DN566208347

Subject: More about Open Source Convention - DN [1]

welch@scriptics.com - 29 Dec 1999 - comp.lang.tcl

 Here is more information about the O'Reilly Open Source Convention.
 Remember, we are looking for feedback about participation and
 volunteers to help organize.

 ************************************
 Convention dates and location
 ************************************
 The O'Reilly Open Source Software Convention (OSCON) will be held at
 July
 17-20, 2000 at the Monterey Conference Center and the adjoining Marriott
 and DoubleTree hotels. We expect near 1900 attendees (paid and
 complimentary).

 ************************************
 Convention track structure
 ************************************
 OSCON will feature 13 concurrent tracks broken out in this structure:
 * The Perl Conference 4.0, 5 tracks, maximum # of tutorials--20
 * Linux, 2 tracks, maximum # of tutorials--8
 * Apache, 2 tracks, maximum # of tutorials--8
 * Python, 1 track, maximum # of tutorials--4
 * Business, 1 track, maximum # of tutorials--4
 * Sendmail, 1 track, maximum # of tutorials--4
 * Tcl/Tk, 1 track, maximum # of tutorials--4

 We have confirmation from all the communities except Sendmail and Tcl/Tk
 of
 their participation. As rooms for the Convention are spread between
 three
 venues, there is some physical separation between the rooms for the
 tracks.
 I will be working with each of you to get the best match between your
 track's location and other tracks that may be closely related.

 The maximum number of tutorials shows how many half day tutorial
 sessions
 you could schedule in the space allotted your track. If you choose to
 offer
 full-day tutorials, this number drops of course.

 ************************************
 Convention daily schedule
 ************************************
 Tutorial days (Monday & Tuesday July 17 & 18)
 AM Tutorials
 8:45 begin
 12:15 end

 PM Tutorials
 1:45 begin
 5:15 end

 Conference days (Wednesday & Thursday July 19 & 20)
 8:45 AM to 10:15, plenary session all tracks
 10:15 to 10:45, break
 10:45 to 12:15 PM, morning track session
 12:15 to 1:45 PM, lunch (provided)
 1:45 to 3:15, first afternoon session
 3:15 to 3:45, break
 3:45 to 5:15, second afternoon session

 Note that there will be keynote talks scheduled on both days during the
 plenary sessions. Within the 90 minute track session blocks, you are
 free
 to schedule talks of 30, 45, 60, or 90 minutes in any combination that
 equals 90 total minutes.

 ************************************
 Deadlines
 ************************************
 Clip this section and post it! It is perhaps the most important of this
 e-mail.

 1-3-00: Program chairs announce call for papers in appropriate
 newsgroups
 and forums.

 2-1-00: Presenter proposals due (see call for proposals below)

 3-1-00: Programs are due to O'Reilly. This means by this date we have
 confirmed all speakers, established a schedule, received talk and
 tutorial
 descriptions, speaker bios, and speaker contact information. This
 information will be used to create the web pages and main brochure for
 the
 event. In the Perl Conference, where we have a user paper track, we do
 not
 expect to have the papers selected in time for inclusion in the print
 materials.

 3-1-00: Acceptances/rejections of proposals due out.

 5-1-00: Tutorial presentations due to O'Reilly for preparation and
 printing.

 6-1-00: Speaker presentations due to O'Reilly for set-up on A/V and
 inclusion on the conference CD-ROM.

 ************************************
 Call for proposals
 ************************************
 To help collect potential presentations for the event, we will issue a
 general call for proposals for the Convention (see
 http://conferences.ora.com). The Perl Conference has a separate call to
 allow for submission of refereed papers. Proposals we receive from the
 calls will have acknowledgement automatically sent from O'Reilly and
 then
 will be forwarded to the appropriate chairs and whoever else you
 designate.
 The call is very specific about the format of acceptable submissions,
 this
 is to allow us to process a large volume of proposals in a short time.

