08/08/18 15:05 by Mark Keating (‎mdk‎)

It is just one week until the Perl Conference in Europe 2018 will be held in Glasgow so it is a good time to share some organisational information for all of you attending.

As our guests we want you to feel safe and comfortable at all times and please talk to any of the conference staff if you have any requests or issues. We are there to help you, but also bear in mind that all of us are volunteers and so we may not respond as quickly as you would expect.

You can email Mark (@shadowcat_mdk) [mdk (at) shadow (dot) cat] or Tom (@TBSliver) [tbsliver (at) shadow (dot) cat] at any time. Mark will also be available on Telegram and his mobile is: 07951557226 if there are any emergencies (please don’t use this for casual enquiries).

Pre-Event Social

On Tuesday Evening (14th August) we will be happy to welcome you to a pre-Event social sponsored by Booking.com. There will be two free drinks (of your choice) per person and unlimited coffee and water. There will also be a range of small nibbles served throughout the event.

The social will be held at the venue on the 9th floor between 18:00 and 20:30, we are sure many of you will then be able to move to another location to continue the social activities. Due to having to guesstimate numbers in advance we will be limiting the sponsored drinks to 150 people (two tickets each), please feel free to bring your partners along, though we ask that you only take two drinks tickets per conference ticket holder.

Students, sponsors, speakers and other guests will receive 2 free drinks tickets and are encouraged to join us.

Conference Dinner

Our conference dinner will start at 19:00 on the evening of Wednesday 15th August at the delightful venue of Òran Mór (Òran Mór - Top of Byres Road, Glasgow, G12 8QX : General Enquiries - T: 0141 357 6200 - E: info@oran-mor.co.uk). This event is sponsored by Booking.com who have generously contributed to the whole of the community events that accompany this year’s conference.

Food, served from 20:00, is a mixture of small dishes. There will be vegetarian options but can I ask that anyone with a specific dietary requirement contact us in advance. Can those of us who do have a broader dietary preference (omnivores like myself) could I respectfully ask that you make sure that those with less choice get to eat (i.e. the meat eaters shouldn’t snaffle all the veggie food and leave them hungry :) ). There will also be plates specifically for those who prefer a Vegan lifestyle.

The venue has a licence until very late (we have set the time as 01:00 but the banqueting manager may alter this and close the bar earlier or as late as 02:00) but anyone under the age of 18 should leave before 11:30 p.m., please do not buy alcoholic drinks for, or encourage drinking, of anyone below the age of 18.

Game Night

Thursday Evening is Game Night. We have secured permission from the venue for an extended evening for you to bring your favourite board, card or other style of game and play a hand/round/level or two. There will be no food or drinks planned but we expect that you can bring some as long as you clear away your mess. This event will run until 21:00.

BoF

This year we have decided to schedule a special session in which to hold your BoFs. This will run between 13:00 and 13:50 on the Thursday and the whole of the conference venue barring the organisers room and green room will be available. Since this falls straight after dinner you can extend your BoFfing to 12:20 if you eat and communicate.

Code of Conduct: The Quick Version

The Conference has adopted a Code of Conduct which is posted to the main site. The quick version of this is:

Our conference is dedicated to providing a harassment-free conference experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), or technology choices.

We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any conference venue, including talks, workshops, parties, Twitter and other online media.

Conference participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the conference without a refund at the discretion of the conference organisers.

Food

The conference will be pleased to provide all attendees with lunch at the venue on each day as part of your conference ticket. The venue itself will prepare all foods and will label them appropriately.

On each day there will be at least one Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Vegetarian or Meat choice. It may be possible that items such as the dairy or gluten free are a vegetarian or meat based dish.

Diets

For those of you who have a very restricted diet or severe allergies please contact Mark before the event, the venue can prepare a number of specialised dishes that will be separate to the normal food for your consumption. Please note a request for no shellfish has already been passed to the venue who will ensure this is not part of the regular dishes.

Coffee Breaks

There will be a longer coffee break on each morning and in each afternoon of the main conference days. At these breaks there will also be light food bites (pastries, biscuits etc.) for consumption. The venue will also provide some bowls of various items such as fruit throughout the day (and if you need a sugar boost there are always sweets at the reception desk on Floor 8).

