Jan-Carel Brand Application 2020

About me

My name is Jan-Carel Brand, most people call me JC. My XMPP/IRC/reddit/HN/mastodon etc. nick is "jcbrand". My JID and email address are jc <at> opkode.com

I'm an independent contractor, working full-time on XMPP-related stuff, usually using Converse.js and Prosody.

I'm a maintainer of Strophe.js, the JavaScript XMPP library and author of Converse.js, which is a JavaScript XMPP client.

I host the conversejs.org XMPP server.

I occasionally blog (indirectly) about XMPP (mostly about Strophe.js and Converse.js). My blog is here: https://opkode.com/blog

I've co-authored 2 XEPs (XEP-0402, XEP-0424) and authored another (XEP-0425).

I've served on the communications team where I wrote and sent out the newsletter for 1.5 years and am a (largely inactive) XEP editor.

Why I support XMPP

My support for open standards and free/open-source software stems from my belief and support of liberty and freedom in general. With free software it ultimately comes down to power relations. Either you are at the mercy of the software running on your devices (and by extension the true owners of that software), or you are empowered to take ownership, control and responsibility for the software yourself. Dwd describes it as "agency", which I agree with, I personally place the emphasis on liberty and empowerment. I consider open standards and free software as mutually strengthening and compatible.

I espoused on these themes in two blog posts, if you care to read more:

• Antifragile software ecosystems: https://opkode.com/blog/2014/01/14/antifragile-software-ecosystems/
• The Solution to Jaron Lanier's "Siren Servers": https://opkode.com/blog/review-who-owns-the-future/