[HacktionLab] The 2019 Barncamp Inquiry ENDS

Wed Nov 6 20:21:17 UTC 2019

Can I add this to the inquiry wiki page?

Quoting Mike Harris <mike.harris at xtreamlab.net>:

> Thanks A,
>
> I think that was a great insight.  Given that I was pretty much the
> benevolent dictator of BC organisation up until this last year, I think
> it's absolutely correct.  Effectively I had a van, there was a load of
> kit in OARC in Oxford, including a great big marquee, I had a load of
> kit left over from doing the festivals 10 years ago, and as A says, we
> had all that kit at Bristol Wireless for the same purpose.  A recalls
> correctly that we went to site before the event, and started organising
> the year before: one year I remember doing a stall to promote it at the
> London Anarchist Bookfair in October the year before.  I spent a lot of
> time on the phone cajoling people into doing things, liaising with the
> farm, sourcing stuff to do.  This role, call it Production Manager, or
> something like that,  along with a close group of people doing specific
> things, and having face-to-face meetings, and establishing that
> everything was understood by telephone, not a wiki, mailing list, nor
> chat channel, and a van load of kit that was at hand to source, I feel
> is the recipe that made it work, or at least made it work the way it
> did.
>
> I'm really really grateful to you guys for the attempt to organise it
> this year and keep BarnCamp alive, and really sorry that it didn't pan
> out.
>
> My summary of things I think are worth doing to make it work are
> (reflecting A's email):
>
> * have one or two people that act as Production Manager
>
> * cajole people into doing things in person or on the phone (more
> powerful and easier to establish what's agreed than electronic methods)
>
> * make sure the kit is at hand
>
> * keep it simple, pair it down
>
> * start as early as possible, like now
>
> * avoid getting distracted by setting up on-line tools to organise with,
> a piece of paper, or equivalent shared electronically will work better
> imho
>
> * it's all about people, persuading them to do stuff, and making sure
> they do do it
>
> * have a plan b
>
> Like A, I'm always available for help, or advice, or tips, for future
> events.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Mike.
>
> On 2019-09-13 15:38, Acesabe wrote:
>
>> Hi BC'ers,
>>
>> Sorry not to have been in communication much in recent times, being  
>> far away and in little contact with the key BC people since moving  
>> to Spain I'm really well out of it now, but just like to comment my  
>> 2 cents and encourage you really.
>>
>> Having been previously a core person in the first BCs I have a  
>> pretty good idea of what went into getting these events off the  
>> ground, and it's worth taking into account that *a lot* of the prep  
>> and organising work was basically done by one person, much of it  
>> well in advance (we did a site visit in ?Jan? one year iirc) and  
>> the fact that one person is effectively the *leader* kind of makes  
>> things seem easier, translating that into working groups and teams  
>> will take a bit of time and practice.
>>
>> I think those involved did a great effort in organising the last  
>> planned even especially considering how late it was started, which  
>> to me would seem to be the key factor in having fallen short this  
>> time. Well done all regardless, event organisation is chaotic at  
>> the  best of times so...
>>
>> For a 2020+ BC, lessons learned, processes improved there should be  
>> no reason not to try again, and if anyone is brave/mad enough to  
>> take on the role as key player in overseeing it, or make sure there  
>> is a core of 2 or 3 people to keep the vehicle on the road, might  
>> be an idea.
>>
>> Contingency is the other key factor, plan b and c even for all  
>> mission critical factors is a must.
>>
>> Kit store in closer location makes sense, also reliable transport  
>> to get things there and back is essential (MH also had own van  
>> remember). We did use a lot of the Bristol Wireless kit too which  
>> was convenient but no longer available alas.. (whether "party  
>> tent", the white plastic marquee, still lives or not IDK, that was  
>> also a BW resource which we got Highbury Farm to "look after")
>>
>> Once the ball is rolling, things will just fall into place,  
>> especially once there a a few people on-site. A lot of what we did  
>> in getting the event started and going was just impro in the days  
>> before! Often the tatting down was more tricky as the people  
>> vanished Sun night/Monday morning leaving those still there to sort  
>> it all out!
>>
>> I do hope there will be a next BC and am happy to be contacted in  
>> the case of not being sure what or how something was done in case I  
>> might know how or who might know etc. Signal chat group or  
>> whatever, I'm happy to be in (I am still in the BC IRC chan). Key  
>> winning tactic is the old KISS acro is always worth remembering!
>>
>> Hope this helps and encourages a bit, and who knows, maybe we will  
>> make it over to the next event! Certainly miss it!
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> A
>> On Sep 13, 2019, at 14:00, hacktionlab-request at lists.aktivix.org wrote:
>>
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>> Today's Topics:
>>
>> 1. The 2019 Barncamp Inquiry ENDS (Ben Green)
>>
>> -------------------------
>>
>> Message: 1
>> Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2019 09:06:51 +0100
>> From: Ben Green <ben at bristolwireless.net>
>> To: hacktionlab at lists.aktivix.org
>> Subject: [HacktionLab] The 2019 Barncamp Inquiry ENDS
>> Message-ID:
>> <20190913090651.Horde.9rFtL4Y5vQ1lKVbsWNJaVbM at slackmail.co.uk>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed; DelSp=Yes
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> The Barncamp Inquiry data collection phase is over, and I'm also
>> drawing a close to the enquiry in general.
>>
>> There were three submissions. Read them at:
>> https://hacktionlab.org/The_2019_BarnCamp_Inquiry
>>
>> I don't see that there's much point in collating this since there's
>> only three entries. I'll attempt a little write up, but I think it's
>> best if now have a meeting to take things forward for next year/
>> abandon ship whichever we feel appropriate.
>>
>> Thanks for participating in this inquiry.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Ben
>>
>> Quoting Ben Green <ben at bristolwireless.net>:
>>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> In order the better understand the issues surrounding the failure of
>> BarnCamp 2019, we want to kick off a relatively informal process of
>> opinion and perspective gathering, with a strong emphasis on what we
>> can do in the future to make our event not just happen, but also
>> totally kick ass.
>>
>> For submissions there are:
>>
>> * a pad
>> * a wiki page
>> * my email address
>>
>> The central information repository will be this page:
>>
>> https://hacktionlab.org/The_2019_BarnCamp_Inquiry
>>
>> I'll close this process on Friday 13th September.
>>
>> If you wish to mail in, mail to ben at bristolwireless.net with the
>> subject "2019BI". Include a name you wish to be know by. Say if you
>> want your comments kept private i.e. not added to the wiki.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Ben
>>
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>> End of HacktionLab Digest, Vol 127, Issue 1
>> *******************************************
>
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