Re: Contributor Summit planning

[Derrick Stolee <stolee@gmail.com>]

On 8/13/2018 12:31 PM, Jeff King wrote:
> For the past several years, we've held a Git Contributor Summit as part
> of the Git Merge conference. I'd like to get opinions from the community
> to help plan future installments. Any feedback or opinion is welcome,
> but some obvious things to think about:
>
>    - where, when, and how often?
>
>      Plans are shaping up to have Git Merge 2019 in Brussels right after
>      FOSDEM in February (like it was two years ago), with a contributor
>      summit attached.
>
>      Are there people who would be more likely to attend a contributor
>      summit if it were held elsewhere (e.g., in North America, probably
>      in the Bay Area)? Are people interested in attending a separate
>      contributor summit not attached to the larger Git Merge (and if so,
>      is there any other event it might be worth connecting it with,
>      time-wise)?  Are people interested in going to two summits in a year
>      (e.g., Brussels in February, and then maybe some in North America
>      later in the year), or is that diminishing returns?

I've only been to one contributor summit, but found it extremely useful 
in meeting community members face-to-face. I think the time spent was 
very productive.

I would be up for two meetings a year. I would expect that the variety 
of locations would allow a larger set of contributors to make at least 
one meeting a year. This may come at a cost of a smaller group in each 
summit.

>
>    - format
>
>      For those who haven't attended before, it's basically 25-ish Git
>      (and associated project) developers sitting in a room for a day
>      chatting about the project. Topics go on a whiteboard in the
>      morning, and then we discuss each for 30-60 minutes.
>
>      We could do multiple days (which might give more room for actually
>      working collaboratively instead of just discussing). We could do
>      something more formal (like actual talks). We could do something
>      less formal (like an all-day spaghetti buffet, where conversation
>      happens only between mouthfuls). The sky is the limit. Some of those
>      ideas may be better than others.

The one thing I found missing that could be good is to have a remote 
option. Not everyone can travel or can afford to do so. I wonder if a 
simple Google Hangout could allow more participation from the community, 
even in a passive sense (those still at their day jobs listening in). It 
could even facilitate remote presenters, if applicable.

> I hope this can stimulate a discussion on the list, but of course if
> anybody has private feedback about past events or future planning, feel
> free to email me off-list.

Thanks for starting the discussion early!

-Stolee