Daniel Kinzler wrote:
No, accommodation is fine. The venue is tight, and our budget for sponsored food&drinks, and our capacity for managing people, getting them around, giving them info packages, etc is at an end.
The organizing of this meet-up follows the same communication disaster as the toolserver project and also the WMF tech staff. First we register, then we hear nothing, now we're told it's impossible. You can't get there from here. Can't be done.
I asked earlier how the Swedish chapter could help the toolserver project, and all I got was that 8000 euro (which we don't have available) could help to buy a new server, but smaller amounts like 80 or 800 euro could not be useful at all. Now you're out of funds for buying food. Maybe 800 euro could be useful after all? Maybe people can pay for their own food? No, you're not asking for that, instead you're telling people (who might already have bought air tickets) to stay home. Incredible! Berlin is full. Go home!
I have made it clear that I'm arriving in Berlin already on Thursday April 2. I know Berlin. I speak German. Maybe I can help to receive people and distribute info packages? No, all you can do is say you're overbooked. You never asked for volunteers.
Guess what, Jens Frank has been promised 15,000 euro from WMDE to organize a "map toolserver". One very important item on his agenda is to host a map toolserver meet-up as part of this developer meet-up. Maybe some of his money can be used to help you. Did you ask him?
We're not out of resources and Berlin is big.