[wsfii-discuss] a clear public outline for the 1-2 weekend

Sat Aug 27 13:22:36 UTC 2005

Jo Walsh wrote:
> hello,
> 
> I had a very interesting talk with Laura Forlano of nycwireless over
> lunch. Of all the points that came up, this one is the most pressing:
> There needs to be a clear, public outline of what sessions are
> happening over the weekend; otherwise, potential registrants won't
> understand what the 'main conference' experience will look like or how
> they can relate to it. I started to make:
> 
> http://okfn.org/wsfii/wiki/WsfiiWeekend

Completely agree and this is very useful. In fact since posting draft of 
the wsfii announcement this has been nagging at me and I had started a 
simple programme.html. For time being lets draft it on the wiki as you 
have done and we can link from announcement (also do we want rename to 
WsfiiProgramme or similar?).

> I gleaned this from:
> http://okfn.org/wsfii/wiki/WsfiiSchedule  
> http://okfn.org/wsfii/wiki/WsfiiProposedStreams
>  
> This states now: 6 streams, two of which (freenetworks, geodata) get
> two sessions each. I *don't* mean this to be a definitive or
> prescriptive statement; it just reflects what is on the wiki now.

Looking at the page there seem to be 7 but i think FreeCulture may not 
be a full session but rather will be the FreeCulture UK congress and a 
loose stand-up-and-talk thing. I think we also might want to switch 
CivicInfo to sunday but not too sure.

> If you think the balance is wrong, or something you really think
> should be represented during the weekend that is not listed on 
> http://okfn.org/wsfii/wiki/WsfiiWeekend , please change the page and
> talk about those changes on this list.

I think this is now pretty stable but any late additions are welcome but 
should be made asap.

> I wanted to guzzle two sessions for geodata, because there are two
> 'streams' within the topic; 
> 
> 1/ creating free-of-copyright maps and wiki-nature spatial information
> 2/ gaining access to state-collected geodata and what is to be done with it
>    once it is open
> 
> The second topic meshes closely with the CivicInformation stream;
> so much so, that when thinking of prospective presentists, i found
> that Rufus had already asked two of the three people i first thought of. 
> But i really want to offer a platform to all the people now on that list.
> There are a good few TBC slots; and 3*20 can easily fit into 4*15 where
> appropriate. 
> 
> Reflections that all this prompts:
> 
> - There's a lot of 'blur' between the streams. Where there isn't
>   visible blur, it might be appropriate to encourage more.
> 
> - The outline i have made at http://okfn.org/wsfii/wiki/WsfiiWeekend 
>   is Wrong in this context; it emphasises 'clean' topics rather than
>   people and contexts.

Sure but we do need to plan sessions and none of the categories will 
ever be strictly enforced so i don't think we need to worry

> - One session can and ideally should flow topically into the next

Yes and for example i think civic info and geodata should be on the same 
day while Wireless + Hardware should be on the same day for that reason.

> - No arbitrary 'geek'/'non-geek' divisions that encourage people to
>   think, "oh, the morning/afternoon doesn't look pertinent to me, i'll
>   skip it" which are the bane of my conference-attending life.

We can do our best but selection is human nature ;)