Sign in

Margaret Fero

@maggiefero.bsky.social
282 followers 342 following 384 posts

Margaret is the founder of Neat Systems (neatsystems.dev), a presenter, and an interdisciplinary hacker. They love opensource projects, playing other people's videogames, reading, and nerding out about privacy and information disclosure models.

PostsRepliesMedia
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Tonight at #otw26 I learned about an NFT I actually care about: Nutrient Film Technique! Thanks to Charlie and Adiella for a great farm tour, and to @impactjustice.org for an excellent event and all the work you do in our community.
Two impact justice employees wearing illegible name tags stand in front of an indoor hydroponic lettuce farm with five tiers of lettuce that look more mature as you go to the right. Several different varieties and growth stages of lettuce are represented. The person on the left is a tall, bald person with a beard in a beige polo shirt and black pants. The person on the right is average height with long brown hair and wearing a short-sleeved green plaid button-down with black pants. Two cubical black plastic containers with screw tops sit next to each other in separate square trays. Green tubes are coming out the back, and each has three stickers on the front face: an illegible blue rectangle with white writing at the top left, a US plastics code on the top right, and a piece of duct tape near the bottom says "NFT Part A Only" on the left cube and "NFT Part B Only" on the right cube.
011
Reposted by Margaret Fero
Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 29/09/2026
A key component of the Cambridge Analytica outrage was your friends subjecting you to data theft without your consent or knowledge. Facebook is running the same playbook on your text messages. Even if you’re not on Meta properties, they’re ingesting your interactions.
Aten installed Muse on both his iPhone and a Mac mini that he uses to test out various Al agents and tech. It took Meta a single day to begin "helpfully" pitching article ideas based on texts he'd sent to a podcast co-host.
When he asked Muse how it got the information, it said that it read banners from incoming texts. But that's not true, either.
After doing a little digging, Aten says Muse synced 187,000 lines from his Messages database, despite Full Disk Access being Off.Unless Aten is the most popular person on the face of the planet, I sincerely doubt he'd gotten 187,000 lines of text in roughly 24 hours. What happened is that, without permission, Muse went into the app and downloaded the information.
He had not given Muse permission to access Messages, and full disk access was not enabled. It just went ahead and uploaded those texts anyway.
Muse can take "unexpected actions" indeed.
182014976
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I'm so excited for this year's Oakland Tech Week Schedule! I like SF Tech Week, but it's very much technologists talking to technologists about technology. Oakland Tech Week has once again really leaned into the strengths of our community, making varied opportunities for EVERYONE to come together.
031
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
I remember when the funny/cutesy release notes trend started having a lot of conversations about how it was fun in fun places, but users *HATE* it when it doesn't support their goals. Making sharing hazard information fun is a perfect example of silly corpcomm that helps everyone!
031
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
It is truly wild how many of these distinctive characters remind me of specific hazards to watch out for.
120
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
You're welcome and thank you! Sorry for the delay. I didn't have specific questions so much as I was looking for a general vibe of the project: how complex dev environment setup is, whether there's a time estimate for code review, any requirements for first-time contributions, that kinda stuff!
000
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Happy to submit fix PRs if you tell me where it currently lives and this isn't just a little org-level misconfig.
110
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Hi! It looks like the Contributing.MD Link is broken in the readme of both github.com/distributeai... and the docs repo, and nothing is being picked up as a contribution tab. I like to review that info before sharing repos out, but I'm not sure where else to look for yours!
110
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
@observ.ing Hi! I came across your GitHub while browsing GitHub orgs today and wanted to let you know that there's a typo in your domain name on the GitHub profile. The bsky handle is right, so people can figure it out from that, but should be a quick fix ✨
020
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Coffee for sure; we used the potatoes for the soup but I did consider mashed.
010
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
What's your favorite thing to do with half and half? A toogoodtogo bag this week included a quart and a half best by tomorrow, and I've still got about a quart 😅 So far, we made savory cream of wheat and put splashes of it into things. Up next is potato soup.
110
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Oooh, thank you! Does she like pull it up over the ears under (or over?) the helmet straps, or does just having it around the neck disrupt airflow enough to fix the problem?
