Re: [nfsv4] Potential schedules for BakeAThons in 2011

[Thomas Haynes <[e-mail]>]

I've had some offline discussions and it appears that I may not have
been clear enough on the proposal for Paris. The question is whether
or not we believe enough people/companies will be present to have
an interesting mix of implementations in order to be effective in
testing? (And yes, the whole utility is not testing, but it is a close
enough yardstick.)

We typically have 3 people present at each BakeAThon from Europe
or Israel. We happened to have 4 this time.

We have 3 or 4 people outside of those who have been vocal in the
past about having the event in Paris. We even proposed that the
BAT that was held in Ann Arbor be held in Paris this year. That never
gained any real traction.

I count that there might have been 30 people testing in Boston - there
were more who showed up for talks or who were registered but did
not attend.

I think a normal attendance number is 20 people.

In the past, we have had just one BAT in a year because the worth
was low - it wasn't a matter of cost, but because we didn't have
enough to test. I actually thought we were going to only have one
BAT in 2010, but the Linux developers in particular wanted
the second event.

And we have certainly seen organizations manage cost by reducing
attendance.

So if organizations commit to sending some developers, but not all,
what is the minimal mass in both technologies and people we need
to be effective?

I don't know the answers, but I do not want to see a BAT fail because
there is not enough representation and then see a drop off in attendance
in the next event.

So why don't we gather some data:

1) Do you plan to attend the June 2011 BAT if it is in Paris?

2) Do you plan to attend the June 2011 BAT if it is at CITI?

3) If you said yes to both, which one do you think you would get
the most worth from?

4) Did you attend the June 2010 BAT at CITI?

I'm asking you to answer as an individual and not as a company. But
please remember you need to secure funding from your company.
I.e., don't say yes to Paris because you want to visit it, say yes if
you know you will most likely be present. Also, if normally two of
you from your company attend and you know that your management
will only support one going to Paris, please reflect that in your
responses.

If you don't feel comfortable replying to list, just send your reply to me.