commit df810098ea64adab32298aa7fae49892f139d836
Author: Laslo Hunhold <laslo_AT_hunhold.de>
Date: Sat Sep 12 11:48:28 2026 +0200
Add statement on the torch hike and a FAQ entry on politics
I know that we all agree suckless is non-political and we don't
represent a certain ideology. Any impression otherwise in my view
harmed the public perception of suckless, and I am also at fault for
this for being politically vocal in the past while being a 'public
figure' representing suckless in a certain way.
Please give feedback or change it up in case there are disagreements.
I hope to have condensed what I gathered while talking to Anselm and
others over the years.
Signed-off-by: Laslo Hunhold <dev_AT_frign.de>
diff --git a/suckless.org/conferences/2017/index.md b/suckless.org/conferences/2017/index.md
index 2565ea74..6317883a 100644
--- a/suckless.org/conferences/2017/index.md
+++ b/suckless.org/conferences/2017/index.md
_AT_@ -7,10 +7,25 @@ slcon hackathon 2017 was held in Würzburg on 2017-09-(01-03).
In contrast to previous years we didn't conduct regular talk sessions
but worked on our projects instead.
-We also introduced the annual suckless torchlight hike for the first time.
+We also went on a torchlight hike.
[](hike2017.png)
+Because of questions raised by many people about a potential political
+background of the torchlight hike, we would like to underline that such
+a symbolism was not intended in any way. The questions were justified,
+especially because the hike took place just weeks after the 'Unite the
+Right rally' in Charlottesville, Virginia, and torchlit marches
+('Fackelmärsche') in Germany are associated with NSDAP rallies in the
+Third Reich.
+
+This needs to be separated from torchlit hikes ('Fackelwanderungen'), which
+are a common pastime in Germany for groups and families and can be booked as
+guided tours as well, obviously with no political context. We also weren't
+aware of the Charlottesville rally at that time, as none of the participants
+came from the US and the riots were not part of mainstream news in Germany.
+
+Please also refer to our [FAQ](../../faq).
Previous conferences
--------------------
diff --git a/suckless.org/faq/index.md b/suckless.org/faq/index.md
index 6cdc7c37..0b27ca60 100644
--- a/suckless.org/faq/index.md
+++ b/suckless.org/faq/index.md
_AT_@ -8,3 +8,48 @@ We don't use auto*hell for various reasons, start here:
* ["Stop the autoconf insanity! Why we need a new build system."](
https://web.archive.org/web/20181118080003/http://freshmeat.sourceforge.net/articles/stop-the-autoconf-insanity-why-we-need-a-new-build-system)
* ["Why autoconf, automake and libtool fail"](
http://www.ohse.de/uwe/articles/aal.html)
* ["[9fans] configure misery"](
http://marc.info/?l=9fans&m=111558921426133)
+
+Does suckless represent a political ideology?
+---------------------------------------------
+While one can rightfully claim, going back to Aristotle, that everything
+is political, this question pertains to political ideologies in terms of
+the set of norms, ethical ideas and symbols that explain how a society
+should work. In this sense, suckless as an organisation aims not to
+represent a certain position, especially not far-right or far-left extremist
+positions, which it clearly distances itself from. Suckless by choice is
+limited to the KISS philosophy and strive for simplicity.
+
+In the past, some members were politically vocal as representatives of suckless
+in a private function, and there was a misunderstanding regarding the
+[torchlit hike in 2017](../conferences/2017/), which is addressed on the
+conference website to be fully non-politically intended and a relatively common
+leisure event in Germany. Since then, we have come to the understanding within
+suckless that, obviously, more care must be taken to separate both, and to
+confirm this, such political statements in association with suckless have not
+taken place for many years now.
+
+Suckless has members from all walks of life: left-leaning, right-leaning,
+all genders, religious denominations and ethnicities. We may be extreme
+when it comes to simplicity, the KISS philosophy, and one may call us
+unfriendly to newcomers because we don't cushion the entry, but apart from
+that, our aim is to be welcome and exclude no person, under the condition
+that they don't use suckless as a political platform or discriminate against
+other members. In particular, we of course distance ourselves from nazism
+and fascism.
+
+One important point is also taking a stance as an organisation on certain
+topics, especially those with a high societal and ethical relevance. While
+it is tempting to use the influence provided by being a voice in our field,
+becoming publicly vocal about this requires being able to give qualified
+responses on the topic. More importantly, being associated with politically
+vocal organisations for very obvious and supportable stances can land you
+in prison or worse in many countries in the world. Just standing for
+simplicity and the KISS philosophy makes it safe to proclaim oneself to follow
+suckless philosophy, and there are already enough excellent, dedicated
+platforms for representing political causes.
+
+One can, for this reason, accuse us of not taking a stance on certain important
+topics and thus implicitly leading to harm, but this can be said about all
+aspects of life and how far you take the 'everything is politics' philosophy.
+What matters to suckless only is the KISS philosophy and the strive for
+simplicity.
Received on Sun Sep 13 2026 - 12:21:11 CEST