110
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Bike question: anybody have a good solution for keeping cold wind out of your ears? None of my usual ear coverage strategies work well with a helmet.
111
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
I'm safely home from #pyconUS and very excited to be joining @reconinfosec.com tomorrow at 10:30am PT to talk about making "glue work" work for your career! There will be some security-specific content, but the core ideas apply to any technical role. Hope to see some of you there!
031
Reposted by Margaret Fero
Patrick C Miller @patrickcmiller.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Cookie thieves caught stealing dev secrets via fake Claude Code installers www.theregister.com/security/202...
theregister.com
Cookie thieves caught stealing dev secrets via fake Claude Code installers
New IElevator2 COM interface? No problem
001
Reposted by Margaret Fero
PyCon US @pycon.us · 15/05/2026
📣📣 It's not too late to volunteer at #PyConUS 2026! We still have open shifts throughout the conference. Even a couple of hours makes a real difference! Sign up today ➡️ us.pycon.org/2026/volunte...
023
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
I had to skip last year, I get it. hope to catch you next time and in the meantime I'll probably livepost from some of the talks I attend!
020
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Join usssssssssssssss, Python friendssssssss 🐍
132
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
The closer we get to #pycon the more excited I am that I managed to figure out the logistics to make it happen ✨ Gonna see so many of you soooooon 🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍
070
Reposted by Margaret Fero
Phildini, since young times @phildini.net · 06/05/2026
I did a sidequest this week, inspired by @dascho.bsky.social to mitigate some of the namespace risks presented by #llms, #agentic coding, and #mcp servers. The result was SquatGuard, planting plastic flowers to protect the hive. You can read about it here: phildini.dev/slopsquattin...
phildini.dev
Plastic Flowers to Protect the Hive - phildini.dev
Pre-register hallucinated package names. Fill them with guardrails. The devastating spell becomes homework.
142
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
I would love that!
020
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Happy to be your opening act! 😂
010
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
I do intend to post my slides still, but they were faster with the video than I was with the slide upload!
110
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
My #nbpy talk recording is available now! youtu.be/LL62AQ6dt1U Thanks to @aeracode.org for the speedy and delightful editing, to @skimbrel.bsky.social and their team on the program committee for the opportunity to give this talk, and the whole organizing team for a delightful conference!
youtu.be
Crisis (Technical) Communication: Teaching Survival Skills You Didn’t Know... - Margaret Fero - 2026
YouTube video by North Bay Python
155
Reposted by Margaret Fero
North Bay Python @northbaypython.org · 27/04/2026
For your viewing pleasure, our time lapse video of the community strike. One frame every 10 seconds. As always, thanks so much to everyone who could stick around and help! It means we as organizers get to go enjoy dinner with all you fabulous people rather than spend many hours on cleanup. #NBPy
062
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
WOW, having bridged my account over here at @dariaphoebe.com 's request for #nbpy means that I'm experiencing the hashtag feed from an account that isn't my posting account for the first time. It's REALLY driving home *exactly* how much I post when I'm live blogging a conference 😅
070
Reposted by Margaret Fero
North Bay Python @fedi.northbaypython.org · 27/04/2026
#NBPy 2026 ran at a loss this year. It's a public service and we'll be back in 2027, but we could use your help closing the budget gap. Donate at nbpy.link/donate
A photo of Chris on stage with a slide giving instructions for donations
008
Reposted by Margaret Fero
North Bay Python @fedi.northbaypython.org · 27/04/2026
That's another #NBPy in the books. We'll be back next year for the 8th edition and our 10th anniversary. From the bottom of our hearts: thanks for being the kind of community that speaks truth to power, instills hope for the future, and makes each […] [Original post on social.northbaypython.org]
A group photo of North Bay Python attendees who stuck around for our traditional community strike and clean up.A photo of the North Bay Python lectern front leaning up against a wine barrel on an otherwise empty stage. The lectern front features our familiar branding of the Python logo tweaked to be rolling green hills under a blue sky with fluffy white clouds.
