Re: [Debconf-team] Separate room for families
On Wed, Apr 17, 2013 at 9:10 AM, Gunnar Wolf <gwolf@gwolf.org> wrote:
> Ana Guerrero dijo [Wed, Apr 17, 2013 at 12:42:13PM +0200]:
>> Out of curiosity, what do you understand for a family here? I have
>> discovered recently that the definition of a family varies widely
>> and for some, the concept of family must include children.
>> For others, like me, 2 persons who share their live together are
>> already a family.
>> In previous years, DebConf welcomed families (as in 2 persons) without
>> problems, if this year you are not going to guarantee lodging for developers
>> taking family members until later, this should be clear in registration
>> to avoid people making plans in this regard.
>
> Hi Ana,
>
> In this case, I was thinking of "family" as the definition that
> Raphael presented: A young couple and two small children. There are
> many other cases of families that regularly attend DebConf which would
> fit in your description (mine, at least — My wife has attended DC11
> and DC12 with me, although she is not attending DC13, in no small part
> because it is not a setting where her private space expectations can
> be met).
>
> But of course, couples are a very different topic. Often, couples
> where one of the members is not involved in Debian, the not-involved
> person ends up volunteering for various tasks. So, yes, we can clearly
> provide space IMO to them (but, of course, if the couple were to
> request a private space, it would have to be with the corresponding
> payment, as to our current accomodation scheme). Of course, this same
> scenario prevails WRT couples where both are Debian-active.
>
> But back to the rationale of my answer to Raphael: *If* we are to have
> a shortage of small-scale (≤4 people) rooms, I would prioritize
> granting those spaces to Debian-active people to accompanying family
> members.
Caveate: Everyone and every family is different, so please just
consider this a data point.
My opinion (as someone with a wife and 2 kids), feels that for those
in a situation where a family with kids wants to travel together to CH
for DebConf, then it is probably best to make alternate accommodation
arrangements.
Although my case is a little different since I currently only plan to
make a single day trip to Le Camp, to meet with the other DebConf
organizers, I suspect that having my 7 and 9 year olds at DebConf,
would likely not lead to happy kids.
What we are planning on doing is finding a more central location
within an hour or so commute to DebConf, and basically have me commute
to DebConf, and I'd leave my wife and kids to explore the region
during the day while I am at DebConf, and meet back up with them in
the evening.
Although this probably differs for each family, (based on age and
interests of the family..) I'd guess that even if we didn't have to
make the tradeoff of Developers vs Family for accommodation, I'd still
recommend the same approach. (IE: When taking family on a "business"
trip, I don't bring them to the business meetings, but leave them to
enjoy family-friendly events/attractions in the area.) Of course, I'd
have a different view, if the kids were old enough, and looking to get
involved in the project. :)
If I were attending for more than one day, I'd still still stay in a
more central area with my family, leaving them to explore the region,
and commute to DebConf on my own, and spend the evenings with my
family, but I'd probably be more selective on what kind of commute I
am willing to deal with.
Summary - I think at this point, our general recommendation for
families traveling with children, should be to encourage them to find
alternate accommodations, and make this recommendation sooner rather
than later, with a list of recommended "family friendly" accommodation
options, and perhaps a list of possible activities.
Thanks,
Brian
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