Is it possible to set up DConf Asia?

[Jonathan M Davis]

On Friday, June 29, 2018 11:54:48 Joakim via Digitalmars-d wrote:
> On Friday, 29 June 2018 at 11:32:13 UTC, Jonathan M Davis wrote:
> > On Friday, June 29, 2018 10:50:52 Joakim via Digitalmars-d
> >
> > wrote:
> >> I coincidentally just read this blog post, that summarizes a
> >> lot of my thoughts against conferences and meetups:
> >>
> >> https://marco.org/2018/01/17/end-of-conference-era
> >>
> >> Maybe a good first step would be a mostly online DConf geared
> >> towards Asian timezones? I could help out with arranging those
> >> online talks.
> >
> > That article seems to pre-suppose that the only benefit from
> > conferences is the talks. A _lot_ of good comes from having a
> > bunch of the key developers in the same place for a few days
> > where they can talk in person.
>
> It "pre-supposes" nothing, points like yours are specifically
> addressed:
>
> "But all of that media can’t really replace the socializing,
> networking, and simply fun that happened as part of (or sometimes
> despite) the conference formula."

Well, then I clearly read over it too quickly, but regardless, I think that
you're going to have a hard time convincing the folks that attend dconf that
meeting in person is not highly valuable, and for those who aren't there in
person and only care about the talks, the talks are livestreamed and then
made available separated out later. I don't see how trying to kill off the
in-person aspect of things makes it any worse for those online, and I can
say from experience that meeting in person can be a game changer. It gives
you a very different perspective on someone if you've actually talked with
them in person, and there's lots of communication that works far better that
way. dconf is valuable for both the talks and the communication that happens
before, between, and after them. And regardless of its location, I would
hate to see it stop happening or stop being an actual, physical conference.
Much as I prefer it when it's closer to where I live so that the travel time
and expenses are lower, I've gone even when it's been halfway around the
world, and I wasn't speaking (and thus wasn't reimbursed), and I will
continue to do so. And I hate flying.

I honestly don't see how convincing folks to do just online videos instead
of meeting in purpose and recording the talks is any kind of improvement. At
best, it could be argued that if folks could give their talks from home that
the travel expenses would be avoided, but that's not even vaguely worth the
loss of being able to have most of the core devs and many D enthusiasts meet
and talk in the same place for a few days - even if several hours of that
time is spent listening to talks that could arguably have been done from
home.

If you don't want to show up in person, then just watch the livestream and
don't show up. The rest of us actually want to show up in person. I feel
sorry for those who want to come but can't afford to (be it due to the time
required or the money required), but they wouldn't be any better off if
everyone were livestreaming their talks from home instead of a central
location that they couldn't afford to go to. Many of us pay to go to dconf
and consider the money very well spent.

- Jonathan M Davis