[Linux-aus] Photos at conferences

[Eyal Lebedinsky]

On 01/21/14 08:54, Cameron Simpson wrote:
> On 21Jan2014 08:28, Simon Lyall <simon at darkmere.gen.nz> wrote:
>> On Mon, 20 Jan 2014, Bianca Gibson wrote:
>>> Our code of conduct says "If someone indicates they don't wish to be
>>> photographed, respect that wish", but that doesn't help if you don't notice
>>> them taking the photo. It's not practical to be constantly watching for
>>> someone taking a photo.
>>
>> My question is what are we trying to prevent here?
>> Is it:
>>
>> (a) Somebody sticking a camera in somebody's face and taking multiple
>> close-ups when they don't want to be bothered:
>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/simonlyall/11855040993/in/set-72157639586990105
>>
>> (b) Pictures of a single attendees taken from a distance:
>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/simonlyall/11854994473/in/set-72157639586990105
>>
>> (c) Pictures of several people taken from a distance:
>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/simonlyall/11855547076/in/set-72157639586990105
>
> I would think all of these 3.
>
>> (d) Medium shot of people sitting at talks, featuring dozens of
>>       easily-identifyable people:
>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/simonlyall/11799143773/in/set-72157639497006444
>
> And probably this 4th.
>
> I know personally some people who _never_ like to be photographed.
>
> While this may prevent them from giving public talks, it should not be a bar to attendance.
>
> So I would say:
>
>    aside from a speaker actively giving a talk, if the person will
>    be identifiable, ask them before photographing
>
> Cheers,

I rarely take photos in conferences, but it seems to me that the above 3 (or 4) cases will
make it difficult to take most pictures, and surely not much fun for the photographer.

Now what further restriction do we see reasonable?

The main issue, as I see it, is which photos will be unacceptable in a public place in
general (not at the conference)? We should follow these.

Further, while some people do not want to appear in photos, others do not mind and some
actually want the memories. Who should we cater for? This is not a simple right and wrong
but an attempt to balance conflicting requirements and providing an "average" benefit to
the group (whatever this means, a known hard problem).

cheers

-- 
Eyal Lebedinsky (lca at eyal.emu.id.au)