Comments on: GeekDinner on the Future of BarCampLondon

By: Tony Scott

Tony Scott — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 18:27:18 +0000

I’m afraid I can’t make it to the dinner, but hope to get more involved in the future.

By: Emma Persky

Emma Persky — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:31:33 +0000

I have written a blog post fully explaining the role of the BCLPA which I hope clarifies some issues. The crux of the post is the following:

The role of the BCLPA is purely advisory and assistance to planners of Camps in and around London. We actively encourage people to go ahead and plan BarCamps (including future BarCampLondons) without being a member of the association. We are sorry if there has been any confusion over this.

By: Cristiano

Cristiano — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:02:53 +0000

*sigh*. That was exactly not what we wanted. The whole goal of this meetup was to make that clear and get that out of the way. Guess I need to do a quick blog post on this or people like you might not show up because you think the BCLPA is something it’s not.

By: Frances

Frances — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:46:13 +0000

I’m with David. The above post, whether intentional or not, very much has the tone of “we’re organising them all from now on”. There’s no mention of the original barcamp “anyone can have a go” philosophy, and it almost sounds like “BarCampLondon” has been claimed as a brand-name.

I just think you need to make sure to be clear about what your intentions are – without people having to attend your meetings/dinners.

By: Cristiano

Cristiano — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:44:56 +0000

Hi David,

That’s exactly the goal of this meetup and already something we’ve been actively been telling everyone since during BCL6. The name (BCLPA) is not a name we’ve ever used in public announcements and we never intend to. The name is simply there because we needed an “organisation” to register a bank account, write invoices, etc, for BCL6. It has some added benefits that we now have an existing infrastructure that we can provide to anyone else who wants to run a Barcamp in London.

If you want to know more, or further voice your opinion, I invite you to come to the Geek Dinner. We still got tickets.

By: David Tudge

David Tudge — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:03:14 +0000

Can I suggest that you explicitly point out that anyone can organise a BarCamp London and without the involvement of the BCPLA, if they choose.

An umbrella organising committee, on the face of it, goes against the philosophy of the open event. It might be wise to paint yourselves as an advisory board rather than a planning association, because that is the extent of your authority.