044
Reposted by Margaret Fero
Barbara Shaurette @mechanicalgirl.com · 27/04/2026
Here’s Why You Should Go To North Bay Python Next Year mechanicalgirl.com/post/here-s-... #NBPy #NBPython
mechanicalgirl.com
Why You Should Go To North Bay Python Next Year
044
Reposted by Margaret Fero
Christopher Neugebauer @fedi.chrisjrn.fyi · 27/04/2026
(You too can donate at nbpy.link/donate)
psfmember.org
Donation for North Bay Python
## **About North Bay Python** North Bay Python is a boutique, one-track conference held annually in Petaluma, CA. We take inclusion seriously and ensure our speakers come from a diverse, international lineup. Suggested Donation Amount $25 $50 $100 $256 $500 $1000 - none - Other Donation Amount Optional: Checking this box covers the PSF's 3% processing fees and makes your gift go further. Thank you! Total Amount I want to contribute this amount every month year for installments You can specify the number of installments, or you can leave the number of installments blank if you want to make an open-ended commitment. In either case, you can choose to cancel at any time. Email Address * Payment Options Payment Method Email PayPal Pay later Contact information is required for transaction processing, accounting system, and compliance purposes. Please see the PSF Privacy Notice for more information. Name and Address Required First Name * Middle Name Last Name * How should your name appear publicly? Enter "Anonymous" to keep it hidden. Display Name Country (Home) * - select Country (Home) - United States Afghanistan Åland Islands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo, Republic Of The Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Cook Islands Costa Rica Côte d’Ivoire Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia (Federated States of) Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Macedonia Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine, State of Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin (French part) Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten (Dutch Part) Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Sweden Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Viet Nam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Street Address (Home) * City (Home) * State (Home) * - select State/Province - Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas Armed Forces Americas Armed Forces Europe Armed Forces Pacific California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas United States Minor Outlying Islands Utah Vermont Virgin Islands Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Postal Code (Home) __Review your contribution **About the PSF** The Python Software Foundation is a non-profit organization entirely supported by its sponsor members and the public. Our mission is to further the development of the Python language and its applications. Payments are processed by PayPal, but may be made either through your existing PayPal account or your credit card. You will choose your payment method after you are transferred to the PayPal server. **How the Donation Works** If you wish to use a credit card, once on the PayPal site click the link "Don't have a PayPal account?", which will take you to a credit card form. A PayPal account is **not** required. For your security, this website and the PSF do not acquire or retain any of your credit card data. It is all handled by PayPal. Following the transaction, you will receive both a PayPal receipt and/or our formal acknowledgement of your tax-deductible (USA) donation. Please whitelist psfmember.org and check your spam bins if you don't receive the acknowledgement from the PSF. Thank you for your donation!
013
Reposted by Margaret Fero
Christopher Neugebauer @fedi.chrisjrn.fyi · 27/04/2026
I encourage attendees of #NBPy to donate "if they got more value out of the conference than what they paid". Today, our post-conference donations total more than a Silver Sponsorship. We have a truly wonderful community who care about us continuing to do what we do. I'm so grateful.
137
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Ooooh, this is a great one! Thank you!
020
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Oooh, do you still need this?
200
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
Thank YOU for the captions! 💖 So great seeing you again, and hope to see you soon!
010
Reposted by Margaret Fero
North Bay Python @northbaypython.org · 27/04/2026
Another #NBPy in the books. We'll be back next year! From the bottom of our hearts: thanks for being the kind of community that speaks truth to power, instills hope, and makes us all better practitioners. All our love 💖 ~ @chrisjrn.fyi @skimbrel.bsky.social @aeracode.org @riley.pub
A group photo of North Bay Python attendees who stuck around for our traditional community strike and clean up.A photo of the North Bay Python lectern front leaning up against a wine barrel on an otherwise empty stage. The lectern front features our familiar branding of the Python logo tweaked to be rolling green hills under a blue sky with fluffy white clouds.
