I think DebCamp is way more interesting in terms of where you can learn which part of the event you can help others. Only a few participants attend during the starting days. You are more likely to interact with many individuals and help them. Rather than just part of Rush attending talks and not having that much of a chance to talk to anyone and understand things better.
As it was my first DebConf luckily. But my thoughts are I enjoyed it a lot during DebCamp. I enjoyed being part of the Video Team, Helping the Front Desk, and spending quality time learning so many different things.
I don't want to miss the same fun and interacting with everyone in any of the DebConf If I get a chance to attend.
Hi Paulo (2023.10.30_15:57:51_+0000)
> Considering the shorter time, If I was you, I wouldn't organize DebCamp.
> DebCamp is nice, it's great to have people earlier, but it's too much work
> before the main event.
Interesting to hear you say that. I have exactly the opposite view of
DebCamp. It makes the event start slowly, without needing to have
everything ready on day 1. Everybody understands if there are no
nametags, no network in the hacklabs, or the beer is frothy on the first
day.
It's not like most other events, where there's a mad rush to get
everything working the night before the conference starts. There's a
whole week for the conference organizers to get everything ready, for
the main conference.
In Cape Town, we were super lazy. We didn't even provide catered food
for the first 3 days. We just took the 10-20 attendees out for dinner.
Yes, DebCamp+DebConf does make the event very long. But I didn't find
that it added anything to my stress. It just let me spread it out.
> In 2019 we had 2 weeks, and because most of attendees arrived during
> DebCamp, we had to deal with accomodation, food and venue for these 2 weeks.
> When DebConf itself started, I was exhausted and I felt I couldn't join the
> main part of the event.
That I can relate to. The local organizers almost never get a chance to
be fully present at the conference. There's usually too much going on,
that keeps them busy. But I don't think the length of the event plays
into it much.
Rather, the size and quality of the local team. How effectively tasks
are delegated, and handled without putting a strain on the main
organizers.
As an organizer and videoteam, I usually spend the whole of DebCamp
working on bringing up infrastructure and getting the conference ready.
Yes, not having attendees around would mean we could focus more on that
work... But we'd also not get as much done at the event.
Stefano
--
Stefano Rivera
http://tumbleweed.org.za/
+1 415 683 3272