FUDCon NA for FY2012 -- bids, length, budget, etc.

[Paul W. Frields]

Hi FUDCon planners,

I wanted to bring up a couple pending issues with regard to FUDCon in
North America, so that the community knows we are listening to
feedback, and so the FUDCon event as a whole continues to improve.
Tempe was a great event -- not problem-free, but certainly very well
received by all the attendees, as far as I could tell from everyone
I've spoken to.  I'm hoping the FUDCon team will carry that momentum
into next year's event.

* * *

Within the next few weeks, and certainly no later than March 1, 2011,
bids need to open for the next North American FUDCon.  The bid process
is running a bit late for EMEA, and if the process established at last
year's Events FAD[1] is to hold true, the process needs to be
continuous, with bids happening shortly after the end of the previous
event in that geo.

* * *

What is the status of a post-FUDCon survey?  ISTR someone said they'd
be responsible for that follow-up but I haven't seen an announcement
yet.  That could be because I've been crushed by other work and simply
missed the status -- sorry for being ignorant.

* * *

Since I'm sure Jared and Spot are both working on budget planning for
Red Hat's FY2012, one of the things they are figuring into that
planning is funding for the next FUDCon in North America.  Some of the
decisions that need to be made early about the next FUDCon NA will
hinge on budget, in order to solve issues identified with the event.

For a while now, FUDCon NA has strained against time limits that
consistently lead to the following issues:

* Many sessions are turned down, even if they would be reasonably
  attended (20-30 people), simply because there are limited spots.

* Hacking sessions become shorter when the session days are lengthened
  but the total event length stays the same.

* There is not opportunity for key groups such as Board members,
  Spot's team, etc., to meet for important discussions while the rest
  of FUDCon is in full swing, since many of the people involved are
  also doing talks and hackfests.

I wouldn't be surprised if other similar issues come to people's
minds.  These issues come down to a central factor: the total event
length is bounded by funding.  Certainly funding is not infinite for
any Fedora event, and we can't just shoot the moon for fun.  But
because these issues are quantifiable at least for the last two or
three FUDCon NA events, I believe there's sufficient justification to
think about a four- or five-day event length for North America.  (This
is the same conclusion the attendee group reached at the Events FAD
last year, by the way.)

Here are some issues to consider:

* What kind of funding will be needed from Red Hat Engineering to get
  key Fedora team members to some non-BOS location, like Tempe, for
  four or five days instead of three?

* What would the average cost for a North American contributor be?

* How does the overall budget, based on a longer event, affect the
  ability to bring in international visitors?  Furthermore, what goals
  exist for international attendees, and how will the event meet those
  goals?

* * *

With answers to these questions, it should be possible to set out some
high level guidance for what the next FUDCon NA will look like, so
that after bids come in the early, venue-related details are easier to
sort out.

For better or worse, due to funding and logistical limitations, the
FUDCon event in NA right now is the largest Fedora event annually.
That's not by purpose or design.  Nothing would be more awesome than
having a non-NA Fedora event eclipse the North American one, in my
opinion.  I've been to non-NA events and they are fantastic: they're
run by wonderful contributors, and greatly enjoyed by the attendees.
Personally, I *look forward* to seeing event length limitations and
strain in other geos, since that will be a sign of even more success.
And as those issues occur and are documented, the planning groups
(including budget owners) can work together to deal with them as we're
trying to do here.


= = =
[1] http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Events_FAD_2010

-- 
Paul W. Frields                                http://paul.frields.org/
  gpg fingerprint: 3DA6 A0AC 6D58 FEC4 0233  5906 ACDB C937 BD11 3717
  http://redhat.com/   -  -  -  -   http://pfrields.fedorapeople.org/
          Where open source multiplies: http://opensource.com

[Jeroen van Meeuwen]

On Fri, 11 Feb 2011 09:34:56 -0500, "Paul W. Frields"
<stickster(a)gmail.com&gt;
wrote:
>  some and then some... 
Longer event: +1

>  * How does the overall budget, based on a longer event, affect the
>    ability to bring in international visitors?  Furthermore, what goals
>    exist for international attendees, and how will the event meet those
>    goals?
>   
I'm not sure what type of, or which 'goals' are being referred to. If you
can give me some insight here please, I can try to be helpful ;-)

-- Jeroen

[Paul W. Frields]

On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 11:45:37AM +0100, Jeroen van Meeuwen wrote:
>  
>  On Fri, 11 Feb 2011 09:34:56 -0500, "Paul W. Frields"
>  <stickster(a)gmail.com&gt;
>  wrote:
>  > some and then some...
>  
>  Longer event: +1
>  
>  > * How does the overall budget, based on a longer event, affect the
>  >   ability to bring in international visitors?  Furthermore, what goals
>  >   exist for international attendees, and how will the event meet those
>  >   goals?
>  
>  I'm not sure what type of, or which 'goals' are being referred to. If you
>  can give me some insight here please, I can try to be helpful ;-) 
Sorry that was unclear -- it meant "What are the goals of FUDCon
organizers in funding more international attendees?"

I expect every attendee would bring their own goals with them too.
It's important that the organizers know why and on what basis they're
approving subsidies, if those subsidies are more costly than bringing
in contributors already located in the geo where the FUDCon happens.

-- 
Paul W. Frields                                http://paul.frields.org/
  gpg fingerprint: 3DA6 A0AC 6D58 FEC4 0233  5906 ACDB C937 BD11 3717
  http://redhat.com/   -  -  -  -   http://pfrields.fedorapeople.org/
          Where open source multiplies: http://opensource.com