Abstract: Decentralization only matters if people use it otherwise it’s just expensive philosophy. This talk explores what developers and creators can do to make privacy-respecting systems usable and desirable. With fresh research, real examples, and the theater project System Err 2052, it links product design and activism, arguing that protecting user rights is both a technical and creative act.

Description: The first part of this talk focuses on adoption: how to convince humans (not whitepapers) to choose decentralized, privacy-preserving tools over shiny but rights-hostile alternatives. Drawing on new research and current examples, it examines why people love convenience more than freedom, how friction quietly kills good ideas, and what developers can do so users don’t need a PhD in cryptography to defend their autonomy. This section treats usability as a form of activism and decentralization as something that should feel less like homework and more like muscle memory.

The second part moves from products to protest with a stage in between. If decentralization protects freedom, activism teaches people why that freedom is worth the trouble. Using the theater performance System Err 2052 as a case study, this section explores how art can turn abstract values into emotional experiences and passive audiences into potential change-makers. By asking people to imagine social transformation through their own creative skills, the project shows how culture can support code. Backed by fresh examples from privacy movements and digital art activism, this part suggests that decentralization does not just need better protocols it needs better stories, better metaphors, and maybe a little dramatic lighting.

I hope I’ll see you there!

Summary

I contribute to Mozilla Project since 2005. I spent the majority of that time translating, localizing and QA-ing that effort.

In the last years I am focusing on Thunderbird both Desktop and Mobile.

I’d love to share some things I learned for that time which will help you to grow as a translator and as a community member: – Is consistency important. Tips and trick I use to keep myself motivated – How do you test a translation with the consumers – Why localizing the mobile version is a bigger challenge that the desktop

Videos

Follow the official link and look at the video. There are subtitles as well in a separate file.

Resources

Slides are here. (PDF)

Here is also a recording, but from another event. (Installfest.cz)

It’s not a secret that I donate more than $3000 a year for projects that align with my values and spend at least 80h a year volunteering. You might ask why I do something like that instead of buying a new computer or lying on the beach. 

Let me share a a story with you:

The world is big, and happiness lurks around the corner.

Skills and time:

I started supporting open-source and free software projects in 2004 when I joined the Mozilla community (the maker of Firefox). 

I contributed with my skills – localization, fixing and reporting bugs, doing small code changes, and talking to people about Privacy and Freedom on the web. After that, I used the same skills for helping projects like Fedora, CreativeCommons, EFF, and more.

What was my motivation? Why did I do that?

• I learned some new skills that I apply even today: respect for Privacy, respect for other people’s opinions, and working with people from around the world having different cultures.
• I felt my work was tedious (ah, that extensive excel I need to fill in), or I go into a daily routine without a way out. Contributing helps you break the boredom and return to your work refreshed. Change the context for an hour to fix a bug or typo and come back to see the difference.
• Be part of another great team – Join a vibrant group of people who believe in the same values as you do – for sure, you will take more benefits than I can describe here. Also, you’ll become friends forever.
• I learned how to be a leader. Helping people find the best way to apply their best skills is something I mastered while contributing to those projects.

Money:

Sometimes more than skills is needed. The majority of the projects and ideas need money. Donating helps them stay alive, motivated, and focused on their work.

At some point, I realized I could only support a few projects and ideas with my skills because I am changing, and they are changing as well, or simply because I need more time. I asked one of my mentors how I could still support their mission, and the answer was straightforward – help us with money. 

Then I remembered my first days as a FOSS developer, back in the 2000s, when I received financial support for one of my projects (whois XMLRPC gateway), and how I felt. It was awesome!

A final note:

Identify what change you want to see in the world and find a way to support it with your skills, peers, money, goods, or anything they need. They can’t do it by themselves. Change is a group sport.

Even though I bragged a bit initially, the best way to help and donate is to do it silently, focusing on the value you get for yourself and the value you provide to the mentee or the project!