0146
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Kicking off today's posting at #nbpy shortly, and now there's (temporarily) a bridge! If you like it, thank @dariaphoebe.com
000
Reposted by Margaret Fero
Patrick C Miller @patrickcmiller.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Another npm supply chain worm hits dev environments www.theregister.com/2026/04/22/a...
theregister.com
Another npm supply chain worm hits dev environments
: Plus, the payload references 'TeamPCP/LiteLLM method'
011
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
I couldn't figure it out in the time I had for lunch either but here it is for tomorrow! MaggieFero.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy I'll likely turn it off tomorrow night after the talks end.
maggiefero.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
010
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
I'll check it out at lunch because in my brief glance it seems too complicated for me to do while multitasking! 😅
110
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
I could but conferences are the only time a bridge would really make sense, because I normally double post anything that makes sense for both communities 😅 if you want this though, I can!
100
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
I'm at @northbaypython.org and once again leaving a pointer here to where I'll live post #nbpy content over on Mastodon rather than trying to post on two platforms in line. Feel free to reply to this if you have a question or follow-up but no account there, though! hachyderm.io/@MaggieFero/...
hachyderm.io
Margaret Fero (@MaggieFero@hachyderm.io)
Attached: 1 image The Aight Herons have spotted three bird species on our way to the morning kickoff! @chrisjrn@social.coop has now officially welcomed us to @NorthBayPython@social.northbaypython.org...
123
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
bird count bird count birrrrrrd counnnnnnnnt (can you tell I'm excited to spot the birds?)
042
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Our name is a play on the Black-Crowned Night Heron, the City Bird of Oakland, who can be seen perched on a dumpster at Broadway and Franklin in my banner photo :D They're cute and curious and have been observed to engage in bait fishing! If they find food but prefer a fish, they go fishing with it!
000
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
You can support my team, the Aight Herons, with a flat donation OR (imo more fun) by pledging a certain amount per bird species spotted and identified! You can pledge support here: charity.pledgeit.org/f/nmh6n0e51s and see more about the event here: charity.pledgeit.org/baybirdingch... #fundraiser
charity.pledgeit.org
Support Margaret Fero - The Bay Birding Challenge 2026
I'm excited to join this initiative! Protecting wildlife and our shared natural environment is important to me, and I love a good excuse to spot some local creatures. Please support my efforts in co...
110
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
This Saturday during @northbaypython.org I'm going to be counting the bird species I spot at #ReisRiverRanch as part of the Bay Birding Challenge, which raises money for the Golden Gate Bird Alliance in addition to generating some cool conservation data about the 9 bay area counties' birds!
charity.pledgeit.org
Support Margaret Fero - The Bay Birding Challenge 2026
I'm excited to join this initiative! Protecting wildlife and our shared natural environment is important to me, and I love a good excuse to spot some local creatures. Please support my efforts in co...
123
Reposted by Margaret Fero
Phildini, since young times @phildini.net · 21/04/2026
There's a key technical problem over at @civic.band. I have blogged about it, and would appreciate reads and shares. It's the most #CivicTech and #OpenData problem I've ever worked on. meta.civic.band/archive/the-...
meta.civic.band
CivicBand After Dark: The Extraction Problem
How do we get structured item and vote data out of the unstructured PDF text?
023
Reposted by Margaret Fero
Aalia Mauro @aaliamauro.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
To my non tech normies, PSA: when you share a link, everything after the ? is tracking. Those “query parameters” tell companies exactly how you arrived, what app you clicked, which ad or email sent you, sometimes a unique identifier tied to you. You can delete everything after the question mark.
17137721275
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
If anyone is still looking for a team for the Bay Birdathon, I think we have some extra room on my team, the Aight Herons! Today is the last day to sign up, but lmk if you'd like the link! Some of us will be birding from @northbaypython.org , which always has incredible birds to spot during breaks!
023
Reposted by Margaret Fero
North Bay Python @northbaypython.org · 06/04/2026
NEWS YOU CAN PROBABLY MAKE USE OF (can I phrase that any snappier?) Hotel Petaluma found some more rooms for #NBPy attendees over the weekend, so if you want to stay in Petaluma during #NBPy, now you can!
015
Margaret Fero @maggiefero.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Yay! Congratulations to everyone, especially my county librarian, Deb Sica, who I've been very fortunate to get to know through my work with our Library Advisory Commission. Her dedication to patron access, privacy, and inclusion ensure that our unincorporated areas are as supported as our cities.
022