Dear fellow Osmocom developers,
as you all know, we've sadly had to skip OsmoDevCon 2020 and 2021, trying to compensate it at least to some extent with our OsmoDevCall every two weeks.
The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, and we don't know what the upcoming winter season will bring.
Nevertheless, I think it would be a good idea to start a discussion of whether we should plan for an OsmoDevCon in 2022.
I personally would say let's plan for the usual late April 2022 time frame, and if the pandemic situation deteriorates, we can still cancel it with something like one month lead time.
I would also personally suggest to limit attendance to people who are fully vaccinated, and in addition do a self-test for all participants every morning.
In terms of venue, we might also consider to move to a venue that allows better ventilation. Irrespective of the above we can also bring the air filters from the sysmocom office.
So with that as an input statement, I would like to hear your opinion on the above proposals. Who would want to attend? Any complaints against the "vaccinated only plus daily self-tests in the morning" approach?
Regards, Harald
Hi Harald,
I'm definitely for it and would attend and the usual timeframe sounds good.
As for the modalities. - Vaccinated : Sure. - Self Test : Although a test before departure sounds like a good idea, I'm not really sure of the need / efficacy of a day to day test. But I also have no issue taking one if people are more comfortable that way or think it's worth it. - Venue : Obvious questions is what are the alternatives :) - Ventilation : I honestly have no idea on the efficacy of that, but if you got filters for the sysmocom office, I guess you did some research and if they are movable and not obnoxiously loud, that can't hurt. - Masks : You didn't mention it in your original email, but personally I think in this context ( low number of people, but quite extended period of time, + meals / drinks ), their efficacy would be negligible. But again, if the consensus is to wear them, I have no issues with that.
This is of course just my 2ct and also for my personal situation (like for instance I know I can easily have a week "buffer" before/after the event where I'll have virtually no contacts). Looking forward to hear what others think.
Cheers,
Sylvain
On 11/2/21 11:22, Sylvain Munaut wrote:
Hi Harald,
I'm definitely for it and would attend and the usual timeframe sounds good.
As for the modalities.
- Vaccinated : Sure.
Agree, I consider this a must (or some sort of equivalent certificate).
- Self Test : Although a test before departure sounds like a good
idea, I'm not really sure of the need / efficacy of a day to day test. But I also have no issue taking one if people are more comfortable that way or think it's worth it.
I'd say at least providing a PCR/antigen test over last 24-48h is enough, given that I expect no much social interaction with third parties once OsmoDevCon starts, since we'll be most part of the day together. That'd be fine for me. Maybe one can be enforced during the first day at start of the event.
- Venue : Obvious questions is what are the alternatives :)
While in general I like being at IN Berlin during the conferences, it would be a good idea to explore other venues for this year, were we can have a bit more space between people and a bigger volume of ventilated air, maybe also with some extra place outside.
- Masks : You didn't mention it in your original email, but
personally I think in this context ( low number of people, but quite extended period of time, + meals / drinks ), their efficacy would be negligible. But again, if the consensus is to wear them, I have no issues with that.
The specific rules regarding this topic can probably be discussed/announced a few days/weeks before the event, to take into account current legislation, epidemic numbers, etc. since it doesn't involve any kind of organization ahead.
Regards, Pau
requiring vaccination to attend by default. Maybe with the option for attendees to request attendance despite no vaccination, and then see whether we can unanimously agree on that?
I'd like to add that I find it should also be sufficient to have recovered from COVID. This is a common rule in schools in Berlin that does relieve teachers from the need to test regularly (called 2G, incidentally).
Another question is whether we play by RKI rules and not accept certain vaccines.
I guess we should first see whether anyone would be refused attendance based on these rules and take it from there?
Here is a dudle to anonymously figure out the current vaccination status. Feel free to enter your current status, especially if you're not fully vaccinated and would like to attend. This is just to get a basis for discussion:
https://dudle.inf.tu-dresden.de/w93G6NPqfA/
I guess we need to repeat such poll in early '22.
On Tue, Nov 02, 2021 at 10:25:47AM +0100, Harald Welte wrote:
I personally would say let's plan for the usual late April 2022 time frame, and if the pandemic situation deteriorates, we can still cancel it with something like one month lead time.
I'm also happy to help with the recording and streaming of the public talks for those not able to join on site. sure, it would not cover all other aspects of a gathering, but provides a light way of participation.
I would also personally suggest to limit attendance to people who are fully vaccinated, and in addition do a self-test for all participants every morning.
I don't mind self-testing, particularly for "larger" venues with plenty of prolonged contacts. they're easy to make and inexpensive, a relative small constraint if it allows to have such an event again.
Hi Kevin,
On Fri, Nov 05, 2021 at 02:18:14PM +0100, Kévin Redon wrote:
I'm also happy to help with the recording and streaming of the public talks for those not able to join on site.
thanks for that, as usual.
Dear fellow developers,
given the rather unfortunate development of the pandemic both globally with Omicron, as well as particularly locally in Berlin, I decided to further postpone an on-site OsmoDevCon. At least the late April / early May time frame seemed unrealistic.
Shifting the event further towards or into summer seems more realistic from a pandemic point of view, as experience over the past years has shown much lower infection rates then. However, there are of course holiday plans, etc. that might more likely conflict with OsmoDevCon at such a time.
I have started a poll at https://dudle.inf.tu-dresden.de/TrmQAhYOWA/ in order to understand whether there's a preference for a specific month, and I'd like to invite everyone to state their preference in this poll (can also be done anonymously).
The venue and format can of course also still be discussed. I would think that having everyone in the same hotel would reduce the amount of contacts, as not every participant meets different hotel staff, has to commute through a city spending time with hundreds of other different people every day in public transport or the like. This might of course increase cost, but I'm sure we can find a solution for that.
One of the random thoughts I had was to use https://www.linuxhotel.de/ - a hotel + conference venue specifically dedicated to FOSS with plenty of outdoor space. However, it's at least a 35min cab ride from the closest airports (DUS, DTM) and about an hour from CGN. For people arriving long distance by car or train there's probably little difference compared to Berlin.
Regards, Harald
Dear fellow Osmocom developers,
more than a month later and the world is a completely different place once again.
Given that the number of daily infections and deaths are again rising in Germany, I am rather happy that we didn't settle for a spring date in / around our usual April time frame.
On Wed, Feb 02, 2022 at 08:28:41AM +0100, Harald Welte wrote:
I have started a poll at https://dudle.inf.tu-dresden.de/TrmQAhYOWA/ in order to understand whether there's a preference for a specific month, and I'd like to invite everyone to state their preference in this poll (can also be done anonymously).
the poll has shown a clear preference for September. So if we are to hold an OsmoDevCon this year, it will definitely be in September.
The venue and format can of course also still be discussed. I would think that having everyone in the same hotel would reduce the amount of contacts, as not every participant meets different hotel staff, has to commute through a city spending time with hundreds of other different people every day in public transport or the like. This might of course increase cost, but I'm sure we can find a solution for that.
I haven't really seen much feedback on that topic. I still like that idea, and the limited feedback I've seen was positive / neutral, so I think I'll continue to explore in that direction.
Regards, Harald
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Harald Welte -
Kévin Redon -
Neels Hofmeyr -
Pau Espin Pedrol -
Sylvain Munaut