Hi Adam, *
On Aug 26, 2005, at 1:02 AM, Adam Moore wrote:
On 8/25/05, Jacqueline McNally <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Ian Lynch wrote:
On Thu, 2005-08-25 at 12:36 +0800, Jacqueline McNally wrote:
There were too few people able to commit promised resources to the
previous event.
I thnk the only thing we really lacked was artwork etc for the
booth.
And I still have lots of long threads in my mail box from volunteers
returning from DLS, saying that they didn't have "this" and didn't
have
"that" - none of which they prepared to take with them prior to
the event.
How about I try to prepare. With the time frame I had with the NEA
conference I was able to get a sponsor and some items that were usable
for the booth. All we can do is try.
True. Some context:
* Has OOo been invited to the 2006 DSL? If people recall, Michael
Robertson and Linspire marketing people contacted us well in advance.
We didn't go to the 2004 conference b/c there was not enough time to
pull together a team and no one was sufficiently interested (it was
hard too to see the DSL as anything other than a Linspire show), but
did think the 2005 DSL would be worthwhile. Linspire suggested the
idea of making it a Regional Conference. That is something more than
just a booth at a conference. It was supposed to be somehow a US
version of OOoCon. Consequently, the Community Council authorised
going to the DSL and money was made available by Team OpenOffice.org
e.V., which manages money for marketing events like this.
But what has resulted from the conference? For starters, it was not
what the CC envisioned. Yes it was fun for those attending. But
what else? Did it get much press? If so, where? Did it bring in new
developers? Who? Key users? Which? Did it represent OOo in a strong
light? If so, by whose account? Of course, no conference ever does
what we want it to do, but we generally want a conference to be worth
the effort and money. (One reason I didn't push for Linux World SF
was b/c, as Robin Miller has pointed out and others have also noted,
it's nowadays suits selling to other suits. OOo is lost there, or
used as a token app but that's it. Nothing has resulted from us being
there. No new developers nor large numbers of users. As far as press
attention goes, just having a booth showcasing 2.0 goes only so far
if we are not prepared with an entertaining and informative spiel and
show.)
I'm not saying that the DSL should be written off. I am saying I'd
like for us to consider what we hope to gain by being there, and what
level of effort and money is required. Conferences and booths can be
fun and are team (community) building, when done properly. Done
poorly, as at the Liinux World Boston earlier this year, they can be
a disadvantage. (The press, or at least one key press member with
influence, reported that the poor booth presence and attendance there
indicated that OOo was losing its steam and membership base; that
open source in general was on the ropes. We had to make a few calls
to set people straight, but it's very very hard to undo damage like
that.)
I agree that having OOo present at a US conference is important,
which is why I think OSCON, which *is* taken seriously by all, should
be our goal for a major conference in the US. Or if not OSCON, then
another similar conference that brings together developers as well as
companies interested in working on OOo. DLS could be that event.
However, if we want to have a press event, then it is easier just to
do that, and to get a hold of Linux Word, Linux Journal, etc., with
updates (We do this anyway, actually, and not a week goes by, I
sometimes think, that an OOo member is not interviewed on OOo.) Of
course, it is also fun to attend and participate in conferences, and
we can certainly plan on doing that: there are smaller LinuxWorlds
where having an OOo presence can get more notice; and there are many
other conferences out there. And if there are enough people willing
to go to the DLS and manage it, and if there is funding for it, and
if it seems like it will be really worth it, there is that.
Cheers,
Louis
