XORuby: Democratizing Ruby Conferences for Everyone
Show notes
Quietly, a new kind of conference is reshaping how the Ruby community gathers, and it started with one person's frustration with expensive, sponsor-dependent events. Jim Remsik joined Valentino Stoll and Joe Leo to talk about XORuby, the decentralized single-day conference format he created after organizing Madison Ruby for twelve years. What makes XORuby genuinely different is its commitment to accessibility. Tickets are capped at $100, every attendee receives a $25 lunch voucher for equal participation (so no one gets left out of the social side), and financial risk is spread across six cities rather than concentrated in one big event. Jim even canceled a Salt Lake City event when community interest wasn't there, choosing quality over numbers. Can a deliberately small conference actually build stronger community than a massive one? Jim seems to think so, and the results are compelling. Upcoming events are scheduled in Toronto, Montreal, and New York City on consecutive Saturdays in October, bringing Ruby to communities that have long been underserved. The conversation also ventures into Rails controversies, AI-augmented development workflows, and what it means to vote with your wallet when open source politics get complicated. Tune in for a rich, honest conversation about community, technology, and building something that actually lasts.