Re: [Debconf-team] [Debconf-discuss] DC13 Final Report
Hello,
On 10/12/13 5:26 PM, Patty Langasek wrote:
> Hello world!
>
> Are you wanting to help close DC13 and start on DC14, but don't really want
> to do any work on it? BOY DO I HAVE A DEAL FOR YOU!!
>
> We're starting to build momentum on getting DC14 up and going, and part of
> this includes getting the Final Report for DC13 completed. This is
> historically a hard, thankless project, and usually the next team steps up
> to help complete the Final Report for the last year with as much detail as
> they can.
>
> Steve and I are offering our help - just send us facts that need to be
> included in the report and we can work on getting the information presented
> sensibly, professionally, whatever. We can work on copy-editing and general
> editing; we just need the details filled in.
>
> Here's the fun thing! EVERYONE can help! Even if you feel like you were
> "just there", your input is still valuable. Take a look at what we need in
> the Final Report[0], find a section that looks interesting to you (or you
> know you can just get facts to someone else willing to do the grunt work for
> you), and own it!! Hint: Attendee Impressions, Cheese & Wine Party, and
> Freetime Activities are all super easy for anyone to help with.
>
> Thanks!
> Patty
>
> [0] https://wiki.debconf.org/wiki/DebConf13/FinalReport
I hope I've selected the proper people to which I'm sending this
response. If I'm adding noise to the -team mailing list, sorry about that.
I was a delighted first-time attendee. The whole process was really
quite wonderful.
== Registration ==
Overall the Pentabarf system worked as expected, although I required
some manual involvement. The team was incredibly responsive and helpful
through IRC and email to take care of my concerns. At one point, after
my invoice should have been paid, I got another notice (just days before
my travel) that payment was due and I became alarmed about whether there
would actually be a bed for me once I arrived. The team on IRC was very
helpful in that situation. Overall this process went really well, mostly
because the team was in place to resolve any outlying problems the
pentabarf system couldn't automatically resolve.
== Location and accomodations ==
What a beautiful location! This was my first time to Europe and I really
loved the area around Le Camp. There were plenty of recreational
activities; I participated in volleyball, ping-pong/table-tennis,
swimming, and a leisurely hike (I would have liked to bike but wasn't
able to bring one nor did I make the time to hire one). The bar was a
nice place to visit; I was surprised to see so many sitting quietly
working on their laptops in the middle of the day. It seems that became
another hacklab, which provided a social setting for people to hang out.
Le Camp is beautiful and was perfectly prepared for our arrival. The
networking in particular was flawless throughout the entire camp for me;
I'd heard of others needing additional wifi access points installed in
their buildings but my building and the buildings I visited were all
covered with wifi and had plenty of power available. The directions
provided ensured that even I (a non-French speaker) was able to get to
Le Camp without trouble. Every part of the advance planning and teams
did an excellent job of preparing.
== Day trips ==
I participated in the clock museum day trip. I thought each of the
options was good and represented a variety of interests. I do wish I'd
have been able to do the unofficial CERN visit, but wasn't able to
commit to attending that day until after it had filled beyond capacity.
That may be my biggest regret about the conference, and it was
unofficial (and self-inflicted!) so it doesn't reflect poorly on the
planners. The scenic lookout at Creux du Van was a great choice, I
highly enjoyed this and think a nature/scenic visit of some sort is a
great choice. The highlight of my day -- and I didn't realize this until
about a week after the trip -- was the Buskers' Festival and general
walking around in Neuchâtel.
Overall, I was continually reminded of the beauty of the area. I love
where I live (in the state of Pennsylvania in the USA) and we have
beautiful scenery...but Concise and Neuchâtel are stunning and the
amount of history and beauty left quite an impression.
Speaking of good impressions, I made many friends. Everyone I met was
friendly and interested in talking, whether that was small talk or
asking questions about each other's interests and presentations. I'm one
of the attendees from the phpMyAdmin project and we were delighted to
meet some of our users and I'm a Debian user, so I was glad to meet some
of the people involved with Debian and learn more about the inner
workings, bringing me to the talks.
== Talks ==
While I attended many sessions and learned a lot, by far I most enjoyed
the "Gitify ALL the things" BoF (the title of which amuses me every time
I read it) held on day 2. More of us attended than I think anyone
expected, and I learned more about some packages I've already used and
took a lot of notes of things I'd like to try. I certainly appreciated
the discussion forum nature of the BoF as opposed to a traditional
lecture. Certainly not every meeting is conducive to that style, but it
worked well in this particular case.
Having an IRC channel for each meeting helped a lot with asking and
answering questions out-of-band, in particular during this BoF.
By the way, the keysigning was a big hit for me. It was a great
opportunity to expand my WoT and I consider it a key part of the
gathering. The way it was handled (exchanging signatures on our own time
rather than forming two lines and doing it at the meeting) certainly
saved time and had the side benefit of beginning more conversations (if
people are in two lines, there's much pressure to complete the deal as
soon as possible and move on; if people meet randomly by the water
fountain they have time to chat). The downside being that I didn't get
as many signatures as I could have ("Collect them all!!"), but in the
scheme of things I prefer the method that was used.
== Video ==
Okay, I'll start off by stating that I work in video and television
broadcasting for my job. I'm a tech-head at heart and love making things
work. So I was completely shocked by the amount and type of video
coverage that was available. I tip my hat to the video team for pulling
together the coverage they were able to provide, which is huge for live
streaming and catching up on talks I wasn't able to attend (at least
once I had to choose between two talks I was very interested in which
happened at the same time). Sometimes there weren't enough volunteers
(as with any such venture anywhere) but the amount of planning and
coordination coming from the team is amazing. I was incredibly impressed
with the equipment, applications, and planning involved. There's not
much more to say about this, other than that I really enjoyed chatting
with a few of the folks about the DVswitch program. Again, everyone I
met was very friendly.
== I'm winding down ==
Through my work in video, I do some event planning. This even was
smooth, there wasn't one thing I saw that even hinted at a problem. The
entire team involved should be highly praised.
Throughout the process, there were many people who helped me. nattie
helped on IRC with my registration (and we had very pleasant chats in
person as well), rafw did an excellent job of helping me work out some
transportation issues and I'm very grateful to him. I had a pleasant
chat with our day trip leader whom I believe was Martin Krafft. Everyone
involved was great.
I feel I've rambled on long enough. If you have any further questions,
I'd be delighted to further discuss my experience.
(don't forget to CC me on replies as I'm not on the debconf-team mailing
list)
Regards
~isaac
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