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"path": "/a/3mj6ue3euyc23-atmosphereconf-2026-is-not-over",
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"title": "ATmosphereConf 2026 Is Not Over",
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"plaintext": "This is supposed to be my retrospective for ATmosphereConf 2026, which happened about a month ago now. I'm on my 7th revision at this point—yes, I have been keeping track. I've cut it roughly in half each time."
},
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"plaintext": "I say \"supposed to be my retrospective\", because to call this a retrospective would imply that ATmosphereConf ended. Perhaps the conference ended, but ATmosphereConf has not."
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"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "Obviously, I'm no longer on UBC campus, and surely most of you have gone home as well. Since the main event, I have, in order:"
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"plaintext": "Taken a miniature vacation in Vancouver"
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{
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"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "Caught and recovered from COVID"
}
},
{
"content": {
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "Organized and held ATProto PDX's first meetup"
}
},
{
"content": {
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "Traveled to San Diego for World of Coffee 2026"
}
},
{
"content": {
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "Participated in Ludum Dare 59"
}
},
{
"content": {
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "Traveled to and from Seattle to show my support at://seattle, their new meetup group"
}
}
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{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "So, how could I possibly still be at ATmosphereConf?"
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"plaintext": "The answer is in a word that I heard several folks use to describe the conference: healing. Each time, that choice of word felt prescient to me."
},
{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "After all—healing was the reason I bought my ticket."
},
{
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"level": 2,
"plaintext": "My Background"
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"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "I graduated university in 2020 as a software developer with a Management degree. I was fortunate to get a softdev position, but isolation worsened my already-present (but unexamined) social anxiety. My second job after graduation fell apart at the hands of private equity, leaving me severely burnt out, disillusioned, and emotionally unable to do much of anything."
},
{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "I was pretty broken at that point. Responding to text messages took tremendous physical effort. Replying to an email either gave me a panic attack or full-body chills. I could lurk just fine, but I would have rather died before I wrote another line of code or answered another Slack message."
},
{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "I was in a state of limbo for about a year. During that time, I would remark to folks in my inner circle that I didn't feel like I was real."
},
{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "Words cannot describe my gratitude to my friends and family who helped me through that time. Thanks to their love and support, I had the time space to introspect. I reflected on my anxieties, neurodivergent patterns, spirituality, and more. I think I learned a lot about myself in that time."
},
{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.heading",
"level": 2,
"plaintext": "The ATProto of It All"
},
{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "As I warmed back up to software, curiosity (and Bluesky posts) led me to investigate AT Protocol. In my tech-disillusioned state, it was a breath of fresh air. Here was a decentralized social protocol that could provide users with agency about their personal data, and enable them to opt in to their experiences instead of having them foist upon them by profit-seeking corporations."
},
{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "Around the same time, I had started community-hosting services for my friends. It was an unexpectedly fulfilling experience. I had the means to host software that addressed their needs, and in doing so I enabled them to cultivate their skills, satisfy their intellectual curiosity, and create art, software, or whatever they wished. They reciprocated with their creations, lessons, and gratitude—and that arrangement made me genuinely happy in a way I had never felt like that before."
},
{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "AT Protocol struck me as a way to bring this mutual aid structure to the entire internet, and it was just getting off the ground. There was no private data, and so many folks were (and still are) just trying to do things their own way. I felt I had skills to contribute, and I was sick and tired of feeling like I had missed every opportunity in tech."
},
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"plaintext": "But—to get involved meant I needed to overcome my social anxiety."
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"plaintext": "No, that wasn't right. This didn't have to be a chicken-egg problem. Getting involved was my ticket to deconstructing my social anxiety. I sketched out a roadmap, and I got to work."
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"plaintext": "Showing Up"
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"plaintext": "First, I wanted to present myself earnestly in the Atmosphere. I shed my lurker status and started responding to folks on Bluesky with positivity, hoping that kindness would be returned with kindness. I also started journaling on Leaflet with weekly.graham.systems, hoping that at least one person would read them and remember who I was."
},
{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "Next, I resolved to attend atproto-adjacent meetups. I attended two in Seattle to practice meeting and hanging out with new people. If I could have pleasant interactions with folks online, surely I could manage the same in-person with folks in the scene—this turned out to be true."
},
{
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"plaintext": "As I met new folks both offline and on, the process got easier. I was struck by how much fun I was having, even though I was simultaneously terrified. Eventually, that terror seemed to be replaced with joy."
