GUADEC Committee: 24 April 2013 Meeting
Meeting Information
IRC channel: irc://irc.gnome.org/#guadec
Time: 14:30 - 15:30 UTC
- 07:30 Los Angeles/San Francisco
- 10:30 Boston/Montreal/New York
- 15:30 London
- 16:30 Prague
Agenda
- Update on the venue
- Update on social events
- Update on accomodation
- Update on sponsorship
- Other Items
Meeting Minutes
Attending
TBD
Summary
TBD
Action Items
TBD
IRC Log
florian is joining ━━▶ Joins: andreasn (~andreasn@201.53.104.61) aday (~aday@93-96-144-87.zone4.bethere.co.uk) fnadged (~florian@nat-pool-brq-t.redhat.com) <fnadged> Hi every body! fidencio fnadged <afranke> Hi fnadged. <vbenes> fnadged: heya! <sesivany> hi <karenesq> hi! <fnadged> topis: - updates on the venue (xmlich, rui) - updates on social events (vbenes) - updates on accomodation (nudged) - updates on sponsorship (karenesque?) and keynotes, of course Rui, do you want to start? <rtcm> ok, about the venue, I went there with rishi, vbenes and sesivany it seems great, we saw the rooms and the equipment basically we just need to finish the contract details <fnadged> great xmlich02: ping <tpopela> hi!:) <rtcm> robert: I believe you have a draft of this contract with you? <xmlich02> fnadged, i am here <robert> i do <sesivany> rtcm: do we already know how many rooms we will need for the conference part and for the session part? <fnadged> anything about contractual issues form your side? yup <rtcm> sesivany: I don't think we have a final decision on that unfortunately <karenesq> robert: mind if I take a look at that contract? (apologies if it was already sent to me, I just took a quick look and didn't see it) <fnadged> we do require 1 in the mornings for keynotes and two for the lectures also one for staff and a small one for feeding and changing I believe we need room/s for board meetings karenesq: do you have any details on this? <rtcm> right, the options are two 150 seat rooms or one 90 plus two 70 seats rooms (in addition to the 300 seats keynote room) <fnadged> right the question is whether we are able to pack the larger rooms or only the smaller ones. <robert> karenesq: the contract is in czech only (you should already have in your inbox - 3 April) <aday> rtcm, sorry i didn't get back to you about the rooms. do we have a rough idea of how many people will attend the conference? <fnadged> Guess, it depends on registrations <rtcm> fnadged: the board meeting will probably happen at the RH office because it's easier to setup conference calls there aday: my current guess is 250 aday: we want to do 2 tracks right? <karenesq> robert: right, thanks! that's why I didn't remember it :D <fnadged> right, two tracks and around 38 hours of talks <rtcm> robert: xmlich02 told us the contract needs to mention the person pressing the buttons for the recording <aday> rtcm, i *think* that two tracks is good... <karenesq> rtcm, fnadged: so both the adboard meeting and the board meeting at RH offices? <fnadged> karenesq: do you need any translation of the contract? <aday> maybe that will be a trickier decision once we review the papers, but yes. ebassi - do you concur? <robert> karenesq: the contract is very simple and i don't see anything suspicious in it. we just have to wait for the final list of rooms and technicians (and prices) <fnadged> Guess, that would be the better version <afranke> I am nonetheless interested in the requirements for board meetings as we won't have RH offices nearby (that I know of) in Strasbourg. :) <rtcm> karenesq: if you do it all in the same day I think it's better to do all of them at the RH office yes, otherwise it's up to you, there are plenty of rooms in the univ. suitable <fnadged> rtcm: I second that <karenesq> rtcm: they're not the same day as there's too much overlap in attendance <robert> rtcm: yes, i'm in contact with xmlich02 - it's going to be in the contract (along with the rest of the necessary stuff) <karenesq> great conferencing is really important for the adboard meeting <fnadged> how much time would you need for each ? <tpopela> I think that RH offices are better equipped for conference things.. <afranke> karenesq, do you have an estimate of the number of seats needed too? <rtcm> karenesq: ok, so adboard meeting at RH and board meeting in the uni? it's a pleasant 20 mins walking from one to the other anyway :-) tpopela: I suppose we need a contract with the superlectures guys, right? <sesivany> rtcm: we might ask our IT guys about setting a room at the venue for conference calls. The equipment might be moved. <tpopela> rtcm, Think so.. <fnadged> I thought that was the task of the uni\s tech. <rtcm> tpopela: