             button:
-              title: "Register"
+              title: "Unavailable"
               class: "bg-transparent border border-orange-500 rounded-md cursor-pointer hover:bg-green-500 hover:border-green-500 hover:text-white focus-within:bg-green-500 focus-within:border-green-500 focus-within:text-white"
-              url: "https://book.stripe.com/bIYbISdBV4KV15C7tk"
+              url: "/"
               alt_title: "PayPal"
-              alt_paypal_id: "paypal-hmc-physical-ticket"
-              alt_class: "text-sm hover:underline mt-4"
             features:
               - text: "Boston + Seattle Tickets"
                 text_class: "font-black"
@@ -131,11 +126,10 @@ features:
             price_class: "text-orange-500"
             price: "59"
             button:
-              title: "Register"
+              title: "Unavailable"
               class: "bg-transparent border border-orange-500 rounded-md cursor-pointer hover:bg-orange-500 hover:border-orange-500 hover:text-white focus-within:bg-orange-500 focus-within:border-orange-500 focus-within:text-white"
-              url: "https://book.stripe.com/cN29AKfK3dhrg0wdRF"
+              url: "/"
               alt_title: "PayPal"
-              alt_paypal_id: "paypal-online-ticket"
               alt_class: "text-sm hover:underline mt-4"
             features_class: "text-black dark:text-white"
             features:
@@ -155,11 +149,10 @@ features:
             price: "99"
             original_price: ""
             button:
-              title: "Register"
+              title: "Unavailable"
               class: "bg-transparent border border-orange-500 rounded-md cursor-pointer hover:bg-green-500 hover:border-green-500 hover:text-white focus-within:bg-green-500 focus-within:border-green-500 focus-within:text-white"
-              url: "https://book.stripe.com/aEUeV4fK36T37u0cNF"
+              url: "/"
               alt_title: "PayPal"
-              alt_paypal_id: "paypal-online-ticket-premium"
               alt_class: "text-sm hover:underline mt-4"
             features_class: "text-black dark:text-white"                
             features:

content/english/transactional/invite-fail-credentials.md

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
++++
+url = "/invite-fail-credentials"
+title="Error"
+subtitle="Invite Failed"
+main_image=""
++++
+
+#### Unknown Credentials
+
+Revolt email or password was not recognized. Please [try again](/invite) or contact our support staff.
+
+⚠️  You need [your own verified account](/chat) before having the power to invite others.

content/english/transactional/invite-fail-unverified.md

@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
++++
+url = "/invite-fail-unverified"
+title="Error"
+subtitle="Invite Failed"
+main_image=""
++++
+
+#### Unverified User
+
+Only [Verified Humans](https://guide.handmadecities.com/docs/chat/#verified-human-badge) are allowed to send chat invites. Once you're granted the badge you may [try again](/invite)!

content/english/transactional/invite-fail.md

@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
++++
+url = "/invite-fail"
+title="Error"
+subtitle="Invite Failed"
+main_image=""
++++
+
+#### UH OH!
+
+It seems we couldn't generate the chat invite. A few reasons why:
+- Incorrect [Revolt](https://chat.handmadecities.com) username or password
+- You are not a [Verified Human](https://guide.handmadecities.com/docs/chat/#verified-human-badge) yet
+- A server error on our part. Contact our support staff immediately

content/english/transactional/invite-success.md

@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
++++
+url = "/invite-success"
+title="Complete"
+subtitle="Invite Successful"
+main_image=""
++++
+
+#### Congrats!
+
+If you've met in meatspace they'll get a [Verified Human](https://guide.handmadecities.com/docs/chat/#verified-human-badge) badge, which grants *them* the power of invites. Ready to [send another](/invite)? 
+
+⚠️  We use an invite tree [inspired](https://lobste.rs/about#invitations) by the Lobsters community. The **TL;DR** is YOU are responsible for the users you invite, plus any users they've invited (and so on.)

content/english/transactional/revolt-success.md

@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
++++
+url = "/revolt-success"
+title="Complete"
+subtitle="Submission Successful"
+main_image=""
++++
+
+#### Congrats!
+
+If you were redirected here, you have submitted an application to join [Revolt](https://revolt.handmadecities.com).  
+**Our staff will respond within three business days.**
+
+Thank you for supporting indie communities.  
+We’re here to promote software quality, one meetup at a time.

