[H-GEN] linux.conf.au 2009 announced, where to from here?

[Russell Stuart]

On Fri, 2008-02-01 at 07:34 +0000, mark at colmiga.org wrote:
> Feeling that, an idea would be to hold a talk at one HUMBUG meeting in the
> next few weeks to discuss whether or not we should proceed on a 2010 bid.
> I for one would be a little disapponted if we didn't have another go and
> am positive that we can put forward a strong case to Linux Australia for
> hosting LCA in Brisbane after Hobart.

As Mark says, we lost.  We were notified of the outcome 
late in December.  At the time I told only those who 
had nominated for positions on the committee as we were
asked to keep the outcome confidential.  Now that it is 
public knowledge I can post the LA's committee's
response to our proposal.  It appears below.

The outcome is a disappointment, but not a huge 
surprise.  I thought we would win only if Hobart couldn't
convince LA they were capable of hosting LCA.  They are
the only state in Australia who hasn't hosted it (even
NZ got in before them), and the general consensus of
regular LCA attendees, including those from Humbug,
is that it was "their turn".  So despite the 
disappointment, I am rather looking forward to the 
novel experience of an LCA in Hobart.

The idea of hosting an LCA in Brisbane was never a short 
term project.  As John says below, Melbourne persisted 
despite being rejected 3 times, and was finally rewarded 
on the 4th bid with LCA 2008. I of course am keen to try 
again, but more to the point as you can see from Mark's 
words so are all the other Humbuger's here in Melbourne.
Attending an LCA has that effect on you.  QUT also has 
representatives here, and they are keen to partner us 
again in bidding for 2010.

On a point of tribal pride, aj won the LCA hack fest 
this year.  As far as I can remember, this means every
time there have been entries from Humbug in the hack
fest a Humbug'er won it.  We are an invincible force,
it seems.  Way to go, aj!

Regarding Mark's suggestion re a meeting for 2010 bid.
I expect Clinton will be keen to organise his usual
post conference "show and tell".  So my suggestion
is that would be an excellent time to discuss what we 
will do for 2010.

-------- Forwarded Message --------
From: Russell Stuart <russell-humbug at stuart.id.au>
To: Clinton Roy <croy at humbug.org.au>, James Iseppi
<iseppi at humbug.org.au>, Shaun Nykvist <shaun at humbug.org.au>, Marco
Ostini <marco.ostini at gmail.com>, Elspeth Thorne <elspeth at thorne.id.au>,
Mark Suter <suter at humbug.org.au>, Mark Ellem <colmiga at humbug.org.au>,
Jared Ring <jring at isi.qut.edu.au>, Mark Looi <m.looi at qut.edu.au>,
Raymond Smith <raymond at storybridge.org>
Subject: [Fwd: LCA 2009 bid outcome]
Date: Sun, 30 Dec 2007 09:39:16 +1000 

Please respect Jon's wishes and keep the outcome secret.
It will almost certainly become a 'public secret', but
I'd rather the leak didn't come from Brisbane.  Thus
this email was only sent to those who were elected to
the committee at the final Humbug LCA meeting.

In summary: Hobart won.  This means I am keen to
organise Humbug's LCA bid for 2010.

-------- Forwarded Message --------
From: Jonathan Oxer <jon at ivt.com.au>
To: Russell Stuart <russell-humbug at stuart.id.au>
Cc: LA Committee <committee at linux.org.au>
Subject: LCA 2009 bid outcome
Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2007 22:46:33 +1100
Hi Russell,

This email is sent just to you (and CCd to the LA Committee), but please
feel free to pass it on to the rest of the Brisbane bid team for LCA
2009.

Firstly though I just need to ask that you and your team keep the bid
outcome secret until it is announced at the end of LCA2008. We need to
make sure the focus stays on the upcoming conference, and the drama of
an announcement is a good way to end LCA and have everyone looking
forward to the next event.

This email is to confirm what I believe AJ has already passed on in
person: that although you submitted a very impressive bid to host
LCA2009 in Brisbane, the Linux Australia committee has decided to grant
the right to host the conference to the Hobart team.

Your bid was excellent, and the Committee was in the difficult position
of having to choose between two teams who are both evidently very
capable of running a successful LCA. Had your team been given the
go-ahead I'm sure you would put together a fantastic conference that we
would all be proud of. So ultimately the question didn't come down
purely to organisational ability as much as a number of other factors.

The major differentiating factors recognised by the Committee were:

* Boot-strapping local community involvement.
One of the major considerations is not just the direct success of the
conference but also the ongoing effect it will have in the geographic
area. Hosting an LCA can act as a powerful catalyst among the local FOSS
community, and the Tasmanian FOSS community is currently sitting on the
edge of critical mass when it comes to creating an ongoing participatory
environment with regular LUG events. Brisbane already has a very strong
FOSS community, so the knock-on effect of running LCA in Hobart would
likely be greater.

* Strong local government support.
One of the outstanding elements of the Hobart bid was the tremendous
support they have received from the regional tourism bureau. I won't go
into detail here because it would be inappropriate to preempt some of
the things they have planned, but it included significant financial and
organisational support that could potentially provide a huge boost for
the conference. This is not something that has been attempted on this
scale before and it will be interesting to see how it works out.

* Destination as a drawcard.
One of the advantages of a roving conference is that attendees get to
see a different part of Australia (or NZ!) each time and Tasmania seems
to be a particularly attractive destination for many overseas speakers
and attendees, particularly as LCA has not been run there previously.

The Committee very much hopes that you will not take this as a dead-end
in your bid process but rather as just another step toward taking LCA
back to Brisbane. With the number and quality of bids for hosting the
conference in recent years it seems to be typical that it takes several
years of bidding before a team is successful. Melbourne, for example,
spent 4 years to get to the point of winning 2008. That's not
necessarily a good thing, of course, but hopefully it shows that the
door is still open for future events if you're willing to keep trying!

If you have any specific questions about the bid process, your bid in
particular, or how the Committee came to this decision please feel free
to email committee at linux.org.au.

So the Committe would like to thank you all for the effort that has been
put into your bid. I know that it has been a big commitment and you're
probably very disappointed right now, but I would personally be very
disappointed if you didn't submit a bid for 2010. I'd love to see LCA go
back to Brisbane and I'm sure your team could pull it off with style.

Cheers    :-)

Jonathan Oxer
President, Linux Australia
+61 4 3851 6600