Re: [Usability] Hackfest social activities

[Brian Cameron <Brian Cameron Sun COM>]

Allan:

> I've been working on organising the social side of the upcoming
> Usability Hackfest. The plan comes in four parts...

Thanks so much for helping with this.

I do have one question.  If there are people in the local London
free software community who are not participating in the GNOME
Usability Hackfest, can they join in with some of our planned social
activities.

I would think we would want any such people to RSVP beforehand to
ensure that things do not get out-of-hand, but I think it would be nice
to at least have some social events which are open to others to join
if that can be arranged.  It sounds like the GNOME London Beer event
will work this way, but it might be nice to plan some more opportunities
to engage with the local community.

> 1. First night meal (Monday 22nd February)
>
> I think the Queen's Arms pub [1] could be the best place. It's a great
> modern pub that does excellent beer and good food, and it's within
> walking distance of the hackfest venue. There's a nice dining room
> that we could use. Does that seem OK?!
>
> It would be great if hackfest attendees could give me an indication of
> whether they are going to attend the first night meal. I've added a
> column to the attendees table on the hackfest wiki page [2] so you can
> do that.

Sounds great!  I will be there and I will update the Wiki as well.

> 2. GNOME London Beer
>
> London GNOMErs have regular(ish) social gatherings. It would be great
> to tie a GNOME London Beer night in with the hackfest. It's tradition 
> to hold the London Beer nights on a Friday. Would that suit the
> hackfest attendees?

This is fine for me.  I will be there since I will be in London Friday
night.  Some attendees may leave after the hackfest on Friday so we
will likely lose some people.  But, if it is tradition to have it on
Friday, then that is reasonable.  I am sure there will be opportunities
to spend some time in the pub before Friday as well.

> 3. Places to eat and drink during the hackfest
>
> I've started putting a Google Map [3] together with some
> recommendations for places to eat and drink during the hackfest. I'm
> happy to help organise additional social activities during the week,
> if that's what people want to do.

I would think so.  Rather than trying to work this out via email, I
think it would be easier to spend some time on Monday making plans
for the week when we are all together.  This way we can make sure
we consider everybody's ideas and concerns.  We can update the Wiki
with our plans as we make them so people know what is going on and
so out-of-towners can figure out directions, etc.

> 4. An exciting trip!
>
> I've had a couple of ideas for trips to enlighten and inspire. The
> first is the London Design Museum [4]. The second is an exhibition
> called 'Decode: Digital Design Sensations' [5], which is showing at
> the moment, and looks highly relevant to the subject of the hackfest.
>
> Would the hackfest attendees like to go on a trip like this? If yes,
> when would be the best time to do it?

I would think that an event like this would be a good way to break up
the event.  Since this is a long hackfest, a full week, I think we
may easily suffer burn-out.  Going to do something like this mid-week
would hopefully help to recharge some batteries.  Both the London
Design Museum and the "Decode: Digital Design Sensations" exhibition
look relevant and inspirational.  It is hard to choose.

So, this sounds like a good idea to me.  I would suggest this would be
a good way to end Wednesday afternoon after a morning of hacking.

As an aside, one of my favorite tourist sites in London that many people
overlook is the Sir John Soane's Museum.  What an odd but amazing
collection, and small enough to see in less than an hour if you do not
get too captivated by the collection.  It is open Tuesday to Saturday
10-5pm.

  http://www.soane.org/

This probably does not relate to the GNOME Usability hackfest very
well, so I would not recommend it as a group activity, but I do
recommend checking it out if you have not been there and find the time.

Just my thoughts,

Brian