C4L2010planning: wishlist

Planning for Code4Lib 2010 in Asheville, NC

Everything else, including quality of hotel rooms, is secondary.

Host local mirror of #code4lib IRC - http://www.tummy.com/Community/Articles/pycon2007-network/
Rent G3 line for dedicated access for speakers (?)
Have a contingency aircard so at least speakers can go online (?)
Hook up to UNCA's Internet connection from the hotel (?)
bridge server (between outside and local wireless)?
forwarding server?
VPN needs to work
higher ports need to work
some wired access in room?

Multi-platform computer for presenters--mbklein has Mac/Windows, Ubuntu, Ctrl-key to swich beteween them
One person suggests a google docs acct to pull presentations together (still need them offline and downloadable)
Encourage those doing demos to do screencast backups
Post all info in several places. Emailed info needs to be posted to website

Signup sheet for nightly dinner activities
- pick out, say, 5 restaurants, encourage new attendees to connect
- make reservations!
code4lib revue?
Big enough hospitality suite/spare room for evening/break activities
Provide paper maps for participants, info on places to go
Game night (esp. board games and games like Werewolf)
Bess' brother-in-law works at a microbrewery. Possible tour?

solicit info about dietary needs
- vegan
- vegetarian
- other needs specified on registration forms

Potential sponsor and contact list
Conference scholarships
- Consider scholarship for LIS graduate students, CS undergrads
Andrew Nagy says: vendors want value, something tangible; can hit them up for more $

Ask people to write why they nominated keynote speakers
Do we need more gender diversity of keynote & 20 minute talks? (Is this important to us?)
Do we want to limit the number of speakers from any one organization?
Do we want topic-based categories when voting?
- e.g. 5 high-geekiness talks
- e.g. 5 theory talks
- e.g. 5 UI/usability/design-centered talks
Voting needs 2 criteria: geekiness and vote preference. (In 2008 the sum of these was the total IIRC)
Reserve 1-2 spots in 20-minute talks for cutting edge speakers
How do we ensure we get fresh topics?
Do we combine pre-voting to avoid duplication?

Who gets to come and how do we decide?
- Some suggestions included: require involvement if not previous attendance
- Some suggestions included: open to previous attendees a day before the main conference
- Some suggestions included: keep it as is
How do we encourage international participation when we're not in the same town as an international airport?
Can it be bigger? Do we want it to be? Or do we value the smaller crowd and the more personal, professional connections it affords?
Who is the conference for?
- library systems
- software engineers
- programmers
- librarians
- designers
- ???
"This is the only conference for coders"; "Saw no code, so I'm here to give a LT"
Do-it-yourself crowd

Announce the process early in the conference so that people can get set up with logins
Reminder during the last day of voting
Evaluate internet from 2010: do we need to be at a university for internet conference support?

Is IRC the 'backchannel'? OR is the conference the once-yearly 'frontchannel'?
Consider suggestions from http://pistachioconsulting.com/twitter-presentations/ regarding integration with backchannel.
- e.g. offer speakers help monitoring the channel ('an ombudsman for the audience')
Advice from dev8 via BenO:
- @davetaz setup projection/feed of the twittered #dev8d tags + @andymcg set up a netvibe channel to follow the tags elsewhere @jschneider Twitter feed screen in bkgd of these photos: http://is.gd/jOwW http://is.gd/jOxd & see @jvvw review of event: http://is.gd/jOxy
Make it easier for people to find IRC
- "code4lib station" with signup info and help?
Not everybody multistreams. Would multiple rooms help (reduce volume)? Or...?
Publish backchannel, e.g. http://reallywow.com/c4l09/logslice/20090225/14:00-14:20

a code4lib program/conference committee providing support and accumulated wisdom to the organizing committee
Wordle nametags (popular at dev8. what happens if people don't have blogs/twitterstreams/friendfeed/etc?)

Have an MC/cat herder lined up in advance
Don't have one entity do two LTs back to back
Ask those who've already spoken to "go last"
- e.g. only present if there's time)-- "share the air"
- Do we need a policy or clarity on expectations? (e.g. no repeats)
Create a LT do's and dont's page in the conference webspace
- link to existing LT advice
2 projectors, minimum. 3 if possible (3rd to display backchannels)
make transitions to LT during coffeebreak or other downtime

Consider setting 2-3 breakouts in advance
Have 1-2 'unbreakout' sessions
11 is too many, IMO
Trouble when different people are at different levels with a software discussed
- how to know in advance?
- Fedora access controls

The Chocolate Fetish
Woolworth Gallery (collaborative arts and crafts sale space in an old Woolworth's, with intact, functional lunch bar and a Swedish furniture shop in the basement)