 ************************************
 Coordination between tracks
 ************************************
 Another important piece of feedback we received last year was to improve
 the process of scheduling the conference and coordinating content
 between
 tracks. To help accomplish this end, we have developed a database system
 for scheduling talks, maintaining speaker information, and managing the
 conference. Our goal is to be able to publish preliminary schedules to a
 private web site for program chairs from this database. If we are not
 able
 to complete this in time for the Convention, we will send you tab
 delimited
 files with the conference schedule on a regular basis. This will help us
 optimize the slotting of talks--particularly where they may be more
 appropriate in another track. This happened frequently last year with
 talks
 that might have best appeared in the business track.

 This year we are also attempting to create a subtle theme throughout the
 Convention around enabling high-performance, high-security e-commerce
 with
 open source tools. While no single application or theme crosses all the
 open source technologies, we ask that you consider how this focus could
 be
 included in your track.

 ************************************
 BOFs, the Expo, and evening events
 ************************************
 We will offer BOF sessions on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights.
 These
 sessions can be pre-scheduled on the web or spontaneously scheduled at
 the
 event. BOF sessions are often a good place to put talks or subjects that
 you feel did not belong in the main sessions, but should be at the
 event.
 We will slot two BOF sessions per room per night. Vee McMillen will
 coordinate the BOF program logistics (mailto:vee@oreilly.com).

 The Convention will also have an expo hall. Some attendees felt that
 last
 year's hall should have been bigger and while we expect it to have more
 vendors, our goal is not to turn the Convention into a trade show. If
 you
 know of some companies that you are interested in seeing at the
 Convention,
 please let Sadonna Cody, our sales and marketing manager, know
 (mailto:sadonna@oreilly.com). We will also offer space on a
 complimentary
 basis to a variety of user and non-profit groups, again any suggestions
 you
 have for these spaces should go to Sadonna.

 Evening events are slated for Tuesday and Wednesday night. Details on
 these
 will be forwarded as they are available.

 ************************************
 Planning steps
 ************************************
 Where to from here? Here is a list of tasks that we need to work through
 together with rough due dates. In all cases please direct planning
 questions and submit schedules and talk details to me.
 1) ASAP: Assemble your program committee. Not every track will use a
 program committee, but if you wish to involve others in the planning
 process, they need to be invited immediately.
 2) Jan 17: Put together a schedule of tutorial programs for your track.
 It
 is important to get this started now while proposals are coming in.
 Ideally
 we will have most of the tutorial program finished in early February.
 Also
 assemble a sketch of the desired talks for your tracks and who you would
 like to present. This is the basis for the next step.
 3) Early January: Contact and invite speakers you know you would like to
 present. If you are considering a track 'keynote', the speaker for this
 should be the first priority as often their schedules are the most
 difficult. In general we encourage you to have track keynotes, as they
 help
 set the tone for the track. For many tracks, almost the entire program
 will
 be invited speakers, so starting now is key.
 4) Feb. 1: Review all submitted proposals. You may be surprised at what
 you
 find here, many outstanding technical topics and presenters turn up.
 5) Feb. 4: Create a tentative program structure and send it in. This
 should
 be repeated several times this month.
 6) March 1: Submit the 'final' program. This is the program that will
 end
 up being printed in attendee materials, but we fully expect that content
 for the Convention will continue to evolve  past this date. Changes
 after
 this date, however, will appear only on the Convention web site and in
 the
 attendee program handed out at the event. We will need the same
 information
 identified in the call for papers from you for tutorials and talks in
 the
 schedule that do not come in through the proposal process.
 7) March-July: Coordinate with us around any changes to the program,
 speakers, or other important information. Let us know as soon as you
 know
 of any changes, additions, etc. Also help us promote the conference with
 postings to your community's newsgroups and handing out programs where
 appropriate.
 8) June 5: Last date for program changes to be included in the attendee
 program.

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