FOSDEM 2026 — Still Coming Back

January again. And once more, I find myself opening the FOSDEM schedule with a mix of excitement and resignation: excitement for what’s coming, resignation because I already know I won’t see even half of what I want to.

FOSDEM 2026 is around the corner, and at this point it’s more than an event — it’s a yearly checkpoint.

From First Time to Tradition

It’s hard not to reflect a little. My first FOSDEM was about curiosity and courage: stepping into DNS devrooms as an enthusiast, discovering Ada as something entirely new, and nervously hoping to meet a few people.

Since then, I’ve missed the ones because the world stopped, attended others through screens instead of hallways, and slowly watched FOSDEM return to what it does best: bringing people together, in person, at scale, without pretense.

Now, in 2026, FOSDEM feels less like “going to a conference” and more like returning to a familiar place.

DNS: Still Evolving, Still Pulling Me In

DNS remains my anchor. No matter how many years pass, it continues to evolve in ways that are both fascinating and slightly alarming. Privacy, resilience, complexity, simplification attempts that somehow make things more complex — it’s all there.

I’m looking forward to the DNS devroom not just for the talks, but for the context: hearing how people are actually running things, what broke, what scaled, what didn’t, and what clever idea might quietly influence how we all do DNS in the next few years.

Some problems never go away — they just get better tooling.

Ada: A Long-Term Relationship

Ada is no longer “new” to me, but it still challenges me in the best possible way. Every FOSDEM, the Ada devroom reminds me why the language and its community matter: clarity over cleverness, correctness over speed, and long-term thinking in a world that often optimizes for the opposite.

This is why I will miss the Ada devroom, although I know there will be endless excellent alternative devrooms to spend my time.

The Real Reason I Keep Coming Back

At this point, the talks are only half the story.

FOSDEM is about the people I see once a year and somehow pick up conversations exactly where we left off. It’s about hallway discussions that turn into architecture debates, shared frustrations, or unexpected collaborations. It’s about meeting new people who are attending their first FOSDEM — and recognizing that familiar look of excitement and overwhelm.

I still believe the hallway track is the most important one.

Same Chaos, New Year

Some things never change: • The schedule will be impossible. • The rooms will be full. • The weather will be unapologetic. • The food trucks will be essential infrastructure. • The best conversations will happen when you’re already late to something else.

And that’s exactly how it should be.

See You at FOSDEM 2026

So yes — I’m going again.

I’ll be bouncing between DNS talks, mourn the missing Ada sessions, and whatever unexpected topic catches my attention this year. If you see me around, say hi. Whether it’s your first FOSDEM or your fifteenth, I’m always happy to talk, listen, and learn.

FOSDEM 2026 — let’s do this.