Bonum Certa Men Certa

Pop Weekend in Schagen, Netherlands & Debian Day

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Jul 10, 2024,
updated Jul 10, 2024

Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock.

After the Debian Day Volunteer Suicide, the death of Frans Pop, a group of people traveled to the Netherlands for the funeral.

The funeral was held in the town of Schagen (Wikipedia, OpenStreetmap), approximately 50km north of Amsterdam.

Every summer Schagen has a music festival, coincidentally, it is called Pop Weekend. This year it is the 40th anniversary of Pop Weekend on 2 to 4 August 2024. Could this be a good opportunity for people to get together and commemorate Pop's work?

We know that Frans Pop sent his resignation email, a de-facto suicide note, on 15 August 2010, the night before Debian Day. We don't know the exact day he went through with the suicide, whether he did it on Debian Day itself or a few days later.

What we do know is that if he was watching the debian-private emails after sending his resignation, he would have only seen two people thanking him for his work.

Some Debian people are just incredibly rude like that. I resigned from some of my voluntary activities around the time my father died. Some people have been complaining for six years. None of these people ever paid anything for my work. None of these people ever thanked me for my work. But after I resigned, they spent over $120,000 on legal fees to insult my family and I.

Read more about Christian Perrier and Thijs Kinkhorst, the two people who thanked Frans Pop after his resignation/suicide note.

Given that only two people thanked Pop after his resignation/suicide email, could the Pop Weekend be a good opportunity for people to get together and belatedly thank Frans Pop for all his work?

If you would like to discuss this idea, please make contact via debian-devel@lists.debian.org

Pop Weekend, Schagen, Frans Pop, Debian

 

Subject: Re: Death of Frans Pop - funeral report
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:45:43 +0100
From: Steve McIntyre <steve@einval.com>
To: debian-private@lists.debian.org

Hi all,
The funeral for Frans Pop happened yesterday in Schagen and 6 DDs went along to pay their last respects. Colin Watson and I flew over from the UK and we met up with Thijs Kinkhorst, Jeroen van Wolffelaar, Geert Stappers and Joost van Baal from the Netherlands.
We got to meet a number of people from Frans' family, and a lot of his friends too. Although the backgrounds were very different (stories from childhood, student life, National Service and his Debian work), the picture painted of him was remarkably consistent: a fairly quiet person who worked hard on everything he did to very high standards. He was a perfectionist in most areas, almost obsessively so. He also kept his life very compartmentalised and private, meaning that many of his friends had not previously met.
I spoke briefly about Frans' work in Debian, highlighting the areas where he worked and the number of people he had worked with in various teams. I also told the group about the massive number of messages of sympathy and condolence which I had been asked to pass on. His family knew that Debian was important to Frans, but were not aware of just how wide his influence and effect had been. They were especially surprised and grateful that people had travelled so far for the funeral; I told them that I would not have missed it for anything.
I now know more about the circumstances surrounding his death, but I'm not going to share it on a mailing list to cause more pain and argument. Contact me privately if you want to know.
I've sent email including the proposed obituary text to Frans' stepfather and brother today to ask for their approval, and I'm hoping to receive that shortly. I also asked if they would be happy with any potential dedication(s) that might be made. I'll report back on these as soon as I hear anything more.
Rest In Peace, my friend. You will be missed.
-- Steve McIntyre, Cambridge, UK. steve@einval.com There's no sensation to compare with this Suspended animation, A state of bliss

Please see the chronological history of how the Debian harassment and abuse culture evolved. â–ˆ

Other Recent Techrights' Posts

Microsoft-Sponsored Xenophobia and Nationalism
IBM is very similar in this regard
Tentative Summary of Things to Publish in Project 2030
I'll still be in my forties by then
 
Links 21/09/2025: "Hey Hi" (Hype) Under Fire, Fakes Identified; Tesla Burns Family
Links for the day
Google's Software is Malware and Malware in Mobile Devices
Originally posted by Rob Musial
Links 20/09/2025: Hegemony Coming to a Close, Luigi Mangione Ruled Not Terrorist
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/09/2025: "Charlie Kirk Was a Hateful Piece of Shit" and Slop Code Attempted by Microsofter
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 20, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 20, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Snowy Photos and utism is a Spectrum
Links for the day
Vintage is Sometimes Better
Why can't we get back to "simple" if (or where) "simple" means better?
Climate Breakdown Means We'll be Publishing More, Not Less
Press freedom will be a common, recurring theme
Our 5-Year Geminispace Anniversary is Coming Up
I still remember when Gemini Protocol was quite new
It's Right to Point Out Violence From the Right
Violence is a recurring theme
Web Browsers That "Do Hey Hi" (AI)
State-of-the-art plagiarism or "autocomplete on steroids" (not coined by us, nevertheless a nice description) don't have much/any prospect
Links 20/09/2025: Hardware Projects in View, Some Independent Publishers About Russia Prosper After Cheeto Cuts Funding
Links for the day
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Options and TV Time Machine
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Retrocomputer, Antique Phone Experience, and More
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Internet Shutdowns, Media Censorship, and Climate Worries
Links for the day
About 700 New Gemini Capsules in 13 Months (or 54 Per Month)
4.8K would represent a 20% increase
Rust People: Drain the Swap, You're Holding It Wrong
Does Rust make sense?
Techrights the Name Turns 15
About 6 weeks from now we turn 19
Microsoft is Running Out of Time and Floating Fake Figures, Fake Projects, Fake Narratives, Fake Excuses
Also, a lot of Microsoft's "revenue" claims are circular financing (i.e. Microsoft buying from itself, which means Ponzi-like fraud)
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, linuxconfig.org, and Plagiarised Phoronix
Many articles out there are nowadays fake
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 19, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Navigating the Pressures of Modern Life and SpellBinding Accidentally Wrote Another Gemini Server
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Press Freedom Dying in US, Anti-Austerity Strikes in France, and Alan Rusbridger to Leave 'Prospect'
Links for the day
European Patent Office Illegally Gutting and Outsourcing Its Functions, Acting Like an Above-the-Law Commercial Business (It Won't Stop at Formalities Officers (FOs) and Classification Slop at the EPO)
breaking/violating laws and conventions
Offloading to the Sister Site
In the interest of not overwhelming readers
Links 19/09/2025: Coffee Club and "SpellBinding is Now Absurdly Fast"
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Lobbyist of American GAFAM Becomes Data Protection Commissioner in Europe
Links for the day
Links 19/09/2025: Media Freedom Ceases to Exist in US, "Consider Dropping Twitter/X"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 19/09/2025: Thinking and Insect Bites
Links for the day
Microsoft E.E.E.: Git Will Now (or Very Soon) Fully Depend on Rust, Which is Controlled by Microsoft
Microsoft now makes Git dependent on Rust, or making Git dependent on GitHub, which is proprietary
The Right to Punch People (Apparently)
At Brett Wilson, Brett's job title is "Head of Crime" and Wilson normalises calls for violence
Slop or Fake Articles Have Turned Linux Journal From a Pioneering/Trailblazing "Linux" Magazine Into a Nuisance
some sites with former reputation - good reputation - turn into cesspools
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 18, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, September 18, 2025