Splitting from Handmade Network

Handmade Cities (HMC) and Handmade Network (HMN) are going their own ways.

Dear Handmade folks,

The title of this newsletter is eye-catching but the breakup between Handmade Cities (HMC) and Handmade Network (HMN) leadership was amicable in the end. However, I’m sure you have questions. I’ll do my best to address the ones I’ve received in-person already!

Disagreements on Governance

There’s fundamental disagreements between the two organizations on directing the brand. Note that, legally speaking, we’re separate entities. For better or worse the Handmade movement was already split into three hubs:

1. Handmade Hero, by Molly Rocket Inc.
2. Handmade Network, managed by their own non-profit
3. Handmade Cities, which is my own small business

Therefore the divorce is pretty clean as it is. Any mention of collaborations between the two parties is no longer valid. For my part I wish them all the best with their newfound freedom. As original founder, I hope they prosper.

That should cover the important details. You can talk to me if you require more context.

Implications for Community Members

No implications for you. It is absurd to demand loyalties from anyone. You’re welcome to flit between any community as you see fit; you should derive value from us without politics getting in the way.

The majority HMC community comes from this newsletter and meetups mailing list. We also have an HMC Discord for additional coordination of in-person events.

Handmade Cities Roadmap & Recordings

What I said two newsletters ago about the roadmap continues to apply. Nothing has changed except that, as you can well imagine, we’re getting a late start. What I wanted for January should now be happening during February.

I’m excited for you to access new conference recordings and I’m terribly sorry for the wait.

Terminal Click Ships This Weekend

One funny outcome of the 2024 conference is that detractors argue Handmade Cities doesn’t care about shipping software (even though we’ve had plenty of speakers who’ve shipped.) That we’re focused exclusively on activism.

First off, I stand by all my speakers and guests. They are excellent programmers in their own right and the majority of our audience agrees. Second, we can prove them wrong starting from the top; this weekend I’m shipping Terminal Click: a native desktop terminal that’s killing the shell.

We’re in a closed beta first: Windows, Mac, and Linux users all welcome. Handmade Boston attendees (all tracks) have priority because I promised them access as a thank you for attending a lesser-known conference. Two ways to get in:

1. Email my other address (abner@terminal.click) with a request. Let me know which HMB you attended to verify (2023 or 2024)
2. Visit the TC server at terminal.click/discord and ping me there

Software You Can Love (Vancouver) should also receive access, after I coordinate with the organizer. Anyone else that’s interested can still message me and let me know why they’re a good fit.

My Own Views

In my haste to find some peace in the last newsletter, my personal values were obscured. Let’s not forget them:

• If we could wave a magic wand, I’d have the Handmade way be the ethos of every programmer

• If we could wave a magic wand, I’d have indie devs and small software shops multiply like rabbits

• If we could wave a magic wand, I’d have all of us (myself included) gain superb social and marketing skills

• If we could wave a magic wand, I’d have tech workers join guilds or unions

• If we could wave a magic wand, I’d erode corporate power

Handmade Cities is about becoming a better programmer. For the next conferences I want 80% of content to be classic engineering presentations. However, the remaining 20% must incorporate discussions beyond programming, including the rights and well-being of tech workers (e.g. those who were laid off in droves.) As an attendee that doesn’t mean you’ll agree with everything we say, of course.

With this official 80/20 split if Handmade Seattle has ten talks that means two of them won’t be about pure software. You’ve been warned. In upcoming news I’ll discuss the revamped submission process to ensure we represent as much of the audience as possible.

Personal Website

It’s abner.page from now on. It’s not currently pointing anywhere; I’ll resurrect everything soon enough.

If you’re wondering what happened to abnercoimbre.com I forgot to set auto-renew and now someone’s squatting it. Crazier things occurred during the online drama. It’s part of the job I guess, though I can’t wait for local meetups to keep growing.

The more of us communicate in meatspace, the better.

Your independent organizer,
Abner Coimbre