I spoke with Igor but only about technical details, forgetting the contract ;-) <tpopela> rtcm, I will write to him tomorrow.. <sesivany> fnadged: if they have no equipment for conference calls, they can hardly do anything about it. <karenesq> fnadged: usually they are all day so two separate days <fnadged> I was under the impression that they do. <karenesq> afrankel for the adboard, around 15-20 <sesivany> let's ask xmlich02 <fnadged> sesivany: at least that was what they told me last time karen how much time for the board meeting? <karenesq> fnadged: usually it's also all day <tpopela> xmlich02, How it looks with videoconferencing equipment on uni? I don't remember it from my studies.. <fnadged> hmm, right <rtcm> tpopela: ok, can you put them in contact with robert for the contract then? <fnadged> karenesq: and during the conference days or after? <tpopela> rtcm, Ok.. <karenesq> fnadged: last year it was before <sesivany> btw a good base for organizers could be in the cloakroom which is at the entrance. That's where we should have a registration desk etc. <karenesq> I think we were going to revisit it this time what are the logistical limitations? we could schedule them accordingly <fnadged> oops, my laptop is running out of battery, might be gone in a while. <robert> tpopela: duly noted. could you just send me a short mail with what you've agreed on, so that we know what needs to be covered by the contract? <fnadged> problem solved will peak over Rui's shoulder <sesivany> karenesq: the only concern is equipment for conference calls, otherwise there shouldnt be any problem for get a meeting room for the board, there are several such rooms available. <karenesq> heh nothing like shoulder surfing! <rtcm> karenesq: I don't think there are logistical limitations, we just need to know the dates and will organize it accordingly <fnadged> karenesq: than I would suggest to do it at Red Hat, if they are okay with it <rtcm> let's move on <karenesq> rtcm: ok, I will consult the board about what the best date is for both meetings <fnadged> karenesq: much better fscilities <tpopela> robert, ok, I will send it to you tomorrow.. <karenesq> fnadged: I think that makes sense for at least the adboard meeting <xmlich02> tpopela, I am not sure what you mean by videoconferencing equipment. I think, we have nothing special for videoconferencing <afranke> karenesq, these meeting days are on conference days right? Not before GUADEC itself? <karenesq> afranke: last year they were both before <karenesq> but i think this year we might want to overlap more <afranke> Ok. <andreasn> during what days are the talks? <rtcm> xmlich02: please send the university technician cost to robert, we will tell you the final decision on which roooms we need in the next few days <tpopela> xmlich02, oh I should wrote just conferencing equipment as voice calls will be enough.. is it right karenesq ? <rtcm> andreasn: 1,2,3,4 of August ◀━━ Quits: fnadged (~florian@nat-pool-brq-t.redhat.com) (Read error: 145 (Connection timed out)) <rtcm> 31st of July is the reception in the evening <andreasn> it was good to have the adboard meeting before the conference last time, as everyone was fresh and not worn down by X days of conferencing <karenesq> tpopela: you mean instead of video too? yeah we only need voice for the meetings andreasn: but the board got really fried last time andreasn: maybe have the adboard the day before and the board meeting during? <afranke> Hmmmm, fried board in a pair of hot buns. <karenesq> andreasn: though it's nice having the board meeting before the adboard meeting hahaha <tpopela> karenesq, yes I mean this.. <xmlich02> The university have some voice call equipment. I think, there is nothing about this kind of equipment in agreement. I am not sure how difficult will be prepare meeting for video conferencing <andreasn> karenesq, yeah, being able to prepare the board a bit before the adboard meeting is nice ◀━━ Quits: tpopela (~tpopela@nat-pool-brq-t.redhat.com) (Leaving) <rtcm> xmlich02: sesivany: tpopela: let's do the meetings at RH, I'm sure it's much easier to setup can we move to the next topic? <karenesq> andreasn: we could also have the adboard on the first or second day of the conference, not overlapping with keynotes sure rtcm <sesivany> rtcm: if there are some meetings before GUADEC, the office will definitely be better option since the RH office is even closer to the dormitories than the venue. <andreasn> karenesq, sounds difficult to schedule if board or adboard members are giving talks, but yeah, maybe <rtcm> sesivany: right, and we