F42 Release Party Feedback & Poll

Project Discussion
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1

Hi folks!

I wanted to ask for some feedback before planning an F42 release party. We have been trying different formats for the last few release parties and Im wondering what has worked best, and go with a majority preference for F42. Most recently, we hosted three separate ‘watch parties’ with pre-recorded content streamed on youtube in a matrix room that folks were asked to register for a ticket on eventbrite to gain access. The party before that, we did a live presentations, streamed via youtube widget in a matrix room, again accessible with a registration from eventbrite for the event. I’ve kept those two as options, but also added a third ‘hybrid’ idea, however I am very open to better suggestions!

This event is intended to be the ‘main’ Fedora release party, but if you would like to host a local release party, please do! We are encouraging the return of local meetups to celebrate Fedora releases where we have groups of folks who want to get together, and you can request some funding for your event through the Mindshare Committee ticket repo.

Anywhoo, I have created a (fairly!) basic poll and I would really appreciate it if you could take a few minutes to select two options that most appeal to you to attend and/or be a speaker at the F42 party based on event type and date. The poll is set to only allow two choices, so please choose:

  1. An event type (they are the first three options)
  2. An event date (they are the last four options)

For some extra context on the event options and date choices. due to us (Fedora) no longer having a contract in place with Hopin, we will need to continue to use Matrix and the Youtube widget to attend and stream content so we are limited to that format.

  • The first event choice will follow the same pattern as the F41 release party, with just one main session hosting a content stream that has been pre-recorded by speakers.
  • The second event choice will follow the same pattern as the F40 release party, with presentations from speakers given live on youtube and streamed to the matrix room. Again, one main session will be hosted for this.
  • The third event choice is short pre-recorded sessions that are available on the Fedora YouTube channel in advance of the event for folks to watch. We will then have our speakers attend a live Q&A panel and try to take questions from the matrix room asked to them about their presentation so they can answer live.
  • Finally, the date is chosen from a suggestion by someone in another thread to have the party on Towel day, due to F42’s nod to the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy books. As Sunday is traditionally a family day/religious day/rest day/work day/insert-way-you-spend -Sundays-here day for a lot of us, I’ve listed it as an optoin, but also a few other dates in case its not feasible.

And now, the poll :raising_hands:

F42 Release Party Options
  • Pre-recorded short sessions streamed on youtube ‘live’ during a dedicated watch party time on Matrix
  • Live presentations streamed on youtube live during a dedicated watch party time on matrix
  • Pre-recored sessions available on Fedora youtube channel to watch in advance, with a live Q&A session on matrix during a dedicated ‘party’ time for speakers to answer questions live
  • Thursday, May 22
  • Friday, May 23
  • Saturday, May 24
  • Sunday, May 25
0 voters

This poll will close on Friday, April 18 to give organisers time to get the plan together :slight_smile:

Thanks all!

2

The dates run into Red Hat Summit, unfortunately. And then we’re running into Flock…

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I like the “watch party” format for online events. Because, unlike in the offline case, I think that commenting and discussing the talk in a chat in parallel to the speaker helps to keep focus on the talk, and not get distracted by doomscrolling or some house tasks. At the same time, people who want to be focused, can simply disable the chat.

From that perspective I also vote for pre-recorded talk, so that the speaker can actively participate in the chat during the watch party. Even though I hate making pre-recorded talks as a speaker, I think ability to interact with the audience is worth the pain of recording.

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4

Yeah… I’m only back from Red Hat Summit and attached events on May 24, and I’m not sure I want to attend an event - on a weekend - right after being away from home for over a week.

5

So I may have to change the date of the event, probably due to speaker availability but I think we will target late May to get as close to Towel day as possible. Please do continue to vote though, mainly for the type of event people would like to have, and I will figure out the dates as a priority item as soon as the poll closes.

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6

I would vote for doing it earlier not later :slight_smile:

Then again I never even heard of Towel Day :sweat_smile:

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Apparently its a thing! :sweat_smile: The week of clashes with Summit, so that wont really work but I will reach out to speakers once the poll closes and see what date works for the majority and announce the date well in advance :saluting_face:

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8

It’s a whole lot “safer” to have pre-recorded short sessions livestreamed with a sync watch party like we did during F41 Release Party time (minus how it went down LOL). Less chances of mess-ups and is respectful of all time zones. :handshake: