From the Ashes
We've been here before. But it never gets old.
We're referring to the scenario we often find ourselves in, where things appear to be hopeless or doomed for one reason or another. Distributors have vanished owing us large sums of money that we need to survive. We've gotten sued by everyone from the entire motion picture industry to the Ford Motor Company, threatening our very existence. And we continue to see fellow writers and members of the hacker community unfairly prosecuted and faced with life-destroying actions by authorities with unlimited resources and no shame in pushing false narratives. But somehow, throughout all of that, we always manage to come back with renewed spirit and determination.
Of course, the "somehow" really isn't that much of a mystery. Simply put, it's the massive amount of support and positivity shown to us and many others by the people in the hacker community. Without this amazing collection of individuals, so much would be impossible. And that extends well beyond the challenges we're talking about here. The innovations and inventions that hackers are responsible for have helped to change just about everything in our world today, from tech companies to telephones to the manner in which we protect speech and freedom. We can't ever forget this, nor can we let these accomplishments be tarnished or subverted by those who either don't get it at all or who are in this for the wrong reasons.
2019 brought us numerous challenges that could have been really depressing had we not been so used to them - and emboldened by our support network.
Earlier in the year, we were told that our magazine couldn't be put on newsstands in the United Kingdom because it might attract "negative publicity" and subject us to fines of over $13,000 per complaint! This said a lot more about what's happened to the U.K. than anything having to do with us. Since we never profited from sending issues overseas in the first place, these developments didn't actually hurt us. But the story gave us much more visibility in that country and led to more people subscribing to both the printed and digital editions. Still, the whole thing remains unsettling for anyone who values freedom of the press, reading, democracy, etc.
More recently, Google has decreed that we are something called a "replica magazine" that they will no longer carry in the digital magazine section of their Google Play platform. Apparently, they intend to redefine what a magazine is and we don't qualify. Yes, it's somewhat priceless that a corporation like Google is telling us what a magazine is. But again, this didn't really hurt us since Google's terms were always pretty poor and they never attracted anywhere near the same amount of readers as the Kindle. Again, though, it's unsettling to see how publications are being manipulated by people without a clue who probably shouldn't be in this business to begin with.
And, of course, we almost lost the radio station that broadcasts Off The Hook, our hacker radio show that's been on the air since 1988. In October, a minority faction of the parent Pacifica Foundation shut down local broadcasting of WBAI-FM in New York City and replaced it with a piped-in feed from California. It seemed like we would be losing a vital outlet that had always welcomed the voice of hackers over the airwaves. Thanks to listener support and the court system, the station was restored and is now operating with renewed passion and energy. There are massive challenges at the station to overcome still, but at least now the danger of what might be is so much clearer. And that has proven to be a great motivator.
Our biggest challenge, though, was the future of our HOPE conference. When our previous venue decided to triple their price, we were faced with a choice: either triple our admission cost or stop running one of the most popular hacker conferences in the world. We didn't much like either choice, so our community helped us come up with a third choice: find another way.
We were blown away by the hundreds of letters of support we received from attendees, readers, and even people who had never come to the conference but were well aware of its importance and significance. When we saw how much it continued to mean to so many, we knew we couldn't accept something that was wrong or just give up. And so we spent pretty much the entire summer looking for new venues. Some were comically terrible and others were hilariously expensive. But we never stopped looking, primarily because so many people kept asking for updates and encouraging us to continue the search. So instead of not knowing how we could possibly solve this problem, we knew we'd find a solution but didn't yet know what that was. The difference between those two perspectives was so much more significant than we ever knew.
We found what we believe to be not only a great location but a pivotal point in the history of HOPE. Instead of battling hotel bureaucracy and getting perpetually overcharged and overcrowded, we're now going to be in a university environment, where space abounds and the people appreciate our community and what we do. And we won't have to leave New York City to do this. While no longer in midtown Manhattan, we'll be at a venue that will be easier for many to get to and far less stressful to maneuver.
St. John's University in Queens will be the site for HOPE 2020 from July 31st to August 2nd, 2020. We'll have the same or bigger rooms for all of our talks, plus additional hangout space, and a huge outdoor area to introduce all kinds of new projects and activities. On-site housing will be available, bringing elements of a hacker camp to New York for the first time. Off-site hotels with special rates will be close by. And for those who want to stay in Manhattan, it's a one-stop train ride away.
Of course, this kind of a change won't be easy. It'll require a significant amount of additional coordination on our part and we expect to make many mistakes as we adjust to this new way of doing things. But if we're able to pull this off, we believe it will turn the page into a new era of hacker history and allow us to make new dreams possible.
We've never been more confident that this community has what it takes to make this into a successful - and recurring - event. Info on all of these developments will be posted and updated frequently at www.hope.net and www.2600.com. Please help us get the word out!