},
{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "When I bought tickets for ATmosphereConf 2026, I felt like I was signing up for an exam. It was like scheduling a boss fight on my calendar, except I was the Tarnished, Bayle the Dread, and Igon all at once."
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"plaintext": "ATmosphereConf 2026 would be my first structured conference, and I would attend alone. I'd show up, present myself genuinely, and hope that things worked out. To a younger version of myself, this would have sounded suicidal—but since I had the means to attend, I knew I would otherwise regret missing this opportunity for the rest of my life."
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"plaintext": "The Conference"
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"plaintext": "Like most social anxieties, my fears were completely unfounded."
},
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"plaintext": "Leading up to the conference, I met incredible folks. I met even more folks when I arrived, and I made so many new friends. We chatted, laughed, ate together, and talked about everything from the protocol to life in general. Those experiences made my heart feel full."
},
{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "The talks were incredible, and I'm so excited to crack into the VODs now that I have a moment. There's so much expertise, so many perspectives, that I want to immerse myself in. I have so much that I need to learn."
},
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"plaintext": "Many folks have written up their conference experiences, and I encourage you to take a look at those. I find it difficult to summon the words to talk about the in-person conference experience, when so many others have done such a great job. That, and you know, it was a month ago. I don't want to do it injustice."
},
{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "The ending of the conference was bittersweet. I didn't want the conference to end, but I understand that all things must. After all, how could we accomplish our work if we were stuck hanging out forever?"
},
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"plaintext": "The Show Goes On"
},
{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "Like I said, ATmosphereConf isn't truly over. So many folks have bottled the excitement and taken it home. Meetups have popped up all around the globe, with new ones announced every week. I'm doing my part to keep the energy going."
},
{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "At a personal level, though, ATmosphereConf lives on inside me. I've noticed a profound improvement in my mental health in the intervening weeks: I'm happier, I'm kinder to myself, and I'm more comfortable with uncertainty than I was before."
},
{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "Most importantly: I feel real. I've found purpose, and I found so many new friends."
},
{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "I cannot thank all of you enough. Thank you Boris, Nick, and Ted for organizing this conference. Thank you to everyone whom I ate dinner with; thank you to the people I met in passing or shared a laugh with."
},
{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "Thank you to the folks who asked me \"Who are you? What do you do?\" which I usually returned with a nervous laugh. I might not have a great answer today, but at least I have direction and resolve now."
},
{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": "Thank you, all of you. You've changed my life, and now I want to return the favor."
},
{
"$type": "app.offprint.block.text",
"plaintext": ""
},
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"plaintext": "… We'll talk about how in my weekly notes."
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},
"description": "A not-retrospective of ATmosphereConf 2026",
"publishedAt": "2026-04-25T00:56:34+00:00",
"textContent": "This is supposed to be my retrospective for ATmosphereConf 2026, which happened about a month ago now. I'm on my 7th revision at this point—yes, I have been keeping track. I've cut it roughly in half each time.\nI say \"supposed to be my retrospective\", because to call this a retrospective would imply that ATmosphereConf ended. Perhaps the conference ended, but ATmosphereConf has not.\nObviously, I'm no longer on UBC campus, and surely most of you have gone home as well. Since the main event, I have, in order:\n- Taken a miniature vacation in Vancouver\n- Caught and recovered from COVID\n- Organized and held ATProto PDX's first meetup\n- Traveled to San Diego for World of Coffee 2026\n- Participated in Ludum Dare 59\n- Traveled to and from Seattle to show my support at://seattle, their new meetup group\n\nSo, how could I possibly still be at ATmosphereConf?\nThe answer is in a word that I heard several folks use to describe the conference: healing. Each time, that choice of word felt prescient to me.\nAfter all—healing was the reason I bought my ticket.\nMy Background\nI graduated university in 2020 as a software developer with a Management degree. I was fortunate to get a softdev position, but isolation worsened my already-present (but unexamined) social anxiety. My second job after graduation fell apart at the hands of private equity, leaving me severely burnt out, disillusioned, and emotionally unable to do much of anything.\nI was pretty broken at that point. Responding to text messages took tremendous physical effort. Replying to an email either gave me a panic attack or full-body chills. I could lurk just fine, but I would have rather died before I wrote another line of code or answered another Slack message.