don't have to ask the univ. to open for us for more days, etc. it's much more flexible karenesq: andreasn: so basically you guys just need to agree on a day among yourselves, don't worry, we'll find you a place <karenesq> ok, thanks rtcm! we'll take it offline from here :) <rtcm> :-) - accomodation it's all taken care of with the dorms <karenesq> great rtcm! <rtcm> they are ok with people arriving earlier or leaving later than the 31-8 conference days they don't accept payments other than with cash though i.e. everyone will pay them directly on arrival we will provide them a list of names of course <sesivany> rtcm: they will register on guadec.org, right? rtcm: we should somehow handle changes in booking, people often change their bookings. <rtcm> yes, we will ask people to file on the website if they want to stay there and with whom (if any) to share the room <robert> rtcm: just a thought about the cash payments for the dorms: wouldn't it be a bit complicated for everyone to have to exchange money before they even get to "a hotel"? isn't there a way to go around it? <vbenes> all: just a quick update on social events 1. we discussed small band for registration evening at the university 2. I prebooked Fleda (music club) for first night 3. I have sent out catering requirements to several companies, waiting for replies 4. we are still discussing the third night social evening 5. I have sent email to Karen earlier this week with estimate about the first night party I really need to leave now.. please send me questions via mail (vbenes@redhat.com) <rtcm> robert: so Florian tells me that it's not actually on arrival - payments are when people leave vbenes: cool, thank you! <sesivany> robert: another option was to collect money from them through registration on guadec.org and then pay the dormitories via wire transfer, but it's more complicated for us. ◀━━ Quits: vbenes (~Thunderbi@nat-pool-brq-t.redhat.com) (vbenes) <karenesq> thanks vbenes <sesivany> robert: altough probably more convenient for attendees <robert> sesivany: yep, that's what i'm thinking. if we're going to collect some money upon registration, why don't we include the cost of accomm. as well? <afranke> rtcm, do you mean that even if people are booking online, they'll have to pay by cash on arrival? <rtcm> right, but the person in charge at dormitories was very clear that they want to collect the money themselves, sorry <rtcm> afranke: yes <karenesq> I think it was somewhat coordinated last year, right? I seem to remember charging my accommodations when I registered <rtcm> karenesq: yes it was <sesivany> robert: the only problem I can see in that is cancellation. How are we going to refund people who cancel. It'd be complicated or it should be a registration with no refunds. <rtcm> basically the dormitories are fine with not knowing _exactly_ how many people they will host since it's summer they have plenty of free space and wouldn't have anyone else there anyway <robert> sesivany: we could put it this way: if they cancel, they'll have to bear the cost of paypal or whatever transaction (we can send money by paypal, we just can't receive it through paypal) <sesivany> rtcm: yes, I know. But convenience is what is Robert's concern and I have to agree with him. If I was going to GUADEC, I'd prefer to have accommodation already paid instead of exchanging cash in unfamiliar environment etc. <rtcm> robert: we might have to do that for other fees anyway <robert> rtcm: did you mean the the dorms won't accept a bulk payment with a list of names and dates? <rtcm> robert: yes, that's exactly it <sesivany> rtcm: don't tell me they won't. I doubt so. It's always the most preferred option for every enterprise. <rtcm> sesivany: do you want to go and speak with them again about this? <robert> rtcm: that's a bummer. that means it's all a moot point <sesivany> rtcm: I'll do. Or I can just give them a call. <rtcm> robert: we'll need to collect other fees on the website, like the registration fee (for guadec itself) sesivany: ok, please do sesivany: tell me if you want me to go with you <sesivany> rtcm: they might need some payment prior the conference to make sure they get paid, but it shouldnt be a problem for us since we collect money beforehand. <robert> sesivany: ok, just let me know when you've talked with them. if they accept, i'd go for the payment upfront. it'd be a lot more "user-friendly". and the amount of additional work for us shouldn't be that bad since we're going to handle the other online payments <rtcm> sesivany: ok, so let's take it back with them again <sesivany> guys, I've