DebConf16/Meetings/2015-09-09

• Meeting minutes
• Meeting log

Items for discussion:

Tasks page for volunteers

On Nigel's recommendation, I've started on a wiki to get people to sign up for smaller tasks. The video (Stefano) and wafer (Simon) sections need work please.

Note: The contents are not ordered in any way, making it hard to know what's going on. How can we order this? Alphabetically?

Racial diversity on team. How can we improve this? Also: There is an ideas page, where we just dumped stuff during DebConf. We may or may not keep using it - up to you.

Timeline

I've made suggestions on the registration timelines, as per a DebConf email thread. These are not set in stone, but the point of the dates are to inspire deadlines, so they're not entirely trivial either; please give some thought if these work?

Design

Logo finalisation

Back story: We were not fully communicative about the logo design, and there were feelings that this was rushed through without enough team input. To fix this, can we have a week of final deliberations on logo design? This needs a deadline, so bike-shedding potential needs to be minimised. Input on how to proceed? I suggest Jonathan lead the plan forward.

Website Design

Same back-story as the logo. Jonathan was tasked with finding a way to proceed here. Suggest based on meeting at DebConf15, to have a time period to submit proposals on website design. Then have a period for the whole team to look these over, and comment on what aspects of all the proposals they like (so a single proposal doesn't necessarily win, all aspects can be melted together). Then we need to find a way to take this to final design, most likely a single person working on it from here on. I would like it if we can at least agree on the website 'wireframe' so someone can start coding it, and we can then work on content so long.

Brochure

• Brochure under construction.... adding as I go along.
• Layout:

1. Based on Keyline design, Double page spread, but if Digital will need to look at single pages? If printed then Printed on a natural paper, where the ink seeps in for a great effect.
2. Fonts are suggestions: I do like the 3 fonts and the diversity of them, however I will do a few options ( once the layout is completed) of other fonts options. What are your thoughts? Is it required?
3. Images have been taken from Debconf15 as "fillers" but do seem to work well in the Brochure, let me know if there are other debconfs that you would like pictures, sourced from.
4. Would like to start integrating a few quirky things in Re: Cheese and wine...... stats not correct though but you get an idea.
5. Working on the Cover, table, and final few pages...... my deadline (for myself) is Mon 14 (due to large Illustration deadlines for this week Friday)

Website content, coding

Front end

I'd like to have a site up soon, with the basics - at least the date and a nice image. When can this get coded? Raoul?

Registration back end - wafer?

Simon, are you the lead for this? Have we decided on wafer? What's the best way forward?

Contracts

SPI contract

This needs to be signed ASAP - Stefano, what is progress here?

Venue contract

I'm checking on this, it should be ready to sign soon, CMC just had two conferences that ended on 4 September, so I gave them some space. I might have more by Tuesday evening.

Initial money to pay accommodation deposit

The DPL said this is not a problem to get from SPI - Stefano please update the team?

Budgeting

Nigel needs a draft budget ASAP [NK: from each team].

BV: I think this may need a sprint, maybe this weekend? [NK: From my side I just need draft figures, they can always be changed later]

NK: Here we go: http://anonscm.debian.org/cgit/debconf-data/dc16.git/tree/budget/budget.ledger

Social/Teambuilding

1. Braai: We planned for end Sept, but would be nice for Stefano to join. Think he's in town early Oct for PyconZA
2. Recruitment event: Link up with Modern Alchemists? Contact Robyn Farah and offer to sponsor/contribute to a event, and do something Debian-ey. Ideas?

Sponsors

We need to be well known to sponsors by around October/November This is the next TOP PRIORITY: Find sponsor leads, focus on local This team is still a bit lean - search for volunteers!

Communication

• All: please subscribe to debconf-team@lists.debconf.org

In my opinion communication is the holy grail of DebConf. We need to get even better at this. I copied my email from 20 August at the bottom.

I want to suggest a firm guideline: "If it didn't get shared via email, it doesn't exist and didn't happen." IRC communications are fine, but does not replace email. So if a discussion happened on IRc, please summarise it and place it on email and/or wiki

ShowMeBox

The ShowMeBox is a proposal for a computer with a purpose in connection with DebConf 2016 in Cape Town. More details on its wiki page. I'd like to know if this has the team's blessing, or what questions you have.

Information Art Exhibition

This is still a fledgling idea, dreamt up while KrisRose was talking about the ShowMeBox idea. Briefly:

• link up with Knowledge is beautiful?
• Information artist: Electric Sheep is a collaborative abstract artwork founded by Scott Draves. It's run by thousands of people all over the world. Scott Draves developed the Beaker tool originally in Two Sigma.
• People could also submit art made with molecular simulations.

email from 20 August 2015

Email source

TLDR; This is tough, we need good communications, but we need to also work to reduce useless continuous discussion. Share everything in an accessible place.

Learning from the past, this is how I suggest we could do things in future. I hope this is stating the obvious, but we've already slipped up on this so it bears reiteration. (I know I have and I'm very sorry).

• When we speak to someone who may be interested in joining the team, especially when they have a defined skillset and hence may by default want to take a more individual approach to the task(s) they'd be involved in, please email the team introducing this person, your expectations of their involvement, and if relevant the background of your relationship, to put things in context. This is to put everyone on the same page to help get to know new teammates and where they're coming from ideologically.

• When we brief someone on the Debian project, and DebConf, please try to inform everyone on when you're briefing them, be it over email, IRC, or in person. It won't always be possible to have everyone come along or join in, and based on the history of the working relationship or friendship or whatever, this may already be a fuzzy situation. But just so we all know.

• Save every little piece of work that you do on DebConf somewhere accessible, preferably git. Save it there from the very beginning, from the idea stage.

• When you think something is missing, or you have even the most vague discomfort, please talk about it, with anyone you feel comfortable on e.g. IRC, or via email to the whole team. Keeping the timeline up to date, using previous DebConfs to guide it, should help a lot with this.

• Please bear in mind that we have to compromise between everyone being involved in everything all of the time and implementing things on time. Having interim deadlines included on the timeline will help with keeping things on time.

best regards