Re: Draft call for participation (maybe June 26?), lessons learned from last year

[Sacha Chua]

"jc@tlo" <jean.christophe.helary@traduction-libre.org> writes:

> Here below is a proposal for (slightly) shortening/reorganizing the page, 
> with a *big* nudge toward 20 minutes proposals:

That reordering and editing makes sense, sure! =) I also incorporated
quiliro's suggestion to start with something short and friendly, and I
removed some more text. I changed a number of the headings to questions.
Here's the current ASCII export. It's shaping up nicely thanks to
everyone's suggestions!

Call for participation
======================

  [Emacs] (<https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/>) isn't just a text editor, 
it's a way of life. What have you found exciting about Emacs lately? Have you 
figured out a good workflow? Used Emacs for something interesting? Want to 
share the story of how you got into Emacs? Come share what you've been learning 
at EmacsConf 2023 and meet other enthusiasts along the way! All backgrounds and 
all levels of experience are welcome.

  [EmacsConf 2023] (<https://emacsconf.org/2023/>) will be a virtual conference 
on *December 2 and 3, 2023 (Sat-Sun, 9AM-5PM UTC-5 / 2PM-10PM UTC)*. If you'd 
like to present at the conference, please *[submit your proposal] 
(<https://emacsconf.org/2023/cfp/>)* by *September 14, 2023 (Friday)*.

  Not sure what to talk about? We've shared a few [ideas] 
(<https://emacsconf.org/2023/ideas/>) to help you get started.

  This year, we'd like to experiment with accepting proposals throughout the 
CFP process. If there are similar proposals, we'll work with people so that the 
talks can cover different facets. Submit your idea early so that you can have 
more time to work on your talk!


Talk formats
============

  - *5-10 minute lightning talk:* Just the essentials! If you can squeeze your 
prerecorded talk into 5-10 minutes by focusing on the essentials (not by 
talking faster!), we might be able to repeat it during the conference in order 
to fill gaps.
  - *20-minute talk:* short enough to keep people's attention, long enough to 
get into some details.

  There will be time for questions and answers after your talk, so you don't 
need to include that in your talk timing. Just like in EmacsConf 2022, you can 
answer questions via a BigBlueButton room, IRC, the Etherpad, the wiki, or 
e-mail (your choice). The stream will move on to the next talk at the scheduled 
time, but interested people can keep hanging out with you for a longer 
conversation.

  We may have time for a few longer sessions. If you'd like to be considered 
for a longer time slot, please include an outline for the extra time in 
addition to your 20-minute proposal.

  Other session formats such as tutorials, workshops, and hangouts are welcome 
as well. Let's figure out how to make things happen!


How can you submit your proposal?
=================================

  Once you're ready to submit your proposal, the [submit] 
(<https://emacsconf.org/2023/submit/>) page has the instructions on how to 
submit your idea.

  If you need help, you can e-mail us publicly at [emacsconf-org@gnu.org] 
(<mailto:emacsconf-org@gnu.org>) or privately at 
[emacsconf-org-private@gnu.org] (<mailto:emacsconf-org-private@gnu.org>). You 
can also come and say hi to us on our IRC channel `#emacsconf' on 
`irc.libera.chat' using [your favourite IRC client] 
(<ircs://irc.libera.chat:6697/emacsconf>), or by visiting [chat.emacsconf.org] 
(<https://chat.emacsconf.org>) in your web browser.


What happens after you submit your proposal?
============================================

  The submissions will be reviewed by a selection committee. ([Volunteers 
welcome!] (<https://emacsconf.org/2023/volunteer/>))

  If your talk is approved, we'd love it if you could help us make sure the 
conference runs smoothly. After we email you with the time allotted for your 
talk, we'll ask you to

  - prepare a prerecording of your talk, or record it with our help if that'd 
be easier for you; and

  - schedule a short tech-check if you'd like to answer questions in a live 
session.

  Subscribe to our main mailing list, [emacsconf-discuss] 
(<https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/emacsconf-discuss>), for discussion 
and announcements about the EmacsConf conference.

  We look forward to your ideas and submissions!


Know someone who might have something to share?
===============================================

  All kinds of people use Emacs for all kinds of things. We'd love it if 
EmacsConf 2023 could highlight interesting perspectives and reflect the 
diversity of our community. If you know someone who might have a good idea for 
a talk, please reach out to them and encourage them to submit a proposal. Many 
people (especially from underrepresented groups such as women, people of 
colour, non-developers, etc.) might not consider themselves proficient enough 
to share their thoughts. If you let them know that you value their knowledge 
and experiences, and maybe even suggest something that you think others would 
like to hear about, they may realize that they do have something worth sharing 
and that we would love to hear from them.


Want to volunteer?
==================

  If you would like to help with the conference (planning the sessions, 
reviewing proposals, helping with infrastructure, making sessions more 
accessible, editing video transcripts, etc.), see our [volunteer] 
(<https://emacsconf.org/2023/volunteer>) page and come say hi to us at 
`#emacsconf' on `irc.libera.chat'.

  In addition to the [emacsconf-discuss] 
(<https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/emacsconf-discuss>) list, feel free to 
subscribe to [emacsconf-org] 
(<https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/emacsconf-org>) as well, for 
discussions related to organizing the conference by the EmacsConf organizers 
and volunteers.

  We'd really appreciate your help in making EmacsConf 2023 the best one so far!


Important dates
===============

   CFP opens              June 26, 2023 (Monday)                                
             
   CFP closes             September 14, 2023 (Friday)                           
             
   Speaker notifications  September 30, 2023                                    
             
   Schedule published     October 31, 2023                                      
             
   EmacsConf 2023!        December 2 and 3, 2023 (Sat and Sun, 9AM-5PM UTC-5 = 
2PM-10PM UTC) 

  If you are not available during the conference itself but you have a neat 
idea that you'd like to share, please propose it anyway! You can always handle 
questions after the conference, and we might even be able to coordinate with 
other Emacs meetups for events in other timezones. (If you're an Emacs meetup 
organizer and would like to make this happen, please [get in touch] 
(<https://emacsconf.org/contact/>)!)


Commitment to freedom
=====================

  We remain fully committed to freedom, and we will continue using our 
infrastructure and streaming setup consisting entirely of [free software] 
(<https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html>), much like previous EmacsConf 
conferences. Articles and documentation about the EmacsConf infrastructure are 
still underway, and will be announced on the emacsconf-discuss list when 
available. If you are curious about the EmacsConf infrastructure or are 
interested in working on it, please join our `#emacsconf-infra' channel on 
`irc.libera.chat' and say hi!