[Linux-aus] Re: linux.conf.au Possible *Future* Programme Format

[Tim Bowden]

On Wed, 2007-01-10 at 00:02 +0000, Mary Gardiner wrote:
> On 2007-01-09, Jeff Waugh <jdub at perkypants.org> wrote:
> > Yeah, this sounds like a really worthy evolution of what we've done this
> > year to highlight and 'officialise' the miniconfs. Good call!
> 
> I do think it's worth addressing the issue that for some participants
> the more community focusses miniconfs are as important and interesting,
> if not more so, than the main conference, and that therefore by
> squeezing as many competing miniconfs into one or two days as possible
> it might be a disservice to the miniconf-focussed attendees. I don't
> know how many attendees this is true for.

Me puts my hand up.  IMHO it would be a good idea to let the miniconfs
run for as many days as they need in parallel with the main conf.  This
would probably do more to help foster a FOSS conf ecosystem than any
other suggestion I have heard yet.

> 
> One possible negative side-effect though is that some miniconfs borrow
> heavily from the main conference's ability to fly speakers in. LinuxChix
> at least has four international speakers from the main conference. It
> therefore would have been a pain for us if this was implemented in 2007:
> we would have had to schedule around those speakers' commitments to the
> main conference, and we also would have possibly had to have actually
> competed against our own speakers appearing in the main conference; as
> community drawcards people like Val and Akkana would draw our attendees
> out from the miniconf.

So why can't such a session be considered part of both the main conf and
miniconf at the same time?  Hmmm, reading ahead, that's what you have
suggested.


> 
> Just thinking out loud here, I suppose it could be possible to cross the
> streams with the main conference a little, by, say, having miniconfs
> nominate their drawcards as main conference speakers (requires
> substantial early organisation on the part of the miniconfs, in a way
> that most/all miniconfs don't exhibit), or asking if a selected main
> conference speaker could be scheduled on their miniconf day, and have
> that main conference talk appear in their miniconf schedule.
> 
> -Mary
> 


Tim Bowden