Re: [eclipsecon-na-program-committee] better BoFs at ECon

[Anne Jacko <anne.jacko@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Ian B et al,

Rather than *complete* self-organizing for the dinner BoFs, here's a couple of plans.

Plan A (minimum): We (we = conference staff) provide a list of nearby restaurants, including location, directions, type of food, relative price, links, etc. and ask the BoF organizers to arrange a reservation for their group.

Plan B: We develop a list of restaurants, and ask each restaurant how many groups, and of what size, they are willing to have on a particular night. Then we would pre-book tables. There would be a deadline for dinner BoF signups. After the deadline, we confirm with the restaurants and provide the BoF organizer's name and contact info for each reservation.

Plan B is a lot of work, and its success depends on our staff resources and the restaurants being cooperative, so we can't promise this now.

Burlingame has a good supply of various types of restaurants. Check out this interactive map: http://map.burlingamedowntown.org/

Anne Jacko

Eclipse Foundation

503-784-3788 (cell)

On Oct 7, 2013, at 2:35 PM, Ian Bull wrote:

I agree with everyone on the lunch situation.

The dinner BoF is interesting. However, if we do this then we must ensure that these events feel inclusive. Even after attending 7 EclipseCons, I still find 'tagging along for dinner' a little socially awkward. Maybe a dinner BoF will help with this? Anne, while obviously the attendees are expected to self-organize the BoFs, would it be possible to suggest some reasonably priced restaurants for them to host the BoF at? Another consideration is the size. 30 people showing up at a restaurant is probably not ideal.

As for the late night BoFs, I agree with everyone else, once people leave, it's very hard to get them back and a 9:30 BoF is much too late.

Cheers,

Ian

On Mon, Oct 7, 2013 at 2:00 PM, Shawn Pearce <sop@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

+1 for an early BoF before dinner. The Boston EclipseCon BoF schedule
just didn't work, for the reasons already mentioned about folks
leaving for dinner and not coming back.

Also +1 for leaving lunch alone. As John and Gunnar stated, lunch is a
good time to break from the conference and socialize. I would hate
attending a BoF with a boxed lunch.

On Mon, Oct 7, 2013 at 1:52 PM, Gunnar Wagenknecht
<gunnar@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I like the idea of having dinner BoFs and will definitely organize one by
> myself! For me, the late BoFs never worked out. I just couldn't contribute
> to a BoF after 8pm anymore. Thus, I'd prefer the earlier option (6:30pm)
> maybe in combination with the dinner BoFs.
>
> I also agree with John's comment about lunch BoFs. I'd like to have a break.
> The EclipseCon lunch really is special and a good way to socialize. I've
> re-learned that this year at JavaOne again. They only had lunch boxes and it
> wasn't really a relaxin/good experience (IMHO).
>
> -Gunnar
>
>
> Am 07.10.2013 um 21:49 schrieb Anne Jacko <anne.jacko@xxxxxxxxxxx>:
>
> Hi all,
>
> We would like to change how we are scheduling BoFs to make the experience
> better for attendees. Ian S and discussed some ideas, and we'd like your
> feedback.
>
> We would also like to hear your ideas, since all of you organize and attend
> BoFs.
>
> Before 2012, most attendees ate dinner at a conference reception and then
> went straight to a BoF. That seemed to work well. But we no longer include a
> full dinner at the receptions, so most attendees try to fit in a reception,
> then dinner, and then BoFs, and it's not working well.
>
> Going back to providing dinner isn't an option (for this year) since the
> lower attendee prices won't cover it. There are lots of dinner options in
> Burlingame, but attendees would need at least two hours to get into
> Burlingame, eat, and get back to the hotel.
>
> Some suggestions -- and we could do a mix of these:
> - have one hour of BoFs, starting late (~9pm)
> - have one hour of BoFs, starting early (~6:30pm)
> - have box lunches, and offer BoFs during lunchtime
> - have attendees self-organize into "dinner BoFs" where they sign up on a
> wiki to be part of a group that is meeting for dinner at a local restaurant
>
> BTW, we don't think transportation from the hotel to Burlingame is a hurdle.
> It's a short drive, and we could provide chartered buses to loop between the
> hotel and downtown Burlingame between 7 and 11pm.
>
> So please discuss on this list!
>
> Thanks,
> Anne
>
> Anne Jacko
> Eclipse Foundation
> 503-784-3788 (cell)
>
>
> <eclipsecon logo 100px x 100px round 1.jpg>
>
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>
> --
> Gunnar Wagenknecht
> gunnar@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
>
>
>
>
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--
R. Ian Bull | EclipseSource Victoria | +1 250 477 7484
http://eclipsesource.com | http://twitter.com/eclipsesource

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