Hey folks,
Since I'm the guy that actually named the QA hackathon originally, I'll take
the liberty to share my thoughts on the matter. I hope You don't mind. :)
"The Perl QA Hackathon" was originally named after the IRC channel: "The
#perl-qa hackathon". If you guys want to change the name (which I think you
are completely entitled to do, and probably is a good idea), maybe it's worth
considering the IRC channel roots of the name?
In any case, I'd like to offer "The Perl QA Summit" as an alterntive to
consider. Sure, the "hackathon" term has changed it's meaning over the years,
but I've always liked the Perl community's take on it much more than the
prize-infused hacking competitions that others mean when they use the word.
As for "QA", I'm still a fan of the term, since I've always hoped that the
gathering could be a place for gathering anyone who cares about any part of
the Perl ecosystem – not just "toolchain" or "infrastructure" but also how the
Perl community interfaces with other communities.
And as for "Summit". Yes. That's a wonderful term, and spot on for this event.
Hm.... <thinking_aloud>"Perl Ecosystem Summit"</thinking_aloud>...
Well, good luck figuring out this topic! Wish I could join you in Rugby, and
I'm looking forward to hear where this discussion goes, and where the 10th
anniversiary will be next year. (On that note, would you guys be interested in
seeing a QAH in Oslo again?)
'nuff rambling for now. I whish you the best for the hackathon. :)
- Salve
Neil Bowers said:
I’ve added a topic to the wiki page for “topics for discussion” at the QAH:
Should we rename this event?
Eg to “Perl QA Workshop”, or something like that.
There’s a well-established definition for “hackathon” these days, and the
QAH is not one of those. As a result when talking to potential sponsors, we
have to be careful to define what the event is, how it works, and the
attitude towards the output(s). I’ve had plenty of discussions explaining
“no, not that kind of hackathon”.
Ie people who aren’t already familiar with the QAH hear “4-day … hackathon”
and think something along the lines of:
So you’re going to get together and lash things up in a frenzy,
in teams competing against each other.
Uh, no.
Producing the number of sponsors we have requires contacting an awful lot
more companies and organisations, and I wonder how many of them skim it and
think:
So they want some money to get together for a hackathon?
We don’t support hackathons.
And then don’t bother replying. Or just reply with a “no”, which obviously
we have to respect.
On the flip side, it’s an established name, which is being held for the 9th
time this year.
I’m not saying “we must change the name!", but think we should consider it.
Neil
--
#!/usr/bin/env perl
sub AUTOLOAD{$AUTOLOAD=~/.*::(\d+)/;seek(DATA,$1,0);print# Salve Joshua Nilsen
getc DATA}$"="'};&{'";@_=unpack("C*",unpack("u*",':50,$'.# <s...@foo.no>
'3!=0"59,6!`%%P\0!1)46%!F.Q`%01,`'."\n"));eval "&{'@_'}"; __END__ is near! :)
