Loren Feldman will not be leading a session on creating great web video at ConvergeSouth. The free conference is meant to be welcoming to all people, and volunteer coordinator Sue Polinsky and I feel that Loren's recent video, and his responses to criticism of that video, would make him a lightning rod for controversy and a distraction from the session itself. We have offered him the opportunity to create some programming around the controversy for ConvergeSouth, and I hope he will consider doing so.

This is not a free-speech issue, this is a consequences of free speech issue. I don't know Loren personally, but I enjoy much of his work -- including his parody of a celeb apology -- and believe him that he's not a racist, and believe as well he could make a real contribution here in Greensboro. If so, it won't be at the front of the video session; we will announce a new session leader shortly.

UPDATE: From the comments at LF's blog:

Feldman: Ed, you fucked up. This was a great chance to have a discussion that might actually matter. Not just bullshit about how to use a camera.

Me: That chance still exists, as I had hoped our email and my blog post made clear.

I agree that you are not best-suited at this moment to talk about using a camera. As a user conference, we’ll still have that session, we’ll just get someone else to lead it.

Please consider coming to talk about the other stuff.

Feldman: I’ll pass Ed.

Me: I’m sorry to hear that, Loren. The offer is sincere, and it remains open.

Comments

[Roch101]

Trying to understand. Feldman is not suitable to lead a discussion on creating web video because he'd be a "lightning rod for controversy" but he's welcome to create some programming about being a lightning rod for controversy?

[Ed Cone]

That's about it.

We want to have a session on video-blogging that's about video blogging.

As Feldman himself notes at his blog, any conversation he leads is going to turn into a conversation about his work and its consequences. So we need someone else to lead the session on video-blogging.

But there's nothing wrong, and a lot right, about a session on free speech and its consequences. Having that conversation at ConvergeSouth would be great, and having the starting place be race at a more-diverse-than-usual conference at a historically black university would be double great. I hope Feldman will lead it.

[Sue]

The program calls for a discussion/how-to on creating Web video. It's probable that the controversy will replace that discussion and learning experience that attendees have asked for (for 2 years) and complements our first CS Film Festival (we have a lot of video/audio programming this year). Rather than lose that valuable time and the much-called-for session, we're inviting someone else to do it.

Ed and I (although Ed's doing more posting than I am today) invited Loren to do a session on the topic that is generating so much discussion (but is not the topic we have planned for those hours of CS). Workshops and other sessions are open to anyone at ConvergeSouth, always have been.

Loren has apparently declined, but he is still invited to do a discussion session. We're ensuring that the video "how-to" session is intact.

Kapish?

[Roch101]

Thanks, Ed. I just wanted to make sure that was the case before posting, as I now have at Loren's blog, my encouragement for him to lead a session about freedom of experssion, which I agree with you would be extremely interesting at A&T.

[ben holder]

It will only work if you are there, Roch. You are our leader. I want to thank Ed Cone for making this very important issue known. Sue is more of a glory hound than anything.

Kapish?

[herb]

I couldn't get through the original video. Susan told me about the "apology" and the "songs from rehab."

Feldman has declined to come, but just curious, before inviting him to lead a discussion with this lingering controversy, was A&T consulted?

[Joe Killian]

Jesus...

[Ed Cone]

Herb: nope, didn't consult A&T.