Good luck!

Photo by Elaine Casap on Unsplash

There you go.

P.S It covers more countries and cities :)

Sometimes, we as developers unquestioningly trust everything that comes from the sources we constantly use. GitHub is not an exception. Do I need to remind you that you should not trust anything? Well, URLhouse proves this for you, if you don’t trust me :)

Currently, there are 1’696 malware sites hosted there with a takedown period of !!! 14 days!

Please be careful!

If you want to create a challenge for your own country the overpass query i used for Bulgaria is this:

[out:json][timeout:299];
(
  area["ISO3166-1"="BG"]->.a;
  nwr["website"~"."]["website"!~"^https?:\/\/.*"](area.a);
  nwr["contact:website"~"."]["contact:website"!~"^https?:\/\/.*"](area.a);
);
out body geom qt;

He is my challenge which now it seems complete :) Yay!

In the future if you want to help with the translation and localization bookmark the project at Weblate.

The mobile version is based on the amazing K-9 mail and it’s probably the best opensource e-mail client on the market right now. It supports encryption and unified mailbox (which is must for a person like me with ton of emails).

The challenge I have at the moment is to understand when the locale will be build into beta. Stay tuned if you want to help with the testing!

Here is an example of me doing a monologue after I spend a good time going deep into the character:

The role building: My character name is “Fat Bogo.”. His legal business is an impresario of metal bands. He owns a small brothel in Holesovice, but his true passion is to be a loan shark. One day, a small man asks him for a loan, and he is nowhere to be found when the loan is due. Fat Bogo sends the boys, Vicenco and Luca, to see him, but instead, they return with a girl —Marianna. Now the “hero” is back with the money…

Wait, hold on, what’s the relation to ChatGPT?

Imagine that you are the character and ask the question that will help you uncover some caveat of your life based on what the ML “knows” about you. It’s a fascinating exercise. I’ll do one now for myself.

Bogo> Who is Bogomil Shopov

ChatGPT> Bogomil Shopov—often known as “Bogo”—is a multifaceted professional based in Prague, Czechia, with over two decades of experience in technology and a deep commitment to human-centered innovation. Born and raised in Bulgaria, he identifies as a human, artist, and hacker, blending technical expertise with a passion for creativity and ethical design.Professionally, Shopov focuses on digital trust, privacy, cybersecurity, and ethical technology. He has held roles in technical program management, product operations, and complex release management, often within cloud and XaaS environments. His approach emphasizes secure software development, threat modeling, and aligning technology with human values.

As much as I like what I read, there is nothing new in there for me. Let’s start with the deep dive.

Bogo> I am doing a character study on him and would like to understand some of his flaws. What are they?

ChatGPT> Based on how Bogomil Shopov presents himself and the cultural narratives around his “rebel with a cause” persona, two qualities that might be critiqued are:

    Uncompromising Rebelliousness:    Bogomil frequently embraces a countercultural stance—mixing heavy metal passion with advocacy for free and open-source software and digital rights. While this rebellious spirit is a driving force in challenging established norms and inspiring change, it may also be interpreted as a tendency toward inflexibility. In certain contexts, an unyielding commitment to one’s ideals can lead to difficulties in finding common ground with those who operate under more conventional or moderate approaches. In a team or collaborative setting, this intensity might make it harder to adapt to compromise or to soften one’s stance when diplomacy is required.

    Blunt or Abrasive Communication Style:    Another aspect that comes through in his public persona is a style of communication that is candid, direct, and even provocative. This forthright approach can energize audiences and cut through bureaucratic noise, but it also runs the risk of alienating individuals who favor a more measured or tactful discourse. When opinions are expressed with a heavy dose of bluntness (or even sarcasm), it can sometimes come off as abrasive—potentially discouraging dialogue from those who might be less comfortable with confrontational styles. In a nuanced character study, such directness might be seen as both a strength and a liability, depending on the context and the interpersonal dynamics at play.

