Hi Gunnar (2022.09.09_23:02:56_+0000) > Jonathan Carter (highvoltage) dijo [Fri, Aug 12, 2022 at 06:57:05PM +0200]: > > * swag - this is up by 50%, what happened here, did something end up more > > expensive than expected? > > FWIW, we have been adding "traditions" and expectations to DebConf, > and I don't think we should be expected to keep them all always.
Yeah, I worry that DebConf is continually growing in scope. We have seen some reductions (like skipping Debian Day), but on the whole we just keep building in complexity. > I think a barbeque should only be held if we end up having a bit extra > income. Of course, it has to be organized for some time before the > conf actually happens... That is tricky, we really only have a handle on final sponsorship income a month out. But it could be something we do in the first budget expansion early on (together with the usual bursary bump). > people (in feedback@dc.o) didn't get the notice -- is it an official > activity or not? If it is official, it should be part of the > conference's scheduling... It was on the website since April: https://salsa.debian.org/debconf-team/public/websites/dc22/-/merge_requests/28 On the important-dates page, which is the only page that has any schedule at that stage of planning. But yeah, people clearly missed it. > And about the swag: We don't need to match or up last year's swag. We > have received _incredibly beautiful and useful_ swag (DC16 bags ♥), > butwe could perfectly do without. Will swag be so much cheaper in > India? It could even be _less things_. We could even set up swag==0. I > don't think last year's swag should match this year's... and most > probably, I think swag cannot be decided a year in advance. Probably > we will want to give a typical _thing_ of the hosting country; we have > to contact manufacturers/artisans and get their quotes based on > specific designs. What happens if we don't give bags at all? Well, no > big deal. I think the approach to swag should be simple: 1. Reusable containers etc. to reduce our impact: e.g. we've had coffee cups, beer cups, cutlery, and water bottles in the past. This only works if: 1. These are available from DebCamp day -1. 2. The caterers are onboard. 3. They can be washed and dried everywhere that they're needed. 2. A (simple?) bag to contain whatever sponsors want to provide. 3. Our conference shirts. Sadly for the environment, sponsors almost always want to hand out pamphlets and some toys. We support our sponsors so we help them with that. Ideally we'd encourage them to help us to provide only practical things (like reusable containers), but in practice they are probably too distant from us to collaborate closely on all our needs. So... I think we should generally budget for minimal swag: just the conference shirts and a basic bag. Then if we can find some reusable things that make sense, add them to the budget (possibly in a later budget expansion). SR -- Stefano Rivera http://tumbleweed.org.za/ +1 415 683 3272