[ale] ALS - A few thoughts

[Marc Torres]

On Tue, 19 Sep 2000, michael d. ivey wrote:
> On Tue, Sep 19, 2000 at 04:42:41PM -0400, Vaidhyanathan Mayilrangam wrote:
> > Maybe it is time we need to start a new convention for linux folks in
> > Southeast, every six months.. Sorta get-together for the local LUGs?
> > Where folks could demo their machines, ask questions, conduct forums etc..
> 
> I'm all in favor.  The best ALSes were the early ALSes.  Re-capturing
> some of that feel, plus replacing a show in the Southeast sounds like a
> great idea.  The problem is coordination.
> 
> How does ALS staff, especially from the years past, feel about the move?

	As someone involved since the beginning, with thousands of hours
	invested in the first three years of the show, here is what I 
	think about the move.

	Where to start...  Every person who wants to attend ALS is 
	important to us!  Let me quickly review the facts that led to
	ALS becoming a traveling show:

	ALS in the past has been planned by a board 8-10 people per year.
	With the growth of the show to over 2000 people and 60 vendors
	in 1998 (our 2nd year) several of us bearly escaped (no joke)
	hospitialization for physical exhaustion after the event ended.

	Planning ALS becomes a 2nd job for those on the BoD, and the 
	day-to-day business details were becoming impossibile to handle
	in a timely manner.  (Invoices, Recordkeeping, Insurances, PR etc)
	We hadn't seen any additional people step forward to take on the
	year long planning burden.
	
	So we made the decision to work with an orginization that shared
	our views and goals for the future of ALS.  USENIX has the staff
	to run conferences and the charter to further the education and
	research of Unix related technologies.  We wern't 'sold' and the
	ALS Board of Directors didn't quit- we work together in cooperation.

	ALS did not have the financial ability (the first two years of
	the show were jump-started out of funds from the BoD) to sign
	long term contracts for hotel and convention center space.

	We had problems rebooking ALS in Atlanta for 2001, and could not
	manage to come to agreement with the venues.  We then began a 
	search for space elsewhere -- and we looked all over.  ALS is a
	difficult format and only 1 out of 4 mid-size conference centers
	meet our requirements.  Add to this that most events are booked
	3 years in advance, we have a weekend date involved, large food
	and entertainment needs, 4000+ attendees.....  Oakland is where
	all the items came together for 2001.

	So the "A" has changed from Atlanta to Annual.  We are still
	looking for 2002.

	ALS was never about being a 'show', the show floor exists to pay
	for the costs of the conferences.  ALS was created and is
	maintainted to this day for the sharing of ideas that further
	Linux and related opensource projects.

	One other thought jumps to mind here- ALS serves attendees from 
	20+ countries and a nationwide US audience.  While the bulk of 
	the show attendees area from the Atlanta area, many of the
	developers who buy the conference tickets travel to the show 
	every year.

	The largest problem looming for new conferences (not just in ATL)
	it getting speakers.  ALS has managed year after year to attract
	some of the top talent in the world-- many other conferences have
	been attempted large and small (Ex: The Baazar in NYC/KC Linuxfest)
	and collapsed.  If you have a group of dedicated people to plan 
	and fund a new event I wish you all the best.

	Marc Torres
	President, Atlanta Linux Showcase
	marct at linuxshowcase.org



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