Now, we are hitting some good material here. Let’s go deeper and ask another question:

Bogo > Can you show me some proofs for: Blunt or Abrasive Communication Style

What have I learned from this simple exercise?

Wait, before I go into the part where I conclude, I need to mention that you can go even deeper into exploring all the flaws you “see” for yourself. If you ask different questions, you might discover some new things about yourself and even how to “fix” them if you feel like it.

What I have learned:

• I honestly didn’t have an idea that I might have a “Abrasive Communication Style”. If I reflect on my past communications, this might be true. There is something to think about here.
• The models help you see yourself from another perspective and get some helpful advice if you want to consider it.
• Ask clarifying questions for proofs.
• Consider this one part of the truth. Know that you are a more complex person.

Archetype

At the end of the exercise, tell ChatGPT to create an archetype for you. Imagine being played by an actor or being a character in a computer game. The result might be interesting.

Character Archetype: The Ethicist Hacker

Name: Bozhan “Bogo” Stoyanov

Class/Role: Techno-Druid / Digital Ethicist

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Faction: The Order of the Open Web

Backstory

Bozhan was raised in the post-collapse cities of the Neo-Balkan Federation, where government surveillance was rampant and megacorporations controlled knowledge. As a teenager, he cracked his school’s firewall not to cheat—but to replace standardized tests with philosophical essays.

He wandered across underground tech communes, learning open-source lore, privacy spells, and how to charm machines with music. Rumors say he once rebooted a dying AI by singing it a metal ballad about the nature of freedom.

Eventually, he joined The Order of the Open Web, a decentralized alliance of rogue engineers, artists, and ideologues who fight for digital sovereignty and emotional truth in a synthetic world.

Core Traits

• Idealist with Bite: Bogo believes in the freedom of the individual and the ethical use of technology—but isn’t afraid to disrupt, dismantle, or burn down what he sees as oppressive systems.
• Hybrid Thinker: Blends ancient philosophy, emotional intelligence, and bleeding-edge code.
• Heavy Metal Coder: Uses rhythm and sound in his code—his IDE literally has a soundboard.

Flaws

• Communication Mismatch: His poetic, metaphor-rich language confuses more pragmatic allies.
• Refuses Compromise: Will walk away from powerful allies if they violate his moral compass.
• Carries Burdens Alone: Internalizes failure and burns out rather than asking for help.
• Seeks Meaning in Everything: Sometimes paralyzed by trying to find “purpose” in even small technical choices.

The Play

We have become creatures who eat, shit, and hate ourselves and others. Hate is the only emotion that boils within us. Our society screams a total lack of motivation, will for change, other emotions, and interest in the stimuli of our surroundings. Let’s change that through theatre!

The mad scientist Aheado Fyou, who finds himself in the present from the future, along with his personal assistant with artificial intelligence, P.I.T.K.A., tries to get us to change something now so we don’t find ourselves in a future situation with no rights and free will.

By mixing light provocations, fine art, music, knowledge, and a lot of booze, all attendees experience a journey they will remember, at least until they leave the theater!

Inspiration

The play is inspired by Augusto Boal‘s methods, who guided us to the idea that theatre is not only for tears and laughter but also for expressing an active citizen position.

Based on actual events of the last years – wars around the world, political turmoil, violation of rights, and above all, apathy and hatred in society!

The play focuses on active audience participation, which is rarely done in theatre productions. It’s the best method for teaching the audience something valuable.

Music

We will have a special guest for the premiere: one of Bulgaria’s favorite punk singers, Krasimir Kunev—Kras, who will share his vision of how we can use music to restart the change!

Where and when.

The premiere will be on 7 March from 19:30 at I Am Studio Theater, one of the few places in Sofia for independent and experimental theater.

License

You may be surprised to learn that the play is licensed under a Creative Commons license, allowing anyone to modify and remix it for their own audience.

