After much thought I sadly announce that there will not be an Ontario GNU/Linux Fest Conference this year.

It's not because of the many enthusiastic attendees. We hope you enjoyed the past few years and it was great to meet as many of you as I did.

It's not because of the awesome speakers that have graced our podiums. We loved learning and laughing and the sense of community that came along with your presentations. I hope you took away a little of our Canadian community.

It's not the sponsors. We are always happy to see business involved in our community. Your support has always made this event affordable to our attendees. I hope your investment in our community has improved both your karma and your business.

And it's not a lack of any of the above either.

There is a great deal of work required to organize this conference every year. It was a labour of passion for what GNU, Linux, Open Source and Free Software represents: our community and the freedom to work together to make software and digital life better for everyone. That labour takes its toll however and this year we, or rather I, was not up to the task. Unfortunately it took until this week to realize it was too late to make the event happen.

I can't promise that we will be back. I don't know what will happen in the next few months or the coming year. I am being asked to continue to take part in free software events and I'll try.

I really want to thank the volunteers that have helped out with the conference in the past. A special thanks to Richard Weait who always contributed more than expected. I could always rely on all of our volunteer organizers to contribute their time and talent and pull together to make this event happen.

I, and I'm sure we, will miss the opportunity to get together and see our local and international community this year. I always looked forward to meeting everyone, even though it's always a stressful day for us volunteers. Your greetings and the thanks made a big difference and the friendships made over the last few years will go on forever.

Thanks to everyone for making the last few years the success that they were.