<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On 25 January 2012 13:45, Mary Gardiner <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:mary@puzzling.org">mary@puzzling.org</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
Hi all,<br>
<br>
Coming out of LCA 2012, I thought it might be productive to have a<br>
speculative "how LCA could change for the better" thread, a big picture<br>
kind of thing that could perhaps inform the next five years of LCA.<br>
<br>
Disclaimer: I enjoyed LCA 2012, and I hope this email isn't hurtful to<br>
recent LCA organisers. It's not intended, and I hope won't be read, as a<br>
slam or even a criticism of past LCAs. I just think that every so often<br>
with a huge project like LCA a bit of brainstorming could help it<br>
continue to improve.<br>
<br>
I also realise that much of the stuff I am talking about here is<br>
actually too big picture for 2013, who've already had to do a lot of<br>
concrete planning and locking things in. It's really intended for 2014<br>
and later.<br>
<br>
Finally: brainstorming style, I'm just throwing ideas at the wall here<br>
to see what sticks. Perhaps others would like to do the same, while of<br>
course appreciating that LA and LCA are run by mere humans who cannot<br>
make all our dreams come true.<br>
<br>
Unconference/hallway track<br>
--------------------------<br>
<br>
I know it's been done on and off, and I know it's partly a cost/venue<br>
problem, but I continue to wish that the hallway track could become more<br>
official: seating, power, breakout rooms, unconference and/or sprint or<br>
hack days, something of that nature. Possibly even at the expense of the<br>
main event to some degree.<br>
<br>
Continuity<br>
----------<br>
<br>
I have sometimes wondered if LCA bids should be for two years. That is,<br>
you bid to hold the conference in your city two years running. This<br>
structure is used by some other FOSS conferences, including quite large<br>
ones like US PyCon (which has IIRC 2000+ attendees).<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>PyCon AU has adopted this model and the second time running it was a lot smoother. It is however tempting to "do all the things you missed first time".</div>
<div> </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">The main advantage to this is re-using work in the second year of the<br>
conference: unless there was a serious problem you use the same venue,<br>
accommodation, social venues, A/V hire, at least a core group of<br>
volunteers, etc.<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div>I think we are slowly coming to a solution for A/V. There is no reason the whole team needs to change, keeping the same A/V over the years could work even if the whole team above them changes.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Tim</div></div>