Next wineconf

[Henri Verbeet]

On Tue, 18 Dec 2018 at 04:19, Jeremy White <jwhite at codeweavers.com> wrote:
> On 12/17/18 5:47 PM, Henri Verbeet wrote:
> > On Fri, 14 Dec 2018 at 01:34, Jeremy White <jwhite at codeweavers.com> wrote:
> >> We punted on the question of where to have the next Wineconf.  Two
> >> candidates we considered were Japan and Toronto.
> >>
> >> I've asked folks at Valve if they would be willing to present at the
> >> next conference, and the answer was positive for Toronto, and less
> >> enthusiastic for Japan.  Ulrich has been patiently offering to host for
> >> many years, and I think it would be good to rotate back to North America
> >> on it's scheduled year.
> >>
> > Just so there's no misunderstanding, "we" above is "the Wine Project
> > Leadership committee", as opposed to "CodeWeavers", right?
>
> It was not intended to be a 'We' as in CodeWeavers, but I meant it more
> as a 'We the gathered Wine community'.
>
> We've never really had a formal process for deciding things like next
> conference location; it tends to be more of an ad hoc consensus.  And
> while the committee holds the power to fund the event, it does not
> generally take a role in determining it's location.  That is, it does
> not act like a board of directors would and make decisions like this.
> The committee really limits itself to funding decisions.
>
Since it's been a while since we've had a "Governance" discussion, I
would be curious to learn the opinions of the other people on this
list if I were to suggest that perhaps it would be healthy for Wine if
the committee did play a more active role in decisions like these.
Building a consensus is of course great, but that's not the same as
making a decision—decisions are ultimately made by individuals. I also
think it would be fair towards potential hosts if the WineConf process
was fairly transparent.

> > I would like it to be clear that this reply is as a member of the Wine
> > project, as opposed to a CodeWeavers contractor. At the same time,
> > since apparently Valve's willingness to attend in Canada, but not in
> > Japan was a consideration, I think it's only fair to point out that
> > CodeWeavers also has significant customers in Japan. Were they asked
> > as well?
>
> No.  But I think Valve's use of Wine is a particularly interesting story.
>
Certainly. Much of which would be under NDA though?

> The other point is that I felt I got a similar reaction from a number of
> people when we did discuss Asia; that they would come to North America,
> but not Asia.   My feeling is that there is a small group of people that
> are very passionate for the idea, and then a lot of indifferent people,
> and a small number that would not come if it was in Asia.  Anyone saying
> they will not come to the conference tends to affect me, perhaps in a
> disproportionate way.
>
Was that at WineConf, by any chance? I think it's fair to point out
that that would exclude asking people that would not attend in Europe
or the US. And of course, I think it would be somewhat optimistic to
expect the same kind of attendance as in e.g. Europe; much of the
point would trying to make that grow over the next few years.

> >> Pitchforks and torches go here.
> >>
> > Although I'm confident Ulrich would make a great host, I don't think
> > anyone would be terribly surprised to learn I'd be a little
> > disappointed if WineConf 2019 wouldn't be in Asia.
>
> Just to speak to my thinking a bit further.  My feeling was that if we
> telegraphed the move to Asia for a longer period that we would increase
> the odds of having more people attend.  I would also like to have an
> actual host - someone that lives in Asia who is willing to volunteer -
> so that we have someone who can coordinate the event.  My hope was that
> we could start that ask now, and have them stand up and advocate for
> their site at this years conference.
>
> But the point of the email was to provoke a conversation, so thank you
> for that.
>
Well, I try :D
I do get the impression though that most people either really don't
care, or don't feel like their opinion would make a difference, so at
the very least I'll give you that.

Henri