With the rename to “OpenSource World (TM)”, the former LinuxWorld made it clear what many of us knew before then. The show had seriously dropped in relevance, not only for business but also for the Linux communities. Aren’t the open source projects the lifeblood for all of the commercial vendors present? If so, why was the “.ORG Pavilion” was jammed all the way back in the corner behind ten-foot walls? Seemed like a clear sign of serious disconnect on the part of the expo. How long until they strung barbed wire and mounted machine-gun nests with the weapons pointing inward?
Several years ago, when Red Hat stopped going to LinuxWorld, North American Fedora Ambassadors still felt it was relevant to Fedora. I believe this was primarily because of the chance to connect with other contributors, the oxygen in the lifeblood for so much else at the show. LinuxWorld was a touchstone for the communities to reach out to each other, network, and grow the contributor-base, to attract more O2 molecules.
When IDG changed the name after the 2008 show to OpenSource World, myself and some folks I talked with were not sure if the show could maintain relevance. The change seemd to go head-to-head with O’Reilly’s OSCON. I also heard that the expo floor would not be free this year, although I haven’t found any confirmation. If that were the case, it would mean the flow of volunteer-oriented people who might participate or contribute to an open source project would trickle to a drip or a full-stop.
Just this week two things happened that sealed the deal. First, my keynote proposal for “Participate or Die” was turned down. I had said if I got a keynote talk in (fat chance!), then I would rally for a Fedora presence to back me up. Why was it rejected? “Possible reasons include: multiple submissions on the same topic, the appropriateness of the proposal to the conference format and ranking the expected level of interest.” I’d bet it was the middle one — IDG probably doesn’ t think their audience wants me to threaten them with irrelevance.
The other item came from an email from IDG that was forwarded to me. Apparently, the free booth space for open source projects in the .ORG Pavilion is no more. Open source projects are being offered a 10×10 booth with two stools, high counter, carpet, and electricity (no network) for $1995. Hey, it’s a 60% discount!
Just to add salt to the wound, I got an email to the account I’ve used for years to register for a free expo pass. I’m eligible for a free pass as an event alum! Not sure what there is to see since all the actual open source projects have been conveniently priced out of the expo floor.
So, I’m just an Ambassador in the Western NA region, but I certainly am not going to waste a dime or ten more seconds of my time on the clearly irrelevant OpenSource World. My recommendation is for Fedora Ambassadors to skip this show.
Maybe everyone should skip it?
There are some other
changes to OpenSource World from LinuxWorld.
1. No free of charge dot-org booths on the show floor, but there will be meeting room space available for groups, in Moscone, during the event.
2. OSW is opening up for one-day miniconferences on Aug. 11, the day before the show. (Anyone from Fedora want to do one?)
3. Free of charge admission for qualified attendees (mail me if the web site puts you down as “not qualified” — if you do bona fide work with Linux or open source, you should be) for the *whole event*, conference tracks and all, not just the “exhibits only” pass as in past years.
Anyone from O’Reilly OSCON or Red Hat Summit want to match OSW on the free admission offer?
Thanks for the additional information, that makes more sense than what I had been finding/figuring out.
My main concern is still what it has always been – the segregation of open source community activities from the businesses and customers who benefit downstream.
I felt this the last few years with the .ORG Ghetto^H^H^H^H^H^HPavillion. It felt as if the dirty community people were being separated and hidden from the clean, expensive, paid-for booths.
While I can see how your new format is a potentially fair compromise between IDG’s perceived business needs and a desire to give communities no-cost space, I can’t help but notice that:
Communities who don’t pay-to-play are not present on the show floor, where the majority of the “qualified” Linux attendees will be
Open source communities in rooms are much harder to find than when they are in a booth and right out front. This is especially true at the Moscone, where the meeting rooms are separated by floors or entire city blocks from the expo space that remains the bigger draw.
The separate community days means the community folks can continue to preach to the choir who show up there, but not have a chance to get their message in front of future participants and contributors
However, I’ll admit to being a bit drop-jawed at the no-cost access to everything. It is still selective and requires people to be pro-active about getting access, but perhaps it will have the effect of drawing more sales leads than an open door policy would. But it is rather generous and attractive!
I cannot speak for O’Reilly and I would be foolish to speak for Red Hat, but I will draw some comparisons.