got to go. We have a presentation at Masaryk University in 30 minutes. I'll read the minutes when I get back. <rtcm> sesivany: ok, thanks - sponsorship karenesq: do you have any update here? ◀━━ Parts: sesivany (~eischmann@nat-pool-brq-t.redhat.com) <karenesq> yes, some RH is sponsoring, but not sure at what level - Leslie is checking to see if there's the money to bundle with GNOME.Asia <rtcm> robert: were you going to ask cz.nic ? <karenesq> right now it's looking like they have $15k to spend on both sponsorship and social events at GUADEC but we'll see Intel won't be able to sponsor like last year Google has confirmed sponsorship but not the level yet OIN says they'll sponsor too, but also not at which level <robert> rtcm: my colleague spoke with them, but i don't know the result yet. i'll have that for you tomorrow. <rtcm> ok, thank you both <karenesq> that's all I've got so far, we didn't get the brochure out until fairly recently <rtcm> karenesq: how will the money get to Liberix? ━━▶ Joins: pmkovar1 (~pkovar@nat-pool-brq-u.redhat.com) <rtcm> directly from sponsors or though the foundation? *through <karenesq> rtcm: last year we had the local org bill all EU based sponsors but not sure that makes sense this time <afranke> Why not? <karenesq> afranke: I was just saying that it may depend on what sponsors we get and where they are located <karenesq> there would be a benefit in doing it that way for EU countries right? Even though the Czech Republic's still got their own currency <robert> kareneqs: as long as it's a matter of a regular invoice, we can pretty much bill anybody. however, the sponsor would need to be aware of our position, which seems to me to complicate things unnecessarily ◀━━ Quits: pmkovar (~pkovar@nat-pool-brq-t.redhat.com) (Ping timeout: 600 seconds) <karenesq> has anyone approached the local IBM office for sponsorship? <rtcm> I don't think anyone has contacted the IBM office here anyone has contacts with them? robert: maybe liberix does? <robert> rtcm: we do, but i can tell you right away that they have a habit of ignoring us very cooly, so i think it would be better if someone with a @gnome address approached them <karenesq> robert: do you know why? I can talk to the US IBM office and ask them to connect me, but is there a LUG or something we can go through? that would probably be better <rtcm> robert: ok, we'll see what to do, I'll discuss with Christian tomorrow as well <robert> karenesq: i guess they think that the local market is not what they're after. <rtcm> right, there's no engineering their I think *there <karenesq> there are a lot of tech companies in Brno, right? Many are surely GNU/Linux users - I'd love to hit them all up oh I see <robert> however, i just realized that i know a linux person who's on very good terms with them. i'll try to sound it out through him. <karenesq> oh cool robert! <rtcm> ok, cool any other questions there? <xmlich02> karenesq, have you some template email for sponsors? <karenesq> xmlich02: no, I've been writing them all pretty closely tailored to who they are and how I know them <rtcm> robert: oh, so you'd prefer that sponsors send the money to the foundation and then the foundation to you? <xmlich02> I can try to contact some smaller companies <karenesq> xmlich02: that would be awesome now that we have the lower levels of sponsorship it may seem more accessible to smaller companies xmlich02: I can help you write one if you want though :) or you can mail me a draft and I'd be happy to edit it <rtcm> it will probably be in czech :-) but yeah, a translation <karenesq> oh right! <rtcm> xmlich02: thanks for doing that ✽ karenesq keeps forgetting <karenesq> yeah xmlich02, that's awesome <robert> rtcm: it seems easier to me. a far as the invoicing is concerned, it's not a big burden for us, but i think the payments would arrive faster if it was the gnome found. who was asking, rather than some obscure czech outfit <rtcm> robert: yeah, I don't know <karenesq> robert: well, I don't think it was an obstacle last year to have the local entity invoice companies paid pretty promptly <xmlich02> is there some web page with general info for sponsors? E.g. level of sponsorship, what they can get for it <rtcm> xmlich02: there's the sponsorship brochure, I think karenesq has the definitive version but I also have a copy <robert> karenesq: ok, then it's fine. you just let us know whom to bill and when, and we'll take care of it. <karenesq> rtcm: can we put the final copy up on the website? ok, thanks robert <rtcm> karenesq: I think so <karenesq> cool, rtcm <andreasn> sounds