also sprach Gaudenz Steinlin <gaudenz@debian.org> [2013.08.23.1738 +0200]:
> IMO we should offer a solution that we think will work for most
> and that actually someone wants to implement. After that families
> can decide if they like it or not.
We could also look at other conferences, such as LCA or PyCon, both
of which offer day-time child-care. That's all I'm advocating for
now, and there are fairly few "variables" to be considered in that,
i.e. most families should be happy to leave their children, or they
simply won't.
DebConf is more complex than LCA and PyCon because we do
full-service catering and accomodation for attendees. Therefore, we
have to worry about the number of omnivore, vegan, and vegetarian
meals, already.
We all agree that families are *much* more peculiar than individual
attendees, so as soon as we open that can and try to cater to them
when it comes to catering and accomodation, we are going to find
ourselves in hell.
We should
- offer reliable, somewhat professionally-backed child-care during
the day to allow both parents to participate when they want;
- make sure that we do not exclude families, i.e. by hosting the
conference in a venue surrounded by open water, with many
stairs, or in the middle of high-traffic cities;
- make sure that our basic accomodation options do not preclude
families, i.e. that there are rooms for four, possibly separate
from the other rooms, but this is optional;
- talk to some hotels in the vicinity of the venue and identify
one or two options that are family-friendly;
- finally, put up a wiki or web page with all these information to
manage the expectations.
In general, I would really like DebConf to be perceived as
a family-friendly conference. This does not mean that the orga team
must go out of their way, having already a lot to do. But it also
means that we should refrain from sending any signals as were sent
this year, which might deter some parents.
That said, Le Camp was perfect for families, IMHO. I know how
peculiar families can get, but I really can't imagine where problems
may have been. I will now ask the list for private replies.
Cheers,
--
.''`. martin f. krafft <madduck@debconf.org>
: :' : DebConf orga team
`. `'`
`- DebConf14: Portland, OR, USA: http://debconf14.debconf.org
"i think, therefore i'm single"
-- lizz winstead
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