CHAOS AT THE CHAOS COMMUNICATION CONGRESS
2005 October 12I just found a perfect example of why the best software is rendered useless if it isn't used to its full potential.
It's time for the 22nd Chaos Communication Congress (22C3 for short) and the organisation of this years C3 has started a lot earlier than in recent years and from what I've heard it just might run smoothly this year. If it really will, then the C3 team will have accomplished a certainly huge task and I'll certainly give them the praise they deserve.
Hell, I'd even do it if it runs as good - well, in my eyes it went good - as last year.
Still, the people in charge seem to be under a lot of pressure currently. Last but not least by rumors which as we all know are probably the only thing that travels faster than light.
Actually, there are rumors which made it through various stages to the german newscollector site Symlink (something like a german slashdot).
In these rumors there is talk about the "Fnord-Jahrerueckblick" not being accepted into the 22C3 program. I quite liked it last year because of the nice conspiracy theories one could spin from there.
In the comments on that story, there are further rumors about the C3 becoming completely smoke-free, that the admission fee would double for "just" one more day and that the Lockpicking Championship would no longer be held at the C3 because of the ban on smoking.
Shortly after that story, Tim Pritlove had to vent his anger in his blog.
Shortly after that, Fukami also vented some anger.
As I've also already told Fukami, I think the C3 team also carries part of the guilt. Fukami wrote that they have a organisatory wiki as well as written their own organisatory software.
But: Where is it?
On the website of the 22C3 there's the Call for Papers and four mailaddresses as well as one (count it: one) real piece of information: the Congress will be one day longer this year. No link to that wiki or to that orga software.
So, don't they think it's understandable that rumors spread like wildfire? There is already a lot of stuff going on, but no real information on the C3 homepage. What are we supposed to do? Search a few dozen blogs in the vain hope of finding a piece of real information? Which blogs? I'm not a CCC intern. I'm not a member of the club. Hell, I'm not even member of a LUG!
I'm just a guy who enjoyed the congress and meeting with the ROCK Linux guys and listening to some talks each year. Maybe I'm not important to the C3 team. At least, I'm surely not that important for the C3 to become a success or failure. But if the organisation team throws public temper tantrums, that will for sure make the C3 become less of a success than it could be.
So maybe someone of the orga team will actually wake up and realize that to dispel rumors the best tool is to make information public. And maybe people like me will then look forward to the 22C3.
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