Virtual conferences and hackfests to replace physical events?

["Alex G.S." <alxgrtnstrngl gmail com>]

Is it just me or has attendance at these events fallen in recent years?  After reviewing recordings of talks from both KDE and GNOME I've noticed that most auditoriums and event spaces are nearly vacant with just a few people present, like a ghost town.  I think this is a sign of the times and that these types of events are very 1990's and that they are obsolete.

During an Engagement meeting I recall bringing up the possibility of replacing GNOME's current in-person physical conferences and hackfests with virtual online events that happen more frequently.

Benefits of virtual online events:

1. It would dramatically decrease costs, no more visa fees, no more airline tickets, no more hotel reservations and no more renting expensive spaces and catering services. Recently there was some controversy about refunding visa fees.  Well if events were virtual and online things like that would not happen at all and would not be necessary.

2. Increased participation, now anyone from around the world can from their office or residence could participate online.  I think the increase here would be substantial and we would see new faces more often.  This is essential in maximizing recruiting efforts and we could double or triple our current recruiting efforts.

3. Events can be held at more regular intervals and more frequently.  For example a hackfest could be held every month or every two weeks.  Think a bi-weekly lab hour for new GNOME contributors or experienced hackers. Other events could also be held quarterly.  

This would help with #2 in that more people would be able to make these events and the more regular cycle would increase GNOME's own development cadence.

4. Better collaboration because instead of the old presentation format things could be transformed into interactive meetings.  There are many tools for interactive coding sessions between multiple parties as well as whiteboards and video-chat services.  Events would be entirely collaborative and focused around actual productive activities.

Plan for virtual events:

There should only be a single physical conference, GUADEC most likely, that is held every single year.  But all other events should be virtual and online. Engagement should get together and get a list of current events and hackfest and begin the process of converting them to virtual events.

Let me know what the team thinks...