layouts/_default/event.html

@@ -23,10 +23,10 @@
           <div class="inline-block bg-[#1a1a1a] p-4 rounded-lg mb-4">
             <i class="fa fa-calendar text-2xl text-[#e63946]"></i>
           </div>
-          <h2 class="text-xl md:text-2xl font-semibold text-white mb-2">Conference Dates</h2>
+          <h2 class="text-xl md:text-2xl font-semibold text-white mb-2">Event Dates</h2>
           <p class="text-lg text-gray-200">{{ .Params.event_dates | default "June 10-11, 2025" }}</p>
           {{ if .Params.registration_date }}
-          <p class="text-sm text-gray-400 mt-2">Registration opens: {{ .Params.registration_date }}</p>
+          <p class="text-sm text-gray-400 mt-2">Submission deadline: {{ .Params.registration_date }}</p>
           {{ end }}
         </div>
 
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@
       <!-- Initial Speakers Section (if available) -->
       {{ if .Params.initial_speakers }}
       <div class="mt-6">
-        <h3 class="text-xl font-semibold text-white mb-4 text-left">Initial Lineup</h3>
+        <h3 class="text-xl font-semibold text-white mb-4 text-left">Presenter Lineup</h3>
         <div class="grid grid-cols-1 md:grid-cols-2 gap-4">
           {{ range .Params.initial_speakers }}
           <div class="bg-[#1a1a1a] p-4 rounded-lg flex items-center">
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@
     <!-- Event Description -->
     {{ if .Params.show_description }}
     <div class="bg-black bg-opacity-50 backdrop-blur-sm p-6 rounded-xl shadow-lg max-w-3xl mx-auto mb-12">
-      <h3 class="text-xl font-semibold text-white mb-4">About this Handmade Conference</h3>
+      <h3 class="text-xl font-semibold text-white mb-4">About this Handmade Event</h3>
       <div class="text-gray-200 text-left prose prose-invert max-w-none">
         {{ .Content }}
       </div>

layouts/_default/invite.html

@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+{{ define "main" }}
+<section class="section">
+  <div class="container max-w-xl">
+    <h1 class="mb-8 text-3xl font-bold">{{ .Title }}</h1>
+    <img src="/images/hmc/revolt-preview.png">
+    <p><strong>Give them full access to <a href="https://chat.handmadecities.com">chat.handmadecities.com</a></strong></p>
+    <br>
+
+    <form action="https://invite.handmadecities.com" method="POST" class="space-y-6">
+
+      <div>
+        <label for="invite-email" class="mb-2 block font-semibold">Email to Send Invite to<span class="text-red-500">*</span></label>
+        <input type="email" id="invite-email" name="invite_email" required
+               class="w-full rounded border border-gray-300 px-4 py-2 focus:border-blue-500 focus:outline-none" />
+      </div>
+
+      <div>
+        <label for="revolt-email" class="mb-2 block font-semibold">Your Revolt Email <span class="text-red-500">*</span></label>
+        <input type="email" id="revolt-email" name="revolt_email" required
+               class="w-full rounded border border-gray-300 px-4 py-2 focus:border-blue-500 focus:outline-none" />
+      </div>
+
+      <div>
+        <label for="revolt-password" class="mb-2 block font-semibold">Your Revolt Password <span class="text-red-500">*</span></label>
+        <input type="password" id="revolt-password" name="revolt_password" required
+               class="w-full rounded border border-gray-300 px-4 py-2 focus:border-blue-500 focus:outline-none" />
+      </div>
+
+      <div class="flex items-center gap-2">
+        <input type="checkbox" id="meatspace" name="met_in_meatspace" value="yes"
+               class="h-4 w-4" />
+        <label for="meatspace">Have you met this person in meatspace?</label>
+      </div>
+
+      <div>
+        <label for="notes" class="mb-2 block font-semibold">Additional Notes (Optional)</label>
+        <textarea id="notes" name="notes" rows="4"
+          placeholder='"I am inviting my college roommate who is interested in Handmade software!"'
+          class="w-full rounded border border-gray-300 px-4 py-2 focus:border-blue-500 focus:outline-none"></textarea>
+      </div>
+
+      <button type="submit"
+              class="rounded bg-blue-600 px-6 py-3 font-semibold text-white hover:bg-blue-700">
+        Send Invite Code
+      </button>
+
+      <p class="text-sm text-gray-500">
+        You're vouching for the human identity of this new user. Bots or alternate personas are <strong>prohibited.</strong>
+      </p>
+    </form>
+  </div>
+</section>
+{{ end }}

