[Debconf-team] Concerns regarding Le Camp
Hi,
I know I've been away for too long. I know I should have raised these
concerns before. I'm really sorry about both things. However, I've
spent the past days coming up to speed with what's going on. I can
see that there have been endless discussions and currently most people
aren't happy for one reason or other.
I also foresee many people not liking this mail. Please keep in mind
that I'm sending this mail because I want to have a good DebConf, not
because I want to undermine the work that has been down.
I have serious concerns about the venue chosen, and I feel that I need
to raise my voice before the contract is signed. The issue for me is
not the money (the place is way too expensive, but from past
experience I am willing to believe that it will be sorted out somehow)
but the place itself.
I know that it has a very beautiful forest nearby and I love forests,
however, I don't believe that just because there's an amazing piece of
nature nearby all other concerns should be discarded. These are my
main concerns:
* It's located in a town of 250 people.
* The nearest supermarket is 3.7km away.
* The nearest hotel is mostly unaffordable (320CHF the night for a
double room), the rest of the hotels listed are between 3km and 7km
away without a good public transit connection.
* The amount of bed-places in semi-private rooms is 101. 169 of the
counted places are for sleeping bags.
Some people might just discard all these concerns. I've heard that
people have said that it's good not to have a big city around, because
it means less distractions for people working during DebConf. I
disagree.
I don't think it's a good use of one's time to have to travel more
than 7km in total to go buy a shampoo/a power adapter/a box of
tampons, or whatever thing one forgot or ran out of. With the low bus
frequency and all, this would probably mean losing one's entire
morning or afternoon.
I don't think it's reasonable to force people to either put up with
what is offered as the accommodation or not come to DebConf at all.
In the past, many times people have preferred to go to a hotel instead
of the main accommodation, mainly because of their need of privacy;
this has always been an option, but not this time. It's either put up
with Le Camp or not come. You might think it's fun to share a room
with a big group of DDs, I personally have my limit at 6 people per
room, and other people have lower limits as to how many people they
can share with without having a nervous breakdown.
I don't think it's productive not to allow people to go out after a
long day of working. I know a lot of people like to hang out with
DebConf people in the night, playing Mao or similar (I'm one of them),
but I also know that a good many people would rather go out into a bar
to "charge their batteries". This can't be done in Le Camp.
The location is not suitable for people with families. Many times in
the past we've had DDs that came with their partners and also with
their children. It allowed them to participate in the conference
without being away from their loved ones for two weeks. Not possible
this time.
In the end, we are saying that people with privacy issues, people who
like to go out to relax, and people with families are not important to
DebConf. "There's always someone that won't come, so we don't care."
Well, I care. I think Le Camp is not an appropriate DebConf location.
It might be a very beautiful place to go on a trip with friends. It's
not a good place to have a conference filled with hackers. Remember
Oaxtepec? It was a holiday resort, families went there on summer to
enjoy themselves; however, it was not so great for a hacker
conference.
It has been said that this is the only way to have DebConf in
Switzerland. I refuse to believe this. There have been other
proposals analyzed, and they were viable. I understand that they had
their problems as well, mainly that they didn't match the "vision" of
what DC13 should be like. I'm a big fan of having "all in the same
place", however I'm willing to give that up in order to allow more
people to come and be productive at DebConf, because I think that
that's what matters the most.
My proposal is: drop Le Camp, investigate options that allow people
with different requirements to stay near the conference even if not in
the sponsored place. Also, keep the option open that not everything
has to be in the same venue.
I ask that if other people agree that we should do this, please speak
up now, since the contract has been arranged to be signed this week.
--
Besos,
Marga
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