PyCon Feedback and Volunteers (Re: Pycon disappointment)

[Aahz]

In article <8ede2d83-a9f8-4d31-903c-b53271831722 at z38g2000hsc.googlegroups.com>,
fumanchu  <fumanchu at aminus.org> wrote:
>On Mar 16, 5:09 pm, a... at pythoncraft.com (Aahz) wrote:
>> 
>> If you did not like the programming this year (aside from the sponsor
>> talks) and you did not participate in organizing PyCon or in delivering
>> presentations, it is YOUR FAULT.  PERIOD.  EXCLAMATION POINT!
>
>This would be true, except that the two talks I proposed last year
>were essentially denied because they were too advanced, so I didn't
>even bother this year. Perhaps I should have, but the PERIOD needs to
>at least be replaced by a COMMA as long as the talk-acceptance
>committee continues to reject more advanced talk topics in favor of
>HOWTOs and Introduction To Package X.

Feel free to join the Program Committee!

Seriously, this is exactly the kind of difficult problem I was talking
about when I said "it is YOUR FAULT".  Speaking as someone who has been
on the program committee for most of the last few PyCons, it is extremely
difficult to balance all the conflicting expectations that attendees have
(particularly given that we have to guess, for the most part -- consider
that a thousand people compared to the six hundred at PyCon 2007 means
that much of the feedback from 2007 isn't particularly relevant).  On top
of that, we have to pick and choose from whatever proposals are offered;
with very limited exceptions, we can't just solicit talks on topics, we
don't have enough volunteer labor.
-- 
Aahz (aahz at pythoncraft.com)           <*>         http://www.pythoncraft.com/

"It is easier to optimize correct code than to correct optimized code."
--Bill Harlan