[Linux-aus] Re: LCA: bringing the process forward

[Conrad Parker]

Hi,

I fully support the role of LA in choosing the location of linux.conf.au.

I think the crucial thing is that teams who want to put on a conference
should be able to just fucking do it (JFDI). At the end of the day, LA
deciding that they will support a conference is this: a nice rubberstamp
for an official linux.conf.au, a conduit to get in touch with groups
who've done it before, maybe a bit of cash to get the ball rolling.

But, the success of a conference lives or dies on the energy and passion
of the people organising it. They should form and get their shit
together well before LA comes into the picture. Then the two groups can
get together and make a conference that rocks.

So, what we don't want to get into is a situation where LA makes any
kind of decision about who to support before a team with energy and
passion has formed, and somehow shown that they have what it takes.

There are any number of lame conferences out there which fail because
they don't operate like this; rather than operate from the ground up,
they decide too early who will be running a conference, and where. So,
for the record, here's some ways that LA could fuck up linux.conf.au:

	* assign a strict rotational order, ie. saying it must be in
	Sydney followed by Brisbane followed by Perth etc. Round-robin
	scheduling is fair but no fun for anyone

	* wimp out of holding it somewhere even though it has what it
	takes, because the location is too far away or small or in a
	different country or whatever (Dunedin rocked!!)

	* put too much emphasis on continuity and the word of "ghosts".
	If people want to try out new ideas, let 'em. Help them not make
	obvious mistakes, but don't be strict about the format. LCA is
	all about linux developers getting together to hack and have fun,
	don't let anything stand in the way of that.

Should it be competitive? Sure, that's a natural consequence of
passionate people wanting the same thing. But if LA can mediate the
discussion openly and well in advance, we (the community) can avoid
situations of frustration, embarrassment and simple bewilderment.

cheers,

Conrad.
(A ghost of linux.conf.au 2001, Sydney :-)