On Mon, Aug 27, 2018 at 03:22:39PM +0200, Johannes Schindelin wrote: > Having said that, I believe that we core contributors can learn to have a > fruitful online meeting. With 30+ participants, too. > > Learning from my past life in academia (it is hard for me to imagine a > less disciplined crowd than a bunch of white, male, old scientists), we > would need a moderator, and some forum that allows to "give somebody the > mic". That software/platform should exist somewhere. Yes, I agree that software tools could help a lot with a crowd that size. I have used various "virtual classroom" tools before, and I think the core of the idea is there, but I was often unimpressed by the execution (and expense). So if you know of a good tool, it might be worth trying. > I would love to have the best of both worlds. For example, it is an annual > annoyance that we are discussion all kinds of things regarding Git, trying > to steer the direction, to form collaborations on certain features, and > the person at the helm is not even there. > > Maybe *two* meetings per year, one attached to GitMerge, and one purely > online, would help. I'm somewhat skeptical of the utility of an online meeting. That said, I'm willing give it a try (or any other scheme people want to come up with, for that matter). > Point in favor of the pure-online meeting: the informal standup on IRC > every second Friday. I really try to attend it (it is a bit awkward > because it is on a Friday evening in my timezone, right at the time when I > want to unwind from the work week), as it does have a similar effect to > in-person standups: surprising collaborations spring up, unexpected help, > and a general sense of belonging. Yes, I've been meaning to make it to another one (I popped in for one a month or two ago, and it didn't seem like much of anything was happening). What time is it, again? > Such an online summit as I suggested above would really only work if > enough frequent contributors would attend. If enough people like you, > Junio, and the standup regulars would say: yep, we're willing to plan and > attend an online summit, where we try to have a timezone-friendly > "unconference"-style meeting on one day (on which we would of course try > to free ourselves from our regular work obligations). > > I guess I am asking for a "raise your hands", with mine high up in the > air. I'll come if you want to organize it. -Peff
