Hackers on a Plane: A Brief History
June 25th, 2009
European hackers throw a camp every two years. Sometimes the Germans do it. Sometimes the Dutch do it.
Back in 2007, a motley crew of 40 hackers from three continents attended Defcon 15, crashed the German camp, went back home and somehow launched the global hackerspaces movement.
Fast forward to December, 2008. The next wave of Dutch hacker camp organizers approached the Johnny Appleseed of Hackerspaces, and made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Get a bunch of North American hackers, put them on a plane, and we’ll give them the on-campsite lodge so they don’t have to worry about camping logistics.
Hot showers? Indoor plumbing? At a hacker camp? Huh?
So we crunched the numbers. Somehow, we made it work. For $1,337. The same price as last time. Only this time, we don’t have to worry about camping.
And now, it’s your chance to jump on board the next episode of hacker history: HoaP 2.0.
But wait! There’s more!
February 2009. Nine hackers descend upon Nick Farr’s apartment for ShmooCon 2009. One toilet fails to survive the onslaught. Much Twittering and neighborliness later, Plumbercon was born.
More numbers were crunched. Somehow, for $1,618.03, a figure very close to the golden ratio, Hackers on a Plane Phi (~1.6) became a reality.
Wait, seriously? Vienna, Germany, the Netherlands and a Hacker Camp for $1,618.03? Really?
Yes. We made it happen.
What will these 32 hackers do next time? Find out for yourself. Get on the plane!
