Last Day At Flock

I was exhausted on the last day of Flock because we had a boat party the day before and there was a lot of walking too. I was honestly tired and arrived at the venue a bit late. The first session was about to end, and it was almost time for the second session. However, I honestly didn’t find anything interesting to attend. Still, I was very interested in attending “Distgit Implementation in Forgejo” by Tomas Hrcka. So, I decided to roam around, catch up with folks, and enjoy some snacks, cakes, and drinks.

Conversation With A Fellow OG Gamer

I was talking with Tomas Hrcka and some other CLE folks who were gathered around the table, and I joined them after walking around for a bit. Honestly, I was sleepy because I hadn’t slept well the night before. Some people were talking loudly outside the hotel, and my room was facing the street, so all the noise kept me awake.

Anyway, I remembered Michael Konečný raising his arm during day 1 at Flock 2025’s Bazzite session when someone asked who plays games here. So I started the conversation by asking, “Do you play any games? I saw you raise your hand on day 1 when they asked if anyone here plays games.” We just started chatting, and it was really interesting. Michal plays Warhammer, Elder Scrolls, and more. He’s an OG gamer for sure! I was excited to find someone with similar interests, it’s not something I can expect from my village, where nobody else plays games and I don’t really have gamer friends. To make things even worse, I don’t have any gamer friends either, except for the ones who only play hardcore, toxic multiplayer games. :(

Michal told me he’s played almost all the Elder Scrolls games, and he shared that Elder Scrolls: Morrowind is actually better than the others. Its mechanics are deeper and more complex, with detailed stats that really affect what happens in the game. We talked about that for a while, and it was super interesting. As another Elder Scrolls fan, I found it fascinating and I started wanting to try out Morrowind, even though I’d always avoided older games because I started with Skyrim and thought old games must be less impressive. Turns out, I was wrong, Morrowind might even be better than the rest. The graphics might be outdated, but the gameplay is still awesome.

After a while, Jiří Konečný joined our conversation, and I found out that he’s actually Michal Konečný’s brother, both working at Red Hat. It was great talking to Jiří; he’s super chill. We jumped between topics, chatted about language differences, had some technical talk about using custom OSes on mobile phones (including Fairphones), discussed my carrier-locked phone issues, handheld gaming devices (Steam Deck & others) and more.

Lunch Time

The three of us, Michael Konečný, Jiří Konečný, and I, spent some time chatting and didn’t realize how quickly the time passed. Before we knew it, it was already lunchtime, so we headed to the dining area and waited in line.

Once we got our food, we managed to find a table for the three of us. The lunch was enjoyable, and I was surprised to see rice on the menu. Michal explained that rice is commonly eaten there, though it is mostly imported from Vietnam. The taste was quite different from the rice I’m used to in India, where it is usually plain.

After finishing our lunch, we grabbed some desserts and continued chatting for a while. Eventually, Jiří had to leave, and soon after, it was time for the next sessions. I went ahead to attend “Distgit Implementation in Forgejo.”

Distgit implementation in Forgejo

This was the most interactive session I have attended at Flock 2025. It was about replacing Pagure with Forgejo. Many people felt emotional because Pagure was a project where the community once came together to build an open-source alternative to GitHub. Now, it is going to be replaced by Forgejo, which is seen as a better alternative for distgit.

I took notes during the session, but to summarize, the discussion started with the plan to replace Pagure and why moving away from it is necessary. The reasons included security concerns, the fact that Pagure is no longer maintained, and other issues.

During the session, participants shared various opinions and objections, and the conversation touched on many topics. It went on so long that it ended before everything could be covered. This was the most interactive and insightful session I attended, and I learned many new things.

Honestly, much of what was discussed was beyond my current understanding. People were very excited and curious to talk, while I focused on taking notes to keep up with their points. It was worth it, though, as many technical terms were mentioned, things about permissions in packaging, how they work, and more. I’m glad I took notes, and I look forward to learning more when I get home.

Last Session in Flock 2025

Aurélien gave a talk about various Fedora Infrastructure applications, including Fedora Messaging, Badges, Notifications, Tiny Stage, and other important tools. Since I have been contributing and working with the Fedora Infrastructure team, attending this session was very valuable. It gave me a good overview of how these applications work and helped me understand where my help is most needed.

A few days ago, I was talking with Patrik Polakovic who mentioned that they need contributors for Bodhi. He explained how they have been using the same application for a long time. I have been looking for information about Bodhi and related areas, as I find the Bodhi codebase quite complex IHMO. I want to find a way to contribute to a Fedora Infrastructure application that benefits both the project and myself.c

This session helped me get a clearer overall understanding of the Fedora Infrastructure ecosystem and where I can contribute effectively.

Last Day: Wrapping Up!

After attending the last session, I stepped outside the hall and found Ankur Sinha chatting with some people. I joined them, and we ended up talking for a while. I thanked Ankur for being there when I took my first steps into open source. If it weren’t for him, I might have taken a very different path. Thanks to him, I stick with Fedora, found a place where I wanted to contribute, and started making progress. It wasn’t easy at first, I faced many obstacles trying to get involved in open-source projects and communities, but Fedora was the most welcoming of all. I’m really glad I got to meet Ankur.

Then, I noticed some people dancing near the last table. It seemed like they could earn a badge for dancing. I was shy, so I didn’t join in, but now I think I should have! :P

After that, I met Vipul Siddharth. He was very friendly and introduced himself. It turns out he was involved with the Fedora Project in the past, and now he works with UNICEF.

Finally, as the event was winding down and people started leaving the venue, we took a group photo together. (You can see it in this post’s cover image.)

Saying Goodbyes 👋🏼

After that, I started roaming around the hall, taking a video of the whole venue. I saw people I had connected with during Flock, and we said our goodbyes while exchanging contact information on Signal and Matrix.

A little later, I caught up with my mentor, Tomáš Hrčka. He told me he wouldn’t be available the next day because he had to leave early to attend DevConf.CZ. We shared a warm hug, and I felt a bit sad since I didn’t expect him to leave that day. I had been planning to join him the next day if the CLE folks had any plans. Eventually, everyone left the venue, and I said goodbye to all before heading back to my room to get some rest.

However, I forgot that I didn’t have a tram ticket. I looked for Tomas, who was heading somewhere with some CLE folks, so I tagged along. Tomas was talking with his manager, and I was waiting for a chance to ask for help with a ticket. Then, I spotted Otto Richter among the group, and he kindly lent me a ticket, which was very helpful at that moment🙌🏼. Since I wasn’t invited to where they were going, I left the group

On The Way Back To The Hotel

I was waiting for some time, and enjoying the view. Because, it was raining at that time and also there’s an orchestra conducted in the street and I was looking at it and I eventually caught the tram back on my own and reach reached the hotel. I actually missed my stop again, and I had to walk 300 meter from the tram station.

Flock was over, and I was heading to my room to get some good rest. But I couldn’t fall asleep right away and was really bored. I definitely didn’t want to use my phone, so I turned on the TV. Although the programs were in Czech, “The Penguins of Madagascar” was on the Paramount channel, so I started watching it. Eventually, I fell asleep.