doable <rtcm> ok <karenesq> awesome <rtcm> ok, last topic - keynotes there are invites in flight karenesq: you probably don't have any replies yet? Ryan Gordon isn't available in august unfortunately but he'd be interested in doing it next year <karenesq> rtcm: no responses yet <rtcm> afranke: ^ ;-) <rtcm> that's the current status ok <afranke> I read that on the list. On behalf of the team organising next year, I have to say I'm very happy to read that. :) <rtcm> I think we are done for today's meeting someone else has any question? topic? <karenesq> afranke: there are things we can probably do to get started on next year that will make things easier afranke: like we could start on the sponsorship brochure already <karenesq> I'd love to get it out in November instead of April :) <karenesq> afranke: and also invite those keynoters we need more time for <xmlich02> karenesq, rtcm, please send me an url to final version of sponsorship by email. imlich@fit.vutbr.cz <karenesq> thanks rtcm for running the meeting xmlich02: I just have it by email, I'll forward it to you <rtcm> ok, thanks everyone <robert> karenesq, rtcm: please, send me the final brochure as well <rtcm> see you next week <afranke> karenesq, that would be great. <karenesq> sent xmlich02 <rtcm> robert: we can chat about the payment system a bit more <karenesq> cool afranke <robert> rtcm: ok <rtcm> robert: if you have some time now <afranke> karenesq, is the brochure for this year available somewhere? <karenesq> afranke: I have it by email, I can send it to you. we were just talking earlier about adding it to the website too, which hopefully will be soon <afranke> An email would be nice, thanks. <karenesq> afranke: ok, sent! <rtcm> robert: so, I suppose you have experience with this system? <afranke> karenesq, thank you. <rtcm> robert: I mean gopay.cz <robert> well, we use in our eshop. it's pretty straightforward. we haven't tried it in WP, obviously, but i should be getting the plugin soon for testing <rtcm> robert: ok, just one thing (which you might not know :-) robert: for paypal and amazon at least they don't really need plugins or the like you can just copy/paste a bit of html/js as far as I understand at least :-) so how does it work with this plugin? <robert> yeah, but they require you to open an account with them, right? in my experience, that was always the hardest part. <afranke> I don't think a WP plugin is any more complicated than that. It just avoids you the hassle of editing the templates yourself to copy/paste the code. <rtcm> robert: right, and in this case you already have the account so it's much easier <robert> i don't know how the plugin works. it's supposed to integrate seamlessly with WP, but i'll know more tomorrow or the day after when i've had a chance to try it out. of course, we won't go for it unless it works without a hitch <rtcm> cool cool robert: is it easy then to do the accounting with gopay's service? who paid what, etc? <robert> yep, very streamlined. they are specializing inonline checkouts etc. so it's easy <rtcm> awesome robert: ok, let us know mroe when you get access to the plugin <robert> will do <rtcm> I'm not sure how we'll pay for it yet <robert> th fee is rather small, so we can pay for it and then make it even when some money arrives <rtcm> robert: yeah, we're ok with the fee, so if that's fine for you, thanks <afranke> They're a Czech company, right? <rtcm> afranke: yes, gopay.cz ✽ afranke is wondering if this would be only used for this year or if it can be a long term solution. <robert> well, it only seems to me to make sense when the evbent is in the czech rep. <afranke> Ok. ━━▶ Joins: yippi (~yippi___@inet-rmmc08-o.oracle.com) <robert> so, unless there's anything else, i'll be going ✽ afranke has nothing more for now. <afranke> Next meeting next week? <rtcm> robert: see you <rtcm> afranke: yes, unless we change our minds :-) <robert> ok, see you next week <afranke> (That's a bank holiday in France) ◀━━ Parts: robert (~rkr@ip-94-112-118-88.net.upcbroadband.cz) <rtcm> we'll post on the ML ❨❢❩ afranke has changed the topic to: Next meeting 1st of May, 14:30 UTC in #guadec (here) ◀━━ Quits: pmkovar1 (~pkovar@nat-pool-brq-u.redhat.com) (Read error: 145 (Connection timed out)) ━━▶ Joins: pmkovar (~pkovar@nat-pool-brq-t.redhat.com) <andre> but May 1st is a holiday! :) andre andreasn <afranke> andre, ah, so it's not just me! :) <andre> in CZ it is. Plus 8th of May too. <rtcm> andre: oh good point! ◀━━ Quits: pmkovar (~pkovar@nat-pool-brq-t.redhat.com) (Ping timeout: 600 seconds) <afranke> Shall we move it to the day after?