Hot Drink and Water Machines

Outside of breaks the venue has hot drinks and water (still/sparkling) dispensers on both floors and you are free to use these at any time.

The Conference Layout

The conference venue is opposite Glasgow Centre Railway Station and on many other transport routes (bus and metro). We are on the 8th and 9th floor of the building and there are lifts to both floors as well as stairs (for the more energetic of you). We have renamed some of the conference rooms and maps to each room will be made available to you. However a brief guide is below.

Climb: Cpanel Room

This is the main lecture room on the 9th floor. Lightning talks and opening/closing addresses, keynotes etc., will be held in this room.

Aspire: Zoopla Room

The first room next to the lifts and reception desk on the 8th floor and our second lecture theatre (lecture theatres 2 and 3 are the same size).

Proclaim: Pirum Room

This room is next to Zoopla and will be our 3rd and final lecture theatre.

Hope: Quiet Room - non-Hallway Track

We love that conference attendees come not just to learn but to socialise. Perl is a community with many relationships and many people who want to meet, talk and discuss. We also encourage talking in the hallway track.

However there may be times you want to sit alone, or in a small group and not be disturbed. Hope, is our quiet room. It is situated next to the coffee machines on Floor 8. If you sit in Hope you can gain some calm, if you see someone sitting in Hope please respect that they want peace and do not disturb them. Leave this room if you want a louder conversation or are open to multiple conversations.

Twist: Organiser’s Room

Opposite to hope and next to Proclaim:Pirum is Twist. This is the organisers room and no one but staff are allowed in this room. This includes speakers and sponsors.

Shout: The Green Room

Our Green room is next to Twist and opposite Hope, it is a room just for speakers and sponsors where they might prepare or recover. Please give priority to those who need this room to prepare for their talks. It is not open to other conference attendees.

Foyer 8th Floor

The 8th floor foyer is a general hallway track zone. Want someplace to stand and chat, or meet to go to a talk or discuss, then please use the Foyer on 8th.

Foyer: 9th Floor

The Foyer on the 9th floor is also for hallway track communication but we would also like you to visit one of the many sponsor tables and talk to the people who helped make this event a reality.

There will be a table set aside for sticker exchange on the 9th floor. We ask that you do not put any promotional flyers or other company related literature except for free merchandise.

Lifts and Access

We are on the 8th and 9th floors of a building and so most of us will want to use the lifts at some point. Please, though, give priority to those who are less able bodied than yourself, also if you are queuing for the lifts do so in a line (like a British person :) ) as this will give clearer access to those who need or would like to use the stairs.

If you have specific issues with mobility then please make this known to a volunteer so we can help you get to whatever talks or events you would like to attend. Please consider helping your fellow attendees.

Smoking

Smoking, including vaping, is illegal inside all public buildings and immediately in front of commercial doorways (as in milling around an entrance) in the whole of Scotland. Please try to manage your specific inhalation requirements with that in mind.

Lightning Talks

As always there are Lightning Talks. As always they need to be submitted to Act (conference website) like a regular talk or Geoff Avery is going to ignore you. There will be limited time and slots and you must test your equipment in advance.

Volunteers

The event has been organised and will be managed entirely by volunteers. They will be wearing a distinct top and I ask that you give them priority seating if they need to monitor rooms and follow their requests.

We still need volunteers to help with room monitoring and other small tasks. If you want to help monitor a room or learn how to operate and monitor a video stream then let us know as soon as possible. We will be creating a volunteer schedule and form so get your name to us as soon as you can, with what times you are available.

Video

It is our intention this year to stream the entire of the event live. As such all talks will be broadcast (except where the speaker specifically requests they are not). The cameras will only be active during the talks and normally pointed at the speaker, but please be aware that they are there.

We will also be streaming highlights and screens between talks and there will be schedule information alongside the video stream. If you are joining us online and appreciate this effort you can contribute to the video fund for this and future events. Contact Mark or Tom at the above addresses.

Please note that there is a great deal of sensitive recording equipment and a number of people who will be handling this. Please resist the urge to pull with any cables or unplug any item as this may cause terrible issues. Recording and streaming equipment will be active and functional before the event, during breaks and lunch, and during some of the social events.

Tickets

Don’t forget to purchase your conference ticket (if you haven’t already) and any tickets extra for partners who wish to attend the conference dinner on the Wednesday night at Òran Mór.