Re: [Debconf-team] [Debconf-discuss] Information about accommodation at le camp (photos and plans) ·

[Moray Allan <moray@sermisy.org>]

On 2012-11-30 22:25, Moray Allan wrote:
> Personally I find this a strong negative

I have been asked on IRC to clarify my position/thinking:

Personally I think Le Camp is a bad choice of venue.  I am influenced 
in that by how unattractive it is to me personally in the context of a 
technical conference to stay in an "indoor camping" setup, and the lack 
of any alternative accommodation for a non-driver who wants to be around 
late in the evenings.  However, I already thought this at the time of 
the venue decision meeting for DebConf13, and yet Le Camp won when votes 
were cast by the DebConf Committee after a lack of consensus from the 
preceding discussion.  Because I had pushed the creation of the venue 
decision process including that vote, even if I have also felt it 
appropriate to voice my own concerns again as part of discussion when 
the topics have come up, I feel a duty to respect the decision of that 
meeting.

It is valid from my perspective for the DebConf team to choose a venue 
that does not please everyone, just as for DebConf10 a venue was chosen 
in the US which some people didn't like for political reasons; or just 
as the lower attendance last year was probably due to the high costs of 
reaching Nicaragua.

In the last few months I raised additional concerns about money, when 
the full costs of Le Camp became apparent (or rather, when the costs 
didn't reduce with negotiation as it been suggested that they would, and 
when fundraising started later than planned).  However, the financial 
risk is mitigated if we will now only commit to an 8-day rather than 
15-day DebConf period.  The costs are still extremely high, but as the 
locals have pointed out, that would mostly be true anywhere Switzerland.

It is possible that some of those who originally voted for Switzerland 
didn't see issues exactly as they have emerged, or expected, as in most 
years recently, that issues about the venue would be sorted out by later 
changes, rather than expecting that the locals would insist that we 
stick with the precise venue choice.  But that's something that I feel 
should be commented on by anyone who was initially for Switzerland/Le 
Camp, and now against it, not speculated about by me for whom the issues 
appear much the same as at the time of the bid decision meeting.

--
Moray