Following two incredible Open Source Con experiences in the last three weeks - frOScon in St. Augustin Germany and the DrupalCon in Szeged Hungary - I have been feeling incredibly positive. I feel that I found what really matters to me in the FOSS world and probably the world at large ... I felt strong moments of epiphany in Szeged on this ...

It is all about community. Community, bringing people together to cooperate, working towards common goals and ideals, this is what makes us strong and successful in the Drupal community and what can make us strong elsewhere in life.

I will have more to say about this in the coming weeks, I think, but for now - my latest and greatest epiphany courtesy of Douglass Rushkoff. In his essay Hate Party, about his take on this week's Republican national convention, I found what I think should be the defining summary of what we are doing in the Drupal community:

"... community organizing. Community organizing is energized from below. From the periphery. It is the direction and facilitation of mass energy towards productive and cooperative ends. It is about replacing conflict with collaboration. It is the opposite of war; it is peace."

Leaving aside the politics of the rest of his article, I think this is something all of us could agree on. I consider this the defining vision of what we are about.

Thank you Dries for starting Drupal, thank you all for making Drupal what it is. Thank you all for such an incredible Con experience in Hungary, let's make Drupal rock even harder as we go forward!