I gave a few talks about Thunderbird at three conferences in Czechia, Croatia, and Belgium and wanted to share a short resume of what I have learned.

FOSDEM

FOSDEM is the world’s most significant event for Free and Open Source software.

Even though my talk was not directly related to Thunderbird, I still want to highlight it here because some of the ideas that I incorporated came after talking to community members. The goal was to see what free technologies exist now and how they can be incorporated to build crazy ideas such as mood detection followed by serving e-mails that correspond to it or to see how much energy you waste by sending one e-mail.

The slides are here. There is a recording, but it’s off-sync.

Installfest.cz 2024

Installfest in Prague is one event that still maintains the spirit of open source. I gave a talk introducing the Thunderrid project, giving a brief history of how one can help with their abilities and capacity.

Even though I expected more people, the audience was engaged, and I had even more talks afterward. I had the honor to meet with Mitch Altman as well.

The video recording is here if you want to take a pick!

Dors/Cluc 2024

Dors/Cluc is one of the oldest free and open source events in Europe. It has been running for 30 years now. This year, they had a new venue: the Algebra College in Zagreb, which was amazingly packed with people and projects.

I spoke about how you can use heavy metal music to inspire yourself to contribute to Thunderbird and why you should do so in general. Metal music has love, anger, rage, diversity, and more. We all can find inspiration there to improve our lives. I also gave away around 50 Thunderbird stickers.

I will add a video when the recording is ready.

Community Engagement

I met mainly with people using Thunderbird as their default mail client. I learned a lot, and I am using this knowledge to be the community voice in the Thunderbird Council. One of the exciting questions was that some people were unaware of the Connect website to share ideas, and others were unaware of the process—what happens after you submit the idea?

I tried to reach out to the local contributor communities but was unsuccessful. We should start talking and engaging more with the precious people who share the energy to build Thunderbird in their free time.

Thanks for your time!

I know that 10k hits are nothing, but I am proud of the results for such a niche topic.

Here are my next two proposals:

Dors/Cluc

Zagreb, Croatia
15-19 May, 2024

Let me start by introducing you to a great event that has been organized for over 30 years—yes, 30! The organizers are proud that this is Europe’s oldest conference on Gnu/Linux and free software.

It’s held in Zagreb, Croatia, and offers many ways to learn new stuff – Sessions, workshops, small mini-events on a particular topic, and many ways to network and meet people.

Why don’t you combine your thirst for knowledge with a trip to Zagreb where, apart from the food, drinks, and history, you will understand why there are chandeliers from a Las Vegas Casino in a Cathedral?

The team is running a 30% discount campaign for the next few days.

DevConf

Brno, Czechia
13-15 June, 2024

When I started living in the Czech Republic, the people from Prague tried to convince me that the city of Brno was a hoax and that it didn’t exist. I am still not convinced, and I plan to go and visit the DevConf this year to change my mind :)

Apart from the obvious joke, the DevConf in Brno has been held almost every year since 2009. The topics might vary throughout the years, but the hero is always the open source. The primary sponsor is Redhat, and you might see more focus on technologies and principles related to the software company, but this is usually okay.

This year’s conference will last three days and include ten different themes, including the good ol’ AI.

Attendance is free of charge, and no registration is required. Visit Brno, ensure it’s real, meet many new people, and learn something new.

—
P.S. I am not associated with any of the events; I just want to support their enormous effort

• it’s pretty different than a “commercial” event: The amount of marketing BS and product pitches is minimal; sometimes, it never happens. You have a maximum ratio of practical talks: time.
• It focuses on freedom: The whole concept of the FOSS is about freedom. You would be able to feel the spirit of that in every action. I can’t explain it with concrete examples, but imagine the feeling of finally doing something you like, such as taking a day off work and going hiking.
• You learn a lot: The free/libre and the open-source software ecosystem is changing constantly and fast. The community launches new protocols, technologies, RFS, and projects daily and modifies them every millisecond. Good luck keeping with that!
• You can be part of it: There are many ways to volunteer and help for an event like that. Speaking from personal experience, volunteering at FOSDEM – it’s fantastic!

