What makes a small Ruby conference feel electric instead of ordinary? We unpack the craft behind Blue Ridge Ruby—why we chose a newly renovated, accessible venue, how a single-track format keeps the room together, and the little details that turn a meetup into a memory. From open lunches across Asheville to surprise sponsor moments, we share the thinking that goes into designing an event that celebrates Ruby, supports new speakers, and still feels human-scale.

Jeremy breaks down the CFP playbook: write clear abstracts with specific outcomes, submit widely, and rehearse before acceptance so you’re not rushing at the end. With only ten talk slots, curation is both art and constraint. We talk honestly about the selection process, why “no” often means “not now,” and how meetups can incubate a 10-minute idea into a conference-ready talk. We also explore the real costs—venues, video, capacity—and why accessibility drove the move to the YMI Cultural Center.

Then we zoom out to the work behind the work: choosing bounded risk to stay motivated, planning sustainable volunteer roles, and creating a container that invites the community to bring their best. On the engineering front, we share how voice-first AI workflows changed our Rails practice. Whisperflow plus LLMs accelerate iteration when conventions set guardrails. We describe using diverge–converge patterns to try multiple implementations, keeping architectural intent while rejecting unnecessary complexity. AI is the nail gun; we’re still the builders who decide what the house should be.

Want to be part of it? The CFP is open, sponsors are welcome, and volunteers make the magic real. Subscribe, share this episode with a Ruby friend, and drop us a review—then send your proposal or reach out about helping in Asheville at BlueRidgeRuby.com.

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What if AI could make your work more creative instead of more crowded? We sit down with Scott Werner to unpack a practical path for Ruby developers who want the leverage of AI without sacrificing taste, clarity, or joy. From agentic coding with Claude Code to context-rich tools like Tidewave, we walk through how better inputs—logs, DOM access, database state—turn generic suggestions into usable plans that reduce cognitive load and speed up real problem solving.

Scott shares the origin story of Artificial Ruby, a New York meetup that started as a casual happy hour and became a monthly mini conference. That community energy matters: many devs began their careers remotely and missed the spark of live conversations. By focusing on play and curiosity, the group channels the early Ruby vibe—ship small experiments, trade sharp feedback, and rediscover the fun of making software together. That ethos powers Scott’s projects: Monkey’s Paw, a prompt-based web framework that leans into expressive generation, and Latent Library, a hallucinatory book explorer that asks what new interfaces AI enables.

We also tackle the “slop generator” problem and how to curb it. Different models have different tendencies, so route tasks where they fit: broad ideation to one, surgical changes to another. Constrain edits, ask for reasoning before code, and hand the model real context so it can propose focused steps. The same philosophy informs testing with computer-use models: if an agent can’t find your logout or complete checkout by looking at the UI, maybe your users struggle too. Rather than replacing developers, these tools elevate the craft—pushing commodity work downward while widening the canvas for design, problem framing, and tasteful implementation.

Want more? Check out ArtificialRuby.ai for upcoming events and videos, explore LatentLibrary.xyz, and find Scott’s essays and tutorials at WorksOnMyMachine.ai. If this conversation helps you rethink your workflow, follow, share with a teammate, and leave a review so more builders can join the experiment.

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In this episode of C4, Andrew Mason and Rachael Wright-Munn join Drew to unpack recent controversies surrounding Ruby Central and its alleged takeover of Ruby Gems and Bundler. The trio delves into the timeline of events, conflicting narratives, communication failures, and the underlying security concerns. They address theories and facts, scrutinize the governance of Ruby Central, and discuss the implications for the Ruby community. The episode emphasizes the importance of asking questions and seeking clarity, while advocating for a balanced and constructive approach to resolving the community's issues.

Sources discussed*:

• Ellen's first post on the RubyGems controversy
• A board member's perspective on the RubyGems controversy
• An Update From Ruby Central (Video)
• Investigation (allegedly) reveals Shopify manipulated Ruby Central to force takeover of Bundler and RubyGems
• Strengthening the Stewardship of RubyGems and Bundler
• Martin Emde's post on Bluesky
• Reddit post for "An update from Ruby Central"
• Bundler Policies on GitHub
• Ruby Central "About" page
• Advocacy for Reduced Rails Usage
• Alpha-Omega Project
• Organization & Structure of Open Source Software Development Initiatives - Cyberlaw Clinic
• Ruby Central News Post: Alpha-Omega support
• StepSecurity: npm supply chain compromise
• Socket: npm supply chain attack
• Palo Alto Networks Unit 42: npm supply chain attack

* Some sources include unverified information being presented as fact. Read with caution.

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