The Wikimania system virtually assures that each event will be organized by first-time amateurs; hopefully Wikimanians will continue to keep that in mind and be sympathetic, as always, to the work of volunteers -- particularly since the end product is, by and large, quite good.

Nathan

On Sun, Jun 10, 2012 at 3:52 AM, WereSpielChequers <werespielchequers@gmail.com> wrote:
Visa problems seem to be a recurring theme at Wikimanias and indeed other international events that we run. Of course sometimes it will be members of the community underestimating how long things will take or leaving things to the last minute. I had visa problems going to the WikiConference India in 2011, our team on that one were amazingly helpful and rescued me from my tardiness. But other times I fear that it is the organisers who have underestimated how early we need to do things in order for everyone to participate.

When it comes to dates when we announce events, send out letters of invitation, have accommodation bookable and registration systems in place, the date should be early enough to allow for Wikimedians anywhere to get a visa (and not just if they apply on the day that registration opens and nothing slips by as much as 24 hours). My suspicion is that some events have been organised on the basis that >95% of potential attendees will be fine. But when it comes to making our international events international we should be aiming for 100%. That means performing a critical path analysis and scheduling things so that anyone who possibly could come will have time to get a visa, with contingency time for things going wrong, and for additional processes as some attendees will need time to book leave or seek grants.


Regards

WSC