[nycbug-talk] last night's meeting

[George Rosamond]

George Neville-Neil:
> 
> On Aug 8, 2013, at 15:33 , George Rosamond <george at ceetonetechnology.com> wrote:
> 
>> I'm going to dump things into this email that should be separate.. I
>> know, I know.  So please don't do any heavy snipping and comment inline.
>>
>> First, for those who were there last night, I really should have talked
>> more about the cross-pollination role we can and have played.  I think
>> it's vital and we've managed to create a physical and mailing list space
>> for that to happen.  Not to mention the eadler and bcallah show on IRC :)
>>
>> Second, we have an offer from Scale Engine to stream our meetings.
>> Can't see why this wouldn't be a good thing.  Any feedback welcome on it
>> though.  Nikolai should post numbers on the audio downloads, and it
>> would be interesting to see what the streaming could become.  Our main
>> man Patrick will be the point person on this.
>>
>> Finally, the con.  We get regular pings about this.  Admin@,
>> individually, etc.  Attendees, past and potential sponsors.  But cons
>> take a lot of effort, way more than most people can imagine.  It becomes
>> a second fulltime job for a few people, and it is physically exhaustive,
>> not to mention a complete disruption on a lot of people's lives.
>>
>> Nonetheless, our cons are tremendously successful, often make money for
>> the BSD projects, and becomes a unique event in terms of various
>> projects interacting.  And it is well-acclaimed and complimented way
>> beyond NYC.
>>
>> On that note, I mentioned us doing a day con some time into the new
>> year.  It's not a regular con time, as long as we don't bump into
>> AsiaBSDCon, and daycons are a lot less demanding.  We would not fly in
>> people, and deal with hotels, which is usually the largest expense.
>>
>> We would hit topics that are current and are part of the larger debates
>> beyond just the BSDs.  And for us to hold one or two a year should not
>> be exhausting.
>>
>> As per last night's discussion, we will have an organizing meeting in
>> the near future to map things out.  Feedback and input is encouraged.
>>
>> So *if* you want to be central to organizing the next con, you can be.
> 
> BTW The one idea that popped into my head, but which I didn't have time to
> talk about last night is this.  "Make the Switch.  Moving to BSD from Linux"
> Most people don't know that a lot of the tools they think they have to use
> on Linux actually work, and work well, on the BSDs.  I think that would
> be a good theme that appeals to our core audience.

I very much agree with this.  A central thrust should be establishing
the relevance and utility of the BSDs in production environments.  Linux
has long become the default choice, and the exceptions tend to be based
on either key individuals choosing a BSD or specific features of the
BSDs that make it the clear winner, including licensing.

I wonder, however, how this could all be structured for meetings.

g