As an Open Source person I am apparently expected to keep doing things for free so I get invited to participate in EU policy events in Brussels, with not even an attempt to offer me compensation for travel, lodging or time.
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As an Open Source person I am apparently expected to keep doing things for free so I get invited to participate in EU policy events in Brussels, with not even an attempt to offer me compensation for travel, lodging or time.
So I decline.
@bagder I've been invited to EU events, to UN events, and to meetings of standards bodies, most times without compensation for travel and lodging. That is standard practice and it means that, in real life, only those with spare time and money or a large company backing their expenses can influence the outcome of such meetings.
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@bagder the issue being is they'll get only voices of people backed by money; so certain corporations with certain interests.
That's not an issue for you to solve but I wonder if the organisers have thought of it?
> I wonder if the organisers have thought of it?
In such a case, my first thought is "how much were they paid not to think about it?" EU institutions pretending to invite pluralistic participation without reimbursements is far too systemic in nature not to be the result of a planned operation.
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As an Open Source person I am apparently expected to keep doing things for free so I get invited to participate in EU policy events in Brussels, with not even an attempt to offer me compensation for travel, lodging or time.
So I decline.
@bagder I usually ask for the details on travel and accommodation instead of outright refusing, and I was surprised to get it covered several times!
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As an Open Source person I am apparently expected to keep doing things for free so I get invited to participate in EU policy events in Brussels, with not even an attempt to offer me compensation for travel, lodging or time.
So I decline.
@bagder Bravo! Cheers, Daniel
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@bagder As a musician I keep getting asked to 'Play for food?' I equally decline.
@FreakyFwoof @bagder Had that with my band. Once we stopped accepting gigs that paid in beer and pie and actually started charging money, it turned out most folks were quite willing to pay it.
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As an Open Source person I am apparently expected to keep doing things for free so I get invited to participate in EU policy events in Brussels, with not even an attempt to offer me compensation for travel, lodging or time.
So I decline.
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As an Open Source person I am apparently expected to keep doing things for free so I get invited to participate in EU policy events in Brussels, with not even an attempt to offer me compensation for travel, lodging or time.
So I decline.
@bagder "happy to attend virtually" is a reasonable response if it sounds like something worth contributing to.
In a ideal world there would be some orgs willing to fund good people to turn up even if the government it self wont pay.
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As an Open Source person I am apparently expected to keep doing things for free so I get invited to participate in EU policy events in Brussels, with not even an attempt to offer me compensation for travel, lodging or time.
So I decline.
Unpaid work is a big thing in too many industries
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/31/us/elon-musk-company-unpaid-liens-invs
https://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2026/07/31/spacexai-liens-construction-colossus-darana.html
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork
Unpaid content
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/449690-talk-show-host-david-pakman-analyzes-youtube-demonetization/Unpaid content moderation
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/dec/30/reddit-moderator-protest-communities-social-mediaUnpaid overtime
https://medium.com/career-programming/why-swes-must-work-unpaid-overtime-4b4ce9571185https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20211013-how-working-unpaid-hours-became-part-of-the-job
Unpaid invoices
https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/nearly-half-of-creative-freelancers-regularly-work-unpaid-hours-reporthttps://www.ibtimes.com.au/spacexai-570-million-claim-ihra-financial-turmoil-1873420
Unpaid marketing
https://www.businessinsider.com/cision-faces-collective-action-lawsuit-alleging-unpaid-overtime-2021-5Wage theft
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/15/wage-theft-us-workers-employees -
As an Open Source person I am apparently expected to keep doing things for free so I get invited to participate in EU policy events in Brussels, with not even an attempt to offer me compensation for travel, lodging or time.
So I decline.
@bagder
That's a reasonable stance. Considering the importance of cURL, the EU leadership should make an effort to involve you and make it as easy for you as possible. -
As an Open Source person I am apparently expected to keep doing things for free so I get invited to participate in EU policy events in Brussels, with not even an attempt to offer me compensation for travel, lodging or time.
So I decline.
@bagder +1
If they can charge for tickets they can pay speakers or at least arrange travel, food & accomondation for free…
At least that's my take, espechally on commercialized events.
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@FreakyFwoof @bagder Had that with my band. Once we stopped accepting gigs that paid in beer and pie and actually started charging money, it turned out most folks were quite willing to pay it.
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@bagder I've been invited to EU events, to UN events, and to meetings of standards bodies, most times without compensation for travel and lodging. That is standard practice and it means that, in real life, only those with spare time and money or a large company backing their expenses can influence the outcome of such meetings.
-
> I wonder if the organisers have thought of it?
In such a case, my first thought is "how much were they paid not to think about it?" EU institutions pretending to invite pluralistic participation without reimbursements is far too systemic in nature not to be the result of a planned operation.
-
Unpaid work is a big thing in too many industries
https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/31/us/elon-musk-company-unpaid-liens-invs
https://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2026/07/31/spacexai-liens-construction-colossus-darana.html
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210507-why-we-glorify-the-cult-of-burnout-and-overwork
Unpaid content
https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/449690-talk-show-host-david-pakman-analyzes-youtube-demonetization/Unpaid content moderation
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/dec/30/reddit-moderator-protest-communities-social-mediaUnpaid overtime
https://medium.com/career-programming/why-swes-must-work-unpaid-overtime-4b4ce9571185https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20211013-how-working-unpaid-hours-became-part-of-the-job
Unpaid invoices
https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/nearly-half-of-creative-freelancers-regularly-work-unpaid-hours-reporthttps://www.ibtimes.com.au/spacexai-570-million-claim-ihra-financial-turmoil-1873420
Unpaid marketing
https://www.businessinsider.com/cision-faces-collective-action-lawsuit-alleging-unpaid-overtime-2021-5Wage theft
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/15/wage-theft-us-workers-employees@Npars01 @bagder Someone really needs to sue him.
In #Germany, those who have substantial overdue payments may even apply for "Creditor Insolvency" as the non-payment is a clear indicator of insolvency (Why wouldn't a honest merchant pay?).
- It's also a felony to commit to a contract knowing one cannot fulfill financial obligations of it at time of signature… (Contractual Entrance Fraud)…
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As an Open Source person I am apparently expected to keep doing things for free so I get invited to participate in EU policy events in Brussels, with not even an attempt to offer me compensation for travel, lodging or time.
So I decline.
Fair enough, considering you'd end up in the negatives on the trade -
As an Open Source person I am apparently expected to keep doing things for free so I get invited to participate in EU policy events in Brussels, with not even an attempt to offer me compensation for travel, lodging or time.
So I decline.
@bagder You have to understand, the EU has to give so many billions as subsidies to fossil companies, it has nothing left for volunteers.
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@bagder I think people inviting people just assume everyone has an employer that covers your salary during those days and you can reimburse travel costs :')
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As an Open Source person I am apparently expected to keep doing things for free so I get invited to participate in EU policy events in Brussels, with not even an attempt to offer me compensation for travel, lodging or time.
So I decline.
@bagder meanwhile Europe recently announced unlocking 10B€ for AI ressources...
What a disappointment... -
@bagder I usually ask for the details on travel and accommodation instead of outright refusing, and I was surprised to get it covered several times!
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As an Open Source person I am apparently expected to keep doing things for free so I get invited to participate in EU policy events in Brussels, with not even an attempt to offer me compensation for travel, lodging or time.
So I decline.
@bagder same. I can't do everything for free