layouts/_default/revolt.html

@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+{{ define "main" }}
+<section class="revolt-form-section">
+  <div class="container">
+    <h1>{{ .Title }}</h1>
+    <img src="/images/hmc/revolt-promotion.png" style="border-radius: 10px;">
+    <p>We now run our server at <strong><a href="https://chat.handmadecities.com">chat.handmadecities.com</a></strong>. Real humans only!</p>
+
+    <form action="https://register.handmadecities.com" method="POST" class="revolt-form">
+      <div class="form-group">
+        <label for="name">Name <span class="required">*</span></label>
+        <input type="text" id="name" name="name" required>
+      </div>
+
+      <div class="form-group">
+        <label for="email">Email <span class="required">*</span></label>
+        <input type="email" id="email" name="email" required>
+      </div>
+
+      <div class="form-group">
+        <label for="website">Personal Website (Optional)</label>
+        <input type="url" id="website" name="website" placeholder="https://abner.page">
+      </div>
+
+      <div class="form-group">
+        <label for="reason">Why are you interested in joining?</label>
+        <textarea id="reason" name="reason" rows="4"></textarea>
+      </div>
+
+      <button type="submit">Get Invite Code</button>
+    </form>
+  </div>
+</section>
+{{ end }}

layouts/meetups/list.html

@@ -37,12 +37,14 @@
         <option value="Barcelona">Barcelona</option>
         <option value="Berlin">Berlin</option>
         <option value="Brussels">Brussels</option>
+        <option value="Budapest">Bucharest</option>
         <option value="Budapest">Budapest</option>
         <option value="Chicago">Chicago</option>
         <option value="Copenhagen">Copenhagen</option>
         <option value="Dallas">Dallas</option>
         <option value="Denver">Denver</option>
         <option value="Dublin">Dublin</option>
+        <option value="Hawaii">Hawaii</option> 
         <option value="Houston">Houston</option>
         <option value="Istanbul">Istanbul</option>
         <option value="Lisbon">Lisbon</option>
@@ -51,6 +53,7 @@
         <option value="Madrid">Madrid</option>
         <option value="Miami">Miami</option>
         <option value="Minneapolis">Minneapolis</option>
+        <option value="Montreal">Montreal</option>
         <option value="Moscow">Moscow</option>
         <option value="Nashville">Nashville</option>
         <option value="New Orleans">New Orleans</option>
@@ -63,12 +66,13 @@
         <option value="Rome">Rome</option>
         <option value="San Antonio">San Antonio</option>
         <option value="San Diego">San Diego</option>
-        <option value="Tokyo">Tokyo</option>
+        <option value="San Juan">San Juan</option>
         <option value="Toronto">Toronto</option>
         <option value="Valencia">Valencia</option>
         <option value="Vienna">Vienna</option>
         <option value="Warsaw">Warsaw</option>
         <option value="Zurich">Zurich</option>
+        <option value="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</option>
           </select>
         </div>
         
@@ -92,5 +96,9 @@
         </button>
       </form>
       <br>
+      <hr>
+      <br>
+      <p>Not on the wishlist? Reach out at support@handmadecities.com</p>
+      <br>
     </div>
 {{ end }}

layouts/meetups/single.html

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
         <div class="flex flex-col gap-5 lg:w-1/3">
           <div class="dark:text-white content-container content">
             {{ .Content }}
-            <a class="btn btn-outline-primary" href="/discord">Discord</a>
+            <a class="btn btn-outline-primary" href="/discord">Revolt</a>
           </div>
 
