On Tuesday, 2 October 2018 at 15:03:45 UTC, Adam D. Ruppe wrote:
That is what Joakim is talking about - changing the main event to be more like the after-hours stuff everyone loves so much, to actually use all the time to maximize the potential of in-person time.
I'm talking about growing two different qualities much more, with my two suggested alternatives to the DConf format.
1. Ditch the talks, focus on in-person interaction. That's why I suggest having almost no talks, whether at a central DConf or not. You clearly agree with this.
2. Decentralize the DConf location, casting a much wider net over many more cities. Walter and Adam could rent a room and setup a Seattle DConf location, Andrei and Steven in Boston, Ali and Shammah in the bay area, and so on (only illustrative, I'm not imposing this on any of these people). Some of the money that went to renting out a large conference room in Munich can instead be spent on these much smaller rooms in each city.
Charge some minimal fee for entrance in some locations, if that means they can spend time with W&A and to cover costs. I wouldn't charge anything more than $2 in my city for my event, as event organizers here have found that that's low enough to keep anyone who's really interested while discouraging fake RSVPs, ie those who have no intent of ever showing up but strangely sign up anyway (I know an organizer who says he had 150 people RSVP for a Meetup here and only 15 showed up).
By keeping travel and ticket costs much lower, you invite much more participation.
Obviously my second alternative to DConf listed above wouldn't be decentralized at all, only enabling in-person interaction at a still-central DConf.
Mix and match as you see fit.
