Thanks to all of you for your answers. :-) For a better planning, this is very reasonable but it is still different from former Wikimanias—as a Wikimedia Hackathons attendee of the last years I know that for good reasons things are different there, too. Hence, thank you very much again for the clarifications. I will probably register for WikiConference North America then but will leave the door open to attending other sessions according to my needs and socializing with whomever whenever as long as we both agree to this. I, for myself, find this one of the more useful things at Wikimanias as I feel that I can work at home much more effectively on my own while conferences like Wikimanias allow me to learn from others and share my experiences. Of course, there are occasions when people got new ideas and want to immediately work on this and get it done (same with me at the last Hackathon in Vienna). But, imho, it should be then the decision of the individual if and when they socialize (and thereby even get more new ideas) and not by the concept of the event. But maybe I just misunderstood this part, if so, I'm sorry for that. Best,Martin (with my volunteer hat on) Von: Rachel Farrand <rfarrand(a)wikimedia.org> An: Wikimania general list (open subscription) <wikimania-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org> Gesendet: 22:20 Donnerstag, 20.Juli 2017 Betreff: Re: [Wikimania-l] Fwd: URGENT: Wikimania Pre-Conference Selection Hello! Regarding the hackathon - it is very helpful for the organizers to have a list of attendees and a count of attendees. We asked a few hackathon specific questions during registration and the number of people answering these questions in different ways will change the planning of the event. This is especially important for food catering and seating capacity (i.e. if 50 unexpected people show up, then we might not have enough food or chairs for the registered people).  The other problem we try to avoid, is people dropping in during the day just to socialize, as this can be a major distraction to the registered participants who are trying to focus on tasks. We generally send a series of 2-3 emails[1] to participants in advance of the hackathon suggesting ways to get involved, asking people to sign up for things, and generally explaining what to expect/what will be different. If we don't have people specifically registered for the hackathon we won’t be be able to plan on our end, and those people will not receive the information that the other registered hackathon participants get. All information is all eventually posted on the wiki, but we have found that participants pay more attention to emails highlighting the important points. Also, we have had hackathon specific registration for the Wikimania Hackathon in 2015, 2016 and now again in 2017. Rachel [1] for example: https://wikimania2015.wikimedia.org/wiki/Hackathon/Email1 On Thu, Jul 20, 2017 at 7:12 AM, Andrew Lih <andrew(a)andrewlih.com> wrote: Hi Martin: every Wikimania is similar but different from previous years, so your concerns are understandable. I’m responding with a caveat - Phoebe Ayers and Ellie Young can provide better details but I wanted to get back to you as soon as you can. I’ve been working with the Wikimania team on the pre conference days for Wikiconference North America. 1. Short answer - Yes, you can switch tracks even though we’d like for you to choose one upon registration. This helps us figure out room sizes and logistics for planning. 2. Speaking for Wikiconference North America (WCNA) - We welcome anyone to the join us during pre conference days, some of the content is “North America” specific, but most of it is not. - Wednesday is a Culture Crawl, where we will explore the city, visit various GLAM institutions and wind up at the BAnQ (Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec) where they are hosting an afternoon of uploading/editing/scanning. Details to come. There is no registration cost for this day. - Thursday is a day at the Sheraton along with all the other groups. We plan to have three tracks throughout the day: planned tutorials, panels/discussions/lightning talks and unconference sessions determined by participants. There is normal registration cost for this day. -Andrew -Andrew Lih Associate professor of journalism, American UniversityUS National Archives Citizen Archivist of the Year (2016)Knight Foundation grant recipient - Wikipedia Space (2015)Wikimedia DC - Outreach and GLAM ---Email: andrew(a)andrewlih.com WEB: https://muckrack.com/ fuzheado PROJECT: Wikipedia Space: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ WP:WPSPACEBOOK: The Wikipedia Revolution: http://www. wikipediarevolution.com On Thu, Jul 20, 2017 at 6:00 AM, Martin Rulsch <martin.rulsch(a)wikimedia.de> wrote: Hi! Honestly, I am a bit confused by the organization of the pre-conference this year. Recent Wikimanias allowed users to choose on site what to attend, be it Hackathon sessions, WMCON Follow-up days, or other workshops as long as there was still free space. Of course, sometimes this space is very limited or some formats even require limited access for having useful discussions (like https://wikimania2017.wikimedi a.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundatio n_Learning_Days). Some of these limitations were published onwiki and helped me to decide in advance whether I want to commit myself to this very format for the full time or not. Personall,y I don't want to decide myself now what sessions could be most useful for me, which ones I should leave to other places when my expectations weren't met, which face-to-face chats will be more important than the sessions, etc. Hence, will it be possible/allowed to switch between those formats which have not yet been marked as invite-only onwiki? Were you asking me for my preferences only for logistical reasons, size of rooms, etc? Please help me understand why we need to register for pre-conference workshops for the first time. Thank you very much in advance! :-) Best,Martin ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Wikimania Program <wikimania-program(a)wikimedia.o rg> Date: 2017-07-20 3:11 GMT+02:00 Subject: URGENT: Wikimania Pre-Conference Selection To: martin.rulsch(a)wikimedia.de | | | | Pre-Conference Registration Options | | | | | | Hello, We are excited for you to be joining us for Wikimania in a few short weeks. You signed up to be notified when other Pre-Conference meetings are available. We have finalized the list of meetings to select from and ask that you log into your Eventbrite account to make your selection. You may do so by following the instructions in this article. Please make your selection no later than THIS Friday, July 21. Thank you very much and please let us know if you have any questions. Regards, Wikimania Team | | | | | | Copyright © 2017 Wikimedia Foundation, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you registered for the Wikimania '17 Conference and did not select a pre-conference choice for either day one or two. Our mailing address is: Wikimedia Foundation149 New Montgomery StreetSan Francisco, CA 94105 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. | | | | -- Martin RulschTeam Ideenförderung Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 BerlinTel. (030) 219 158 26-0http://wikimedia.de Stellen Sie sich eine Welt vor, in der jeder Mensch an der Menge allen Wissens frei teilhaben kann. Helfen Sie uns dabei!http://spenden.wikimedia.de/ Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e. V. Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts Berlin-Charlottenburg unter der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für Körperschaften I Berlin, Steuernummer 27/029/42207. ______________________________ _________________ Wikimania-l mailing list Wikimania-l(a)lists.wikimedia.or g https://lists.wikimedia.org/ma ilman/listinfo/wikimania-l ______________________________ _________________ Wikimania-l mailing list Wikimania-l(a)lists.wikimedia. org https://lists.wikimedia.org/ mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l -- Rachel FarrandEvents Program ManagerTechnical Collaboration Team Wikimedia Foundation _______________________________________________ Wikimania-l mailing list Wikimania-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimania-l