Re: [Debconf-team] Debconf15 open weekend admittance

[Daniel Pocock <daniel@pocock.pro>]

On 28/07/15 08:43, martin f krafft wrote:
> also sprach Karsten Merker <merker@debian.org> [2015-07-27 23:57 +0200]:
>> Maybe I am misunderstanding something here, but AFAICS this would
>> mean that every potential visitor would have to create an alioth
>> account to be able to log into summit, which might be a relatively
>> big deterrence for "normal" people, in particular for locals who
>> might read about DebConf in the local press and come by to take
>> a look.
> 
> I think front desk will be prepared to handle day visitors with
> lesser administrative effort on-site. If Nattie could confirm this,
> then we should probably amend the PR just a bit in this direction.
> 
> 

There doesn't appear to be any reply to this request for confirmation on
this thread

I also don't see any other threads about the issue of the open weekend
and how people understood this would work.

The page about the open weekend[1] only mentions registration in the
context of Teckids and otherwise it says "we welcome anyone"

The information about the party just says it is Elsewhere[2] so it is
also not clear whether it is the same registration or whether it is some
other venue that may well be more open

Is the DebConf team still actively looking at any options to improve
capacity for any of the daytime events or the evening events, even if it
is just a subset of the events?

Looking at just one mailing list post from Saturday[3], it appears that
there are people who are traveling to Heidelberg anticipating that
visitors are welcome at the open weekend.  I would be surprised if other
people haven't formed a similar impression.  This could be
counter-productive to Debian as a whole if people arrive to visit the
open weekend and get a blunt response from the front desk.

The SSO login prompt appears before the message about registrations
being closed, so if somebody assumes that the registration is just for
developers they may not get to the message stating it is closed.  The
open weekend page[1] may also reinforce that view among casual visitors.

What other options may be feasible?  For example, is there any venue in
Heidelberg that could host any of the keynotes?  Could any other venue
handle guests who can't fit in the Debian birthday or could there be
some parallel party event or after-party to draw people away from the
main venue?

If any volunteers are willing to sign PGP keys for visitors who are not
otherwise registered, could there be a space for that?

Was there any sign that people were registering on the spur of the
moment after the slashdot post[4]?  Could the team email those people
who registered recently and ask them to de-register if they are unlikely
to really come, to free up space for day visitors?

Is it likely that the registrations will open again from Sunday night
once the open weekend is over and the team has a better understanding of
crowd sizes?

Regards,

Daniel


1. http://debconf15.debconf.org/openweekend.xhtml
2. https://summit.debconf.org/debconf15/meeting/320/debian-birthday-party/
3. http://lists.debconf.org/lurker/message/20150808.065812.a598d8d3.en.html
4.
http://linux.slashdot.org/story/15/08/05/1111253/largest-debconf-ever-will-hit-heidelberg-in-mid-august