Re: [DRAFT] EmacsConf 2020 Call for Proposals

[Sacha Chua]

Thanks, I've merged those typo fixes in! =)

Here's the other patch I made to experiment with the wording around diversity. Commit message:

It's version-controlled anyway, so I'm just going to commit it and
push it so that you can play with the language more. - Sacha

My main intentions are:

- to encourage people to nudge potential speakers, so that people can do
  some of that outreach/encouragement for us
- to experiment with a wider idea of being more inclusive (although maybe
  this is my bias towards hearing about all sorts of cool
  non-stereotypically-Emacs-y things that people are doing with Emacs)

Someone can probably come up with an even better way to express those
things! =)

Diff:

-We are committed to increasing the participation of speakers belonging
-to groups traditionally underrepresented at free software conferences,
-including women and people of colour.  If you're comfortable sharing
-demographic information, please include them in your submission email,
-but your proposal will not be judged negatively if you leave them out.
+All kinds of people use Emacs for all kinds of things. We would love
+it if EmacsConf 2020 could highlight interesting perspectives and
+reflect the diversity of our community. If you know someone who might
+have a good idea for a talk, please reach out to them and encourage
+them. Many people (especially from underrepresented groups such as
+women, people of color, and non-developers) might not consider
+themselves expert enough to share their thoughts. If you let them know
+that you value their knowledge and maybe even suggest something that
+you think others would like to hear more about, they may realize that
+they have something worth sharing.
+
+This year, we are experimenting with an anonymized submission process.
+Identifying information will be removed from submissions by a
+conference organizer who will not participate in talk selection. The
+anonymized submissions will then be reviewed by a selection committee.
+We hope this will help reduce bias and encourage contribution. We look

+forward to hearing from you (and the people you want to nudge to speak)!

Sacha Chua - sacha@sachachua.com - Blog: sachachua.com - Mobile: +1 416 823 2669

On Mon, Aug 17, 2020 at 12:45 PM David Bremner <david@tethera.net> wrote:

Amin Bandali <bandali@gnu.org> writes:
>   Thank you for baring with us as we all navigate these trying times.
>
bearing

>
> 2 Talk formats
> ==============
>
>   The following are the main formats for EmacsConf 2020 talks:
>
>   - *10 minutes* (Lightning talk): Quickly present a cool project,
>     concept, or trick in 10 minutes or less!
>
>   - *20 minutes* (Standard talk): Introduce the audience to a new Emacs
>     mode, concept, or just talk about something not necessarily shiny
>     and new but that you find really neat nonetheless.
>
>   - *50 minutes* (Extended talk): Take your time going more in depth,
>     and/or do a demo!  Extended talks are a great way of really
>     educating the audience about something you enjoy.

Last time we ended up asking people if they would be willing to give
shorter talks in order to fit them all in. I wonder if we should suggest
from the outset that people lean towards shorter talks if they are not
sure?
>
>   Other session formats such as tutorials, workshops, and hangouts are
>   welcome as well, especially considering all that is going on around
>   the world, in case you would those other formats preferable to a
>   traditional talk format.

you would _find_ those other formats preferable?