[Linux-aus] LCA2016 post event report

[Mark Foster]

On 25/05/2016 1:22 a.m., Russell Coker wrote:
> On Tue, 24 May 2016 07:53:17 PM Kathy Reid - Team linux.conf.au 2016 Geelong -
> LCA By the Bay wrote:
>> The linux.conf.au 2016 Geelong - LCA By the Bay conference team is
>> delighted to present our post event report for your information.
>> As always your questions, comments and feedback are warmly welcomed.
> The conference was great and the report was great too!
>
> But I have one suggestion.  The report mentions the on-call number, I think
> that this is a great thing and something that more conferences should do (I
> think it's been around since the last LCA in Perth).  However I think that
> there should also be an Internet based method of contacting the conference
> organisers in an emergency such as Jabber.  When I attended the LCAs in NZ I
> never got an NZ SIM and relied on IM via the conference Wifi for remaining in
> contact.  Presumably some people from other countries who attend LCAs in
> Australia do the same thing.
>
> I don't think that monitoring Jabber would be any additional effort for whoever
> has the on-call phone but it could provide a significant benefit for delegates
> from other countries.
>

Kathy mentioned spinning plates which is a great anology, however, it's 
more simple than that:
- During LCA2015 Operating Hours the NOC monitored
a) Phone
b) IRC
c) Twitter
d) Email
e) Radio Telephone link to other key organisers.

- Outside of core hours none of these were monitored but a designated 
mobile phone was managed by key organising staff, who knew how to .. 
'get hold of everyone else'.

So is your need for comms with the organisers synchronous, i.e. does it 
need a real-time interaction - or is it something where the response can 
be delayed by minutes/hours?
If your requirement is real-time then nothing would beat the phone, and 
the other mediums would clearly get you a near-realtime response during 
manning hours.
if your requirement is real-time and after-hours (i.e. urgent) then I 
think making a phonecall is not unreasonable.

To keep adding other means of engagement is to keep adding work to a 
team who are already working hard. When they provide several means of 
contact already I'm not sure there's any added value.
And there's an onus on the people making contact, to select the medium 
appropriate for their urgency and other requirements.

Cheers
Mark.
(Technical lead for LCA2015... I was 'that guy' in the NOC a lot of the 
time)