           {{ $hasGoodHost := false }}

layouts/news/list.html

@@ -1,5 +1,15 @@
 {{ define "main" }}
   {{ partial "page-header-rss" . }}
+  <div class="mb-6 text-center">
+    <a href="{{ "/news/index.xml" | relURL }}" class="btn flex items-center gap-2 justify-center" aria-label="Subscribe to Handmade Cities News RSS">
+      <svg width="18" height="18" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false">
+        <path d="M4 11a1 1 0 100 2c5.523 0 10 4.477 10 10a1 1 0 102 0c0-6.627-5.373-12-12-12z"/>
+        <path d="M4 4a1 1 0 100 2c8.284 0 15 6.716 15 15a1 1 0 102 0C23 11.85 12.15 1 4 1a1 1 0 100 3z"/>
+        <circle cx="5" cy="19" r="2"/>
+      </svg>
+      <span>RSS</span>
+    </a>
+  </div>
 
   <section class="section">
     <div class="container">

layouts/operation2030/section.html

@@ -1,95 +0,0 @@
-{{ define "main" }}
-    {{ if .Params.Image }}
-      <figure class="flex justify-center items-center w-full">
-          {{ partial "image" (dict "Src" .Params.Image "Alt" "Banner" "Class" "w-1/4 h-1/4 mx-auto" ) }}
-      </figure>
-    {{ end }}
-    <br>
-    <div class="flex justify-center items-center">
-    <h1>{{ .Params.Title }}</h1>
-    </div>
-    <br>
-    <div>
-    </div>
-  <section class="mb-8">
-    <div class="container flex flex-col gap-5">
-      {{ $sections := slice . }}
-      {{ if .Sections }}
-        {{ $sections = .Sections.ByDate.Reverse }}
-      {{ end }}
-      {{ range $sections }}
-        <div>
-          <div>
-            <h2 class="mb-6"><a href="{{ .RelPermalink }}" class="hover:underline">{{ .Title }}</a></h2>
-          </div>
-            <div class="content">
-                {{ .Content }}
-            </div>
-          <div class="row">
-            {{ range .RegularPages.ByDate }}
-              <div class="col-12 md:col-6 lg:col-4 mb-3">
-                {{ $image := .Params.thumbnail }}
-                {{ if $image }}
-                  <a href="{{ .RelPermalink }}">
-                    {{ partial "image" (dict "Src" $image "Context" .Page "Alt" .Title "Class" "mb-3 w-full rounded") }}
-                  </a>
-                {{ end }}
-                <div class="mb-3">
-                  <a href="{{ .RelPermalink }}" class="underline hover:text-purple-600">
-                    <h4 class="mb-1">
-                      {{ .Title }}
-                    </h4>
-                  </a>
-                  <div class="flex">
-                    {{ with .Params.mediatype }}
-                      <div class="mr-4">
-                        {{ if eq . "intro" }}
-                        <i class="fa-regular fa-info-circle mr-1"></i>
-                            Intro
-                        {{ end }}
-
-                        {{ if eq . "philo" }}
-                        <i class="fa-regular fa-book mr-1"></i>
-                            Policy
-                        {{ end }}
-
-                        {{ if eq . "struct" }}
-                        <i class="fa-regular fa-users mr-1"></i>
-                            Logistics
-                        {{ end }}
-
-                        {{ if eq . "rev" }}
-                        <i class="fa-regular fa-credit-card mr-1"></i>
-                            Business
-                        {{ end }}
-
-                        {{ if eq . "key" }}
-                        <i class="fa-regular fa-gavel mr-1"></i>
-                            Directive
-                        {{ end }}
-
-                        {{ if eq . "extra" }}
-                        <i class="fa-regular fa-plus mr-1"></i>
-                            Bonus Section
-                        {{ end }}
-                      </div>
-                    {{ end }}
-                  </div>
-                </div>
-                <p class="mb-6">{{ .Params.description | markdownify }}</p>
-              </div>
-            {{ end }}
-          </div>
-          {{ range .Params.Notes }}
-            {{ partial "components/bignote.html" . }}
-          {{ end }}
-        </div>
-      {{ end }}
-      <hr>
-      <div>
-          <p><strong>Changelog</strong></p>
-          <p>- v0.5.0, Copyright © April 2, 2025</p>
-      </div>
-    </div>
-  </section>
-{{ end }}