\nI was in a state of limbo for about a year. During that time, I would remark to folks in my inner circle that I didn't feel like I was real.\nWords cannot describe my gratitude to my friends and family who helped me through that time. Thanks to their love and support, I had the time space to introspect. I reflected on my anxieties, neurodivergent patterns, spirituality, and more. I think I learned a lot about myself in that time.\nThe ATProto of It All\nAs I warmed back up to software, curiosity (and Bluesky posts) led me to investigate AT Protocol. In my tech-disillusioned state, it was a breath of fresh air. Here was a decentralized social protocol that could provide users with agency about their personal data, and enable them to opt in to their experiences instead of having them foist upon them by profit-seeking corporations.\nAround the same time, I had started community-hosting services for my friends. It was an unexpectedly fulfilling experience. I had the means to host software that addressed their needs, and in doing so I enabled them to cultivate their skills, satisfy their intellectual curiosity, and create art, software, or whatever they wished. They reciprocated with their creations, lessons, and gratitude—and that arrangement made me genuinely happy in a way I had never felt like that before.\nAT Protocol struck me as a way to bring this mutual aid structure to the entire internet, and it was just getting off the ground. There was no private data, and so many folks were (and still are) just trying to do things their own way. I felt I had skills to contribute, and I was sick and tired of feeling like I had missed every opportunity in tech.\nBut—to get involved meant I needed to overcome my social anxiety.\nNo, that wasn't right. This didn't have to be a chicken-egg problem. Getting involved was my ticket to deconstructing my social anxiety. I sketched out a roadmap, and I got to work.\nShowing Up\nFirst, I wanted to present myself earnestly in the Atmosphere. I shed my lurker status and started responding to folks on Bluesky with positivity, hoping that kindness would be returned with kindness. I also started journaling on Leaflet with weekly.graham.systems, hoping that at least one person would read them and remember who I was.\nNext, I resolved to attend atproto-adjacent meetups. I attended two in Seattle to practice meeting and hanging out with new people. If I could have pleasant interactions with folks online, surely I could manage the same in-person with folks in the scene—this turned out to be true.\nAs I met new folks both offline and on, the process got easier. I was struck by how much fun I was having, even though I was simultaneously terrified. Eventually, that terror seemed to be replaced with joy.\nWhen I bought tickets for ATmosphereConf 2026, I felt like I was signing up for an exam. It was like scheduling a boss fight on my calendar, except I was the Tarnished, Bayle the Dread, and Igon all at once.\nATmosphereConf 2026 would be my first structured conference, and I would attend alone. I'd show up, present myself genuinely, and hope that things worked out. To a younger version of myself, this would have sounded suicidal—but since I had the means to attend, I knew I would otherwise regret missing this opportunity for the rest of my life.\nThe Conference\nLike most social anxieties, my fears were completely unfounded.\nLeading up to the conference, I met incredible folks. I met even more folks when I arrived, and I made so many new friends. We chatted, laughed, ate together, and talked about everything from the protocol to life in general. Those experiences made my heart feel full.\nThe talks were incredible, and I'm so excited to crack into the VODs now that I have a moment. There's so much expertise, so many perspectives, that I want to immerse myself in. I have so much that I need to learn.\nMany folks have written up their conference experiences, and I encourage you to take a look at those. I find it difficult to summon the words to talk about the in-person conference experience, when so many others have done such a great job. That, and you know, it was a month ago. I don't want to do it injustice.\nThe ending of the conference was bittersweet. I didn't want the conference to end, but I understand that all things must. After all, how could we accomplish our work if we were stuck hanging out forever?\nThe Show Goes On\nLike I said, ATmosphereConf isn't truly over. So many folks have bottled the excitement and taken it home. Meetups have popped up all around the globe, with new ones announced every week. I'm doing my part to keep the energy going.\nAt a personal level, though, ATmosphereConf lives on inside me. I've noticed a profound improvement in my mental health in the intervening weeks: I'm happier, I'm kinder to myself, and I'm more comfortable with uncertainty than I was before.\nMost importantly: I feel real. I've found purpose, and I found so many new friends.\nI cannot thank all of you enough. Thank you Boris, Nick, and Ted for organizing this conference. Thank you to everyone whom I ate dinner with; thank you to the people I met in passing or shared a laugh with.\nThank you to the folks who asked me \"Who are you? What do you do?\" which I usually returned with a nervous laugh. I might not have a great answer today, but at least I have direction and resolve now.\nThank you, all of you. You've changed my life, and now I want to return the favor.\n\n… We'll talk about how in my weekly notes."
}