Petersen's main message was in regard to the balance between privacy and security. The federal government folks in Washington D.C., tend to ignore the great debates in the community about the social impact, according to Petersen. They go ahead with their plans because they're responsible for protecting us, and the only tools they have are top down tools. But, she says, "They're trying to solve a bottom up problem with top down tools."

"Who can figure this out? Well gosh—we need a community that understands security, privacy, functionality and freedom," Petersen said. "You're the only ones who get this." She added, "The folks in D.C. do not have the toolsets to figure this out no matter how well meaning they are. They want to keep you safe and they're trying very hard to do it."

Petersen's catchphrase for this effort is "no secret software for public sensing data." She urged the open-source community to take part, not merely complain. "Look what happened with e-voting—this will be just like that [if you don't get involved]."

The open-source community is turning its attention from technology and acceptance to bigger problems. O'Reilly said, "As we look at our success, we could be really proud... but what I'm most excited and encouraged by is that you're tackling new, hard problems." Work on what's hard, work on what's important, he urged, "so that history does not pass us by but carries us to the new future."