Re: [Debconf-team] Cancellation policy
> Is this topic the result of a real experience/demand we had? I have
> not yet heard from (of course, that does not imply there has not been)
> any refund request. I don't know if we need an explicit one, or we can
> keep addressing it on a case-to-case basis. If we start drafting
> policies for hypothetical situations... we will just end up with too
> many corner cases to argue about. And we will most likely miss on
> real-life cases.
Not necessarily
Having the cancellation policy gives people more confidence about coming
(even if the terms are not generous)
Even with a strict policy, which is what I am in favor of, there can
still be a clause such as
"Refunds may be made available for individual situations that arise
where the participant has exceptional reasons and is denied assistance
from their travel insurance. Such refunds are at the discretion of the
DebConf management team and are conditional on the participant
demonstrating that they purchased travel insurance and acted in good
faith at all times. The refund may be less than 100% of the amount
paid, and the actual amount may depend on the amount of money already
handed over to the suppliers of accommodation and food and how far in
advance the cancellation occurs."
> While writing this paragraph, I thought of a good number of possible
> situations where refunding an attendance payment would be OK, and
> others where it would not. And of course, some that would be
> border-line. Until we get a flow of cancellations big enough to worry
> (and I trust we won't!), I'd say the best policy is not to have one.
Even if there is a generous policy (e.g. promise to give 100% refund to
anyone who's flight is canceled and can't attend), the DebConf budget
could be really savaged if the Icelandic volcano comes back and grounds
all the flights for a week like in 2010.
Even if every disaster can't be anticipated, there can be some general
rules for:
a) situations impacting people personally (e.g. visa denied, denied
entry at border)
b) situations impacting a group (e.g. Iceland volcano - mass flight
cancellations)
c) situations impacting the venue - e.g. burns down at the last minute
Even if the conditions are not generous, it is better to tell people
what to expect, no matter how honest, e.g. "DebConf is a non-profit
endeavor organised by a community of volunteers. The event aims to
collect only enough money to pay actual costs, and while this means a
lower cost to attend, it also means there is little scope to provide
refunds in the case of adverse events preventing people from reaching
the event, preventing the event starting on time or causing the event to
be aborted early."
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