FOSS events in Bulgaria in 2024

ORDER BY DATE DESC

Bulgaria is one of the most beautiful countries in Europe, so if you want to combine your appetite for sightseeing, culture, good food, and your curiosity about Free and open-source software, you are in a good place.

Let me help you with three events this year focused entirely on the FOSS movement.

OpenFest 2024

2-3 November
Sofia, Bulgaria

OpenFest is an annual event for open culture, free and open software, and knowledge sharing. The first OpenFest happened in 2003 in Sofia, and since then, it has been held every year – sometimes in several Bulgarian cities simultaneously.

This is the biggest event in the country. Sometimes, it attracts more than 4000 humans. It has several simultaneous tracks covering technical, community, and open art topics. It’s also famous for its practical workshops.

How.Camp 2024

27 July
Gabrovo, Bulgaria

How.Camp Gabrovo is the first edition of a small open and collaborative event in the small mountain town of Gabrovo, famous for the inhabitants’ unique sense of humor. The team behind that has over 20 years of experience organizing technical and FOSS events, so you are in good hands.

The session will cover topics like Linux on Phones, open-source careers, Thunderbird and how to contribute to its community, and many others still in the works. So watch it and ensure you get one of the 79 spots left!

TuxCon 2024

11-12 May
Plovdiv, Bulgaria

TuxCon is an annual free and open-source software and hardware event. The entrance is free for all visitors. TuxCon is a community event organized by volunteers. They also have a workshop session, but mainly focused on open hardware. Please keep an eye out for more on their website.

Be free!

The image is by Peter Hadzhiev under CC BY-SA 3.0

As usual, I will keep it short in a TLDR mode. I present to you two hacks that you could use even now to enrich your work life and bring some positive emotions to your fellow humans (and AI if you work with it)

Be nice for no reason. 

If you are using Microsoft Teams, there is a way to set a status for the day, which everyone who communicates with you will see.

 In my case, it looks like this:

Be nice for no reason.

I found this very useful when I first saw it from a colleague. Her message was, “Be nice for no reason.” And I was nice. That was a good reminder that we are people, and we need to have a certain level of positivity in our work lives. 

Could you please try this and see how the tone of the communication changes?  

If you are not using this specific software, I am sure the one that you use supports a similar mode as well. 

Friday – the feedback day.

Encouraging people to give their best for our joint success works if it’s honest. 

If you are working remotely and never see the people f2f as I do, here is a trick that could help you and your team to be positive.

• You can book yourself a 15-minute slot each Friday.
• When the time comes, reflect on who did something exceptional this week.
• Write them a short e-mail stating their achievement. 
• If appropriate, CC their manager. 

Here is an example I sent out, which is a case sent to their manager, and the person is in the CC. That works in some cases as well.

D***, I hope you have a wonderful day so far. I just wanted to spend 30 seconds to say how I greatly appreciate all the support I receive from V***. Looking at the interactions with his team, he is a great manager and a catalyst of change, which helps my work. I also hear good feedback from my peers, and I am so happy we work together. 

 Kudos one more time!

“Stand Up And Shout”

As usual, my last section is about metal and how the great masters of this music coach us through their songs on how to be better people and better at what we do.

You, as a TPM, are the most robust chain in most cases. You are the glue that holds the program together, and this is what your job description is. 

For the rest, I will let Ronnie James Dio tell you this:

You are the strongest chain

 And not just some reflection

 So never hide again

 You are the driver

 You own the road

 You are the fire, go on, explode

Homework for you :)

Friday is approaching; why don’t you try the feedback hack and let me know how it went?

Photo by Valentin Petkov on Unsplash