Re: [Debconf-team] reading thru the meeting logs...
On 25/10/12 02:33, Gunnar Wolf wrote:
> Daniel Pocock dijo [Wed, Oct 24, 2012 at 06:20:14PM +0200]:
>
>>> 1. budget is now (?) assuming 220K, with 100k coming from sponsors and 100k
>>> coming from attendees and 20k missing.
>>> (...)
>>>
>> This is what I've been trying to emphasize all along - even with other
>> venues, there is no such thing as a `cheap' event in Switzerland.
>>
> Right. And one of the early points while the bid was being presented
> was that enough money could most probably be collected from local,
> Swiss sponsors if we started early on. We didn't. But we still have
> some time.
>
>
That said, and if no compromise is found on (registration
fee/food/shortening/self-cooking) should there be a deadline to confirm
that it can still work?
If we go ahead with Le Camp, then I would propose 20 December (payment
date for the first 20k CHF) is the deadline: we must have support from
the canton or at least one platinum sponsor by that date.
>>> I assume if we have signed such a contract, someone _will_ need to have to pay
>>> the bill. And thats why I'm still reluctant to (tell people to) sign...
>>>
>> Not quite - if a verein is like a limited company, then the members
>> could potentially liquidate the verein at arm's length. Nobody will
>> lose their personal assets, Le Camp will be extremely unhappy. The
>> biggest worry should actually be the 20, 40 or 60k of sponsor money
>> already paid to Le Camp: if there is no DebConf, and the money is lost,
>> will those sponsors ever support DC14, etc?
>>
> Right. And this would not only be limited to the sponsors that put
> money in which evaporated and their relation with DebConf, but with
> the whole Debian project... And having repercusion in the perception
> of other free software projects is not too far-fetched. So, we must be
> very careful. It is not "only" losing CHF60K.
>
These things are remembered for many years too. Then again, the LTCM
management didn't have to give back their Nobel prize's when they went pop.
What this means in practical terms is that even if Le Camp's contract
was signed, we would all be having these same discussions every time
another 20k CHF was due to be paid. Just the thought of that is
painful, that's why I'm so keen to put the effort in now to find the
most flexible contract and make a decision that we can stick with
confidently.
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