First, Red Hat provides major funding for open source projects. I don’t see how they should be obligated to give free space at the Red Hat Summit, but they in fact have. The last 2008 Red Hat Summit in Boston had a full-fledged Fedora Users and Developers Conferences (FUDCon) alongside. FUDCons are no-cost to everyone, even those showing an interest in Fedora for the first time, and the FUDCon pass included access to the “Open Source” track at the Red Hat Summit.
Red Hat funds FUDCon for the Fedora community, and they are held all over the world. The next FUDCon is happening concurrently with LinuxTag in Berlin, and all no-cost FUDCon attendees who sign up in time receive a free pass to LinuxTag. Between all that and the years of upstream contributions, I’m going to figure Red Hat’s event planning people have every right to decide what they are going to charge for without it making Red Hat look stingy toward its lifeblood.
IDG has presumably made money off LinuxWorld over the years (or I would guess they would have given it up long ago), and providing no-cost front-and-center visibility for open source projects was a fair way to give some resources back to the communities that make LinuxWorld, and now OpenSource world, possible. I can see the same spirit of generosity in this new arrangement, but it continues to the same inexplicable practice of segregating and hiding the upstream communities from the downstream products and customers.
As for OSCON, last year was my first time attending, and one thing that struck me was the way the projects and commercial vendors were all jumbled together. I felt as if our Fedora booth was a first-class citizen. But I’ve no clue if we paid anything for that space, if it was anywhere near $1950 if we did, and how all that compares as apples to oranges with OpenSource World.
In the end, I’m mostly disappointed and bitter because I perceive a loss for myself. I’ve been going to LinuxWorld since I left a dot-bomb NT sysadmin job to go work at VA Linux back in 2000. I was there the following year when a big group of us had been laid off from VA and were looking for being acquired as a group; I remember us looking for contacts at the Red Hat booth. Year after that I was still at Red Hat and got the saving grace that moved my career in the right direction, again the same week as LinuxWorld. Finally, after that I was able to come to LinuxWorld as a contributor for the Fedora Project. This story arc might not work under this new scheme, and certainly what I got out of the show in years past is no longer a part of this new expo.
So there is a much smaller and less famous conference in the southeast who has repeatedly failed to invite the community, and instead focuses on the business aspect. Last year the majority of people were in business dress, yet they continue to call themselves an open source conference. This year I have invited every community person I know, and at least 20 of us will be rolling in and hopefully more. I set the dress code as ‘must wear a F/LOSSy tshirt.’ We may not be the intended audience but we will at least make our presence known.
Karsten, we’re also in Moscone West this year, with a smaller show floor and the conference sessions more convenient to everything else.
No more long escalator and Howard St. tunnel between the conference rooms and the exhibit hall — it’ll all be in one building, finally.
So a lot of the previously exhibits-only attendees will be able to go to the sessions, and will be in the “hallway track” outside the session rooms.
It sounds like improvements are being made, and that’s a good thing. However, it can’t be a coincidence that some of the major prior attendees (like Access) are dropping out completely. I’m sure the economy is playing its part as well, but I think a lot of companies have paid big money to be a part of LW for years and never gotten a single qualified lead. I have heard this from more than one company, including some who were previously major sponsors.
I don’t think it is a relevance issue, but could be a positioning issue. Anyone looking to make a career out of open-source needs to understand the business end, which is what OSW addresses. It would certainly improve things to get open-source projects a free (if small) booth or area, and to invite them to give presentations on how they manage to stay in business.
Note that these are just my thoughts, as a longtime LW alum who always kind of felt like it was a big marketing extravaganza. It would be nice to learn there how to market open source to the public, rather than feeling like I was the target of the marketing.
So there is a much smaller and less famous conference in the southeast who has repeatedly failed to invite the community, and instead focuses on the business aspect. Last year the majority of people were in business dress, yet they continue to call themselves an open source conference. This year I have invited every community person I know, and at least 20 of us will be rolling in and hopefully more. I set the dress code as ‘must wear a F/LOSSy tshirt.’ We may not be the intended audience but we will at least make our presence known.
Almost worth getting a custom shirt made for the event – “Discuss open source with a real community contributor.” Yes, going to an event to talk honest open source with people is in fact a great contribution.
[…] I have barely missed this event since I had my mind cracked open in 2001. But I stood firmly by my boycott of the event. If they were going to act ashamed of and stupid about the open source projects and community […]