Re: Bid page feedback
Hi martin (2014.11.30_15:39:44_+0200)
Answering this in an e-mail, but obviously we need to address these
misunderstandings by improving the bid text, too.
> 1. Location/Transport — this is very unclear. Is UCT ChemEng 16
> minutes from the city centre, or one hour? I believe the second
> might be about the airport?
It's complicated :)
UCT Upper Campus is pretty central, really. About 10 mins from the
airport, and 10 mins from the city. By car.
However, if you wanted to use public transport to get to upper campus
from the airport it'll probably take about an hour, and go via the city
centre.
> 2. How many en-suite bathroom options are there for UCT? How far
> further are they away?
No idea. I don't think we've actually got much out of UCT residences
people, yet.
The upper campus residences, that we want to use for sponsored accom,
are old buildings (in fact, national monuments) and have only single
rooms, with shared bathrooms.
UCT also has many other residences nearby, and we could probably provide
a range of room types, if they're willing to let us spread over
residences.
> 3. Are there hotels nearby?
Not walking distance, but driving, certainly.
There are B&Bs in walking distance.
> 4. Is 6–16th July fixed? This will be very very tight. Would we be
> able to start video setup 3 days before? In general, I would
> quote a larger time span and display as much flexibility as
> possible at this stage.
I actually think that those dates are impossible. Term starts on the
18th, so if we left on the 16th, that might not leave enough time for
students to move in. I've proposed 1-15 July on the wiki page.
Bernelle?
> 5. What does "winter" mean? What climate can be expected? This may
> be a weak point to be listed above (e.g. if it's expected to rain
> a lot and we are not all in one location).
Rain, wind. UCT is in the lee of the mountain and gets more rain than
anywhere else in Cape Town.
> 6. Can we include some information on the possibility of having
> DebConf in March/April, e.g. Easter holidays, when weather is
> nicer and Cape Town more attractive?
The residences wouldn't be available, so we'd need a non-UCT venue.
> 7. Plenaries in adjacent buildings are not really a problem, IMHO.
> Good to point out though.
With my video team hat, I don't like them, but they are manageable.
> 8. Under "Power", you write "the plan is…". I think it's better to
> write "One way to address this could be through buying…". Minor
> point, but DebConf does not like it if a bid comes with too many
> "plans" from the start.
Ack.
> 9. I think the venue pages could really do with a few photos. Any
> chance you guys can get this done? Right now, the amount of text
> is oppressing, if you know what I mean.
Totally agreed. Part of today's plan.
> 10. Add a note about languages spoken and how easy it is for
> foreigners to get around the country and town. And about smoking
> regulations, to the main page.
> 11. It would be useful to add a bit of travel information, e.g.
> which airports have direct connections, how expensive flights
> are going to be approximately, and how the venue can be reached
> from the airport.
Ack.
> 12. Is there a link to the visa travel information you could
> include?
Already there, but could be more detailed.
> 13. In general, I think a tabular overview of the conference room
> options would be helpful.
Ack.
> 14. What prices are we looking at at the local UCT pub?
They're pretty cheap. I've linked to their web page, which has the daily
menu.
The beer selection isn't great, rather conservative. SAB beers, and some
Mitchell's beers. They may have Guinness, too, can't remember.
> 15. What happens if people bring their own alcohol to the venue?
> What about food in general?
Don't think it's an issue, but we haven't confirmed that.
> 16. What's there to do during free time, especially if the weather
> is bad? We'll have laptops and stuff, but some breaks would be
> good. E.g. table tennis, karaoke, whatever…
Good question. No plans, as yet.
UCT Sports centre has an indoor climbing wall and a couple of basketball
courts.
> 17. Have you considered child care? This is a novel subject, but
> I think it'll become more and more popular and standard. What
> would be the options?
We've discussed it, but have nothing prepared for the bid. In general,
this should be quite affordable (South Africa has really cheap labour).
We can definitely organise something.
SR
--
Stefano Rivera
http://tumbleweed.org.za/
+1 415 683 3272
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