From: Evan David Light <evan@...>
Date: 2008-07-14T04:22:45+09:00
Subject: Ruby DCamp - a Ruby unconference to be held in DC

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All,

	A few words from Chad Fowler, at the beginning of RailsConf, set =
my =20
head spinning.  Chad said, "I don't do well in classroom =20
environments".  Ironically, the conventional Ruby conference seems to =20=

adhere closely to a college lecture model.

	Self, I thought, it's time to change that.

	After several small discussions with people far and near, I =
wrote a =20
blog post.  Out of that blog post grew a confidence that I was onto =20
something.

	That something was this: Let's take this whole "conference =
thing" and =20
turn it upside down.

	Yes, a Ruby unconference -- but not exactly a BarCamp (or so I'm =
told).

	BarCamps, as I understand it, tend to have presentations.  This =20=

assumes that the person at the head of the room is going to impart =20
some special knowledge upon you (ala the traditional conference model) =20=

that you are willing to sit on your bum and listen to for 45 minutes.

	In my naivet=E9, I hold to the belief that most of us in the =
Ruby =20
community, early adopters that we still are, all have something to =20
contribute.

	With Ruby DCamp the 'm' is an afterthought.  Think "Decap" as in =
=20
"removing the head" -- or the talking heads in this case.  This =20
unconference is about YOU and not some yutz with a Keynote =20
presentation at the head of the room.  YOU decide the topics of =20
DCamp.  YOU make the discussion/hackfest/whatever-the-format-of-the-=20
session happen.  Yes, we may have a "facilitator" in each room to =20
ensure that no one person monopolizes the whole conversation.  Also, =20
for those introverts who prefer to talk on IRC instead of exhalation =20
of breath modulated by tongue, teeth, and lips into sound, we've =20
discussed placing a projector/display in each room to display the IRC =20=

chatter for each session's IRC channel so that even the peanut gallery =20=

can be involved (if they so choose).

	So far, all that has been decided is that October seems like a =
good =20
target, that we should find a location that is metro accessible to =20
facilitate attendance by DC locals and out-of-towners staying near a =20
metro, that "we" (those people that I've spoken with) believe that a =20
two day unconference on a Saturday and Sunday sounds good, and that =20
the content of DCamp will be decided by registered attendees by =20
submitting and voting on activities (topical discussion, topical panel =20=

discussion, some focused hackfest, etc., YOU ALL CHOOSE) to a Reddit-=20
like site (TBD), and that we should have a "hallway" like space ala =20
RailsConf where people who want to just do their thing can, as always, =20=

just do their thing.

	Sponsors are welcome.  We are actively pursuing a venue as well. =
 =20
Notionally, the current ideal space would be four-ish contiguous =20
classroom-like spaces that may be easily reconfigured (removable walls =20=

would be sweet).  GWU may be able to offer up a space but it is a =20
single room, a bit small-ish, and there is no cellphone signal in the =20=

room to speak of (perhaps not a bad thing).  This could be a workable =20=

backup plan.

	Those who wish to help organize, make suggestions/provide input, =
or =20
can point us at resources should subscribe to and chat on =
ruby-dcamp@googlegroups.org=20
  (http://groups.google.com/group/ruby-dcamp).

	Hope to see you on the mailing list and at Ruby DCamp.

Evan Light
Ruby DCamp 'Curator'


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