The Wikimania system virtually assures that each event will be organized by first-time amateurs; hopefully Wikimanians will continue to keep that in mind and be sympathetic, as always, to the work of volunteers -- particularly since the end product is, by and large, quite good.
Nathan On Sun, Jun 10, 2012 at 3:52 AM, WereSpielChequers < [email protected]> wrote: > Visa problems seem to be a recurring theme at Wikimanias and indeed other > international events that we run. Of course sometimes it will be members of > the community underestimating how long things will take or leaving things > to the last minute. I had visa problems going to the WikiConference India > in 2011, our team on that one were amazingly helpful and rescued me from my > tardiness. But other times I fear that it is the organisers who have > underestimated how early we need to do things in order for everyone to > participate. > > When it comes to dates when we announce events, send out letters of > invitation, have accommodation bookable and registration systems in place, > the date should be early enough to allow for Wikimedians anywhere to get a > visa (and not just if they apply on the day that registration opens and > nothing slips by as much as 24 hours). My suspicion is that some events > have been organised on the basis that >95% of potential attendees will be > fine. But when it comes to making our international events international we > should be aiming for 100%. That means performing a critical path analysis > and scheduling things so that anyone who possibly could come will have time > to get a visa, with contingency time for things going wrong, and for > additional processes as some attendees will need time to book leave or seek > grants. > > > Regards > > WSC >
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