Much awaited and slightly delayed, we are