Deb Nicholson is going to tell you about trolls -- "Trolls Aren't the Only Threat Under the Bridge" -- in her presentation at SCALE 12X. Deb took a few minutes to answer a few questions for the SCALE Team.
Q: Could you please introduce yourself and tell us a little about your background?
A: I'm Deb Nicholson. I live in Cambridge, Massachusetts and I used to work in politics before finding my home in the free software movement. I work on a few projects including the Open Invention Network, OpenHatch and GNU MediaGoblin.
Q: You're giving a talk on "Trolls Aren't the Only Threat Under the Bridge." Without tipping your hand on the actual talk, can you give us an idea of what we might expect?
A: Well, we've all been hearing a lot about patent trolls during the last two years. I'm worried that we're ignoring some of the underlying issues that enable trollish behavior, so I'll be talking about the systemic problems and floating some potential solutions.
Q: Is this your first visit to SCALE? If so, what are your expectations? If not, can you give us your impressions of the event?
A: I think my first SCALE was in 2007? Anyway, SCALE is one of my favorite free software events. People are friendly and the conference gets a little bigger and even better every year -- even though that doesn't seem possible.
Q: What would you say to someone who is considering attending SCALE as their first linuxfest or tech event?
A: You honestly could not choose a better first event! Everyone is welcome at SCALE. There's stuff for kids, beginners, experts, activists, job-seekers -- really and truly everyone. Plus, you can't beat the weather. (It's snowing at home... again.)
[SCALE Team interview by Larry Cafiero]