As I didn't visit either venue, I'll just make a list of comments :) I didn't think on making a document beforehand, I'm just writing it up before the meeting just because I see the others have done the same, and it is important to back my decisions on a document. It is also sometimes important to write a document _in order to_ decide. Local team ========== Both teams appear to be strong. I am more confident with the UK group, only because they are always _there_ - They have bit the IRC virus, and they are always online. It's very seldom that we see Safir or Emx online, and I've never talked with the others. We know the UK group's committment to Debian. We also know that Safir is committed, but cannot be sure for the rest of the group. Having a Debconf is really interesting for most Linux activists - But trusting a group of people that says "yay!" can lead you to madness. I got a lot of offers for collaboration for Debconf in Mexico, but in the end they didn't materialize. As of now, unless the people who actually went there can say otherwise, I count the Sarajevo team as Safir only - Maybe Emx as well, as he has shown a lot of activity. About Sarajevo ============== Strong points: One of Debian's greatest strengths is its trans-cultural nature. I find it natural to Debian to go to a different culture, to a venue not like those we had in the past. It is quite a personal and subjective thing as well, but as strong as I try, I cannot put it away: It is for me strongly more interesting to meet Sarajevo than to go to yet-another-West-Europe country. Bad points: Fears about islam. Many people are (rightly, I think) prejudiced. I would rule out the islamic cultural center - We have thought polices all over the world, and we don't want anybody to face a hard time back home because of possible links with extremists. Besides, some people have expressed strong concerns about the treatment of women; there is at least the perception that women are "objectified" in most Muslim cultures (as well as in Latin cultures, only more so). Favorite venue: by far, the Terme hotel. My favorite Debconf from the social convivence point of view so far has been DC4. Having everything together in one single place is a _great_ advantage, and that's what I tried to achieve when I suggested Oaxtepec (only that the tower was a bit farther than what most people wanted - Silly me for counting the center as the hotel and not the hacklabs!) The price is quite decent. I notice that several people point out the hotel is a little bit too luxurious - Is this comparable to Brazil's? About Edinburgh =============== Strong points: We have such an amount of DDs in the UK that it seems silly not to take advantage of the fact we (the organization _and_ the attendees) will pay less travel sponsorship. Edinburgh is a more modern city, with more proper infrastructure, and easier/cheaper access. Having English as the native language is certainly a good point as well - Although in past Europe Debconfs I have been to (Oslo and Helsinki) people on the street usually have a good level of English, I know some (lots of?) people suffered from it in Brazil and Mexico. It seems that Bosnians have decent English, anyway. Bad points: No venue offers lodging, and no hotel has enough capacity (and adequate pricing) to host us all. That fact by itself for me ruins out one of the core aspects of Debconf, even though we might be creative and work around it as Andreas suggests or otherwise. Having a common place to hang out until late, be relaxed, have some beers and just drop by your bed at the precise moment you feel like it is definitively needed in my perspective. Besides, living and moving around in the UK is extremely expensive - As an inhabitant of a second class city in a third world country, going to Oslo was really hellish for me in that aspect (and I had just made some money shortly before Helsinki, but still ;-) ) - And being many Debconf prospective attendees students, this is an important point in my eyes. Favorite venue: The College of Art. I haven't really looked much at the pictures, but that should not be the fundamental point - It sounds quite adequate. I have no strong points in favor of it, but I see it's the favorite among the delegation that went to visit. My chosen location? =================== Sarajevo, hands down. First point: Having everything together is definitively important in my eyes. Second point: Price. Maybe the price of the venues themselves is not too different (haven't made numbers myself yet), but the amount each attendee will spend there is. Even paying an extra bit for the ticket. Third: It is a personal priority for me to promote Free Software (and Debian) involvement where it is less spread. I think the UK has enough Debian people and can increase activity with local conferences - but in Bosnia, such a conference might prove really important for the country's future. -- Gunnar Wolf - gwolf@gwolf.org - (+52-55)5623-0154 / 1451-2244 PGP key 1024D/8BB527AF 2001-10-23 Fingerprint: 0C79 D2D1 2C4E 9CE4 5973 F800 D80E F35A 8BB5 27AF
Attachment:
signature.asc
Description: Digital signature