Reply in-line :- On 10/09/2018, Sicelo <absi...@gmail.com> wrote: > I would like to add my humble point of view on this issue ... > > Background: first time attendee & speaker at DebConf16 >
I went through the same situation myself in Debconf16 . When I had given my proposal for the talk I wasn't prepared it to be the first talk to Debconf and that too close to lunch-time in. My talk was geared mostly towards people who were just beginning to get into FOSS and would have been more to the motivational side of things, but when faced with experienced DD's changed the talk to something they probably hadn't known about, how India experienced Internet and vice-versa which was a very different topic then what I had prepared. I did say as much in the beginning as well as there was no point in denying the truth. This was in a hugeish auditorium as well. I felt very much like a fraudster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome which when talking with people especially those who were new at giving talks at Debconf also felt the same thing. I dunno whether it would be a good idea or not but I feel it might be better if the first few talks are given by Debconf regulars and then newbies are given in. I did make slides after the 'talk' but was absolutely petrified of Q&A because - a. I am a bit hard of hearing (90% deaf in left ear and some loss of hearing on the right ear as well.) b. I was afraid of the accents and fast-talk of some people while other people whose first language was not English were easier to understand as they took time to organize and deliver their questions not just in Q&A but also afterwards. That made for some more rewarding experiences for me personally. One idea or suggestion (probably unworkable though, I dunno) might be to have a community kitchen, woodworking, singing, drum/djembe workshops etc. during Debconf some activity besides the wine & cheese activity would be a good idea to get to know the community in a non-threatening manner. I have been lucky enough to be able to attend sessions such as the ones outlined above and fount it to be more participative as well. Personally it would have been nice if there was a vegetarian cooking scene in Debconf 2016 so we could get ingredients for a recipe/s and do the slicing and cooking therein. I hope something like that could be done for the 2019 debconf. I do understand the constraints of having 200+ people doing any one activity but if small groups were there it would have more feel of a community as well. <snipped> > > Just my two cents > Sicelo > -- Regards, Shirish Agarwal शिरीष अग्रवाल My quotes in this email licensed under CC 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ http://flossexperiences.wordpress.com EB80 462B 08E1 A0DE A73A 2C2F 9F3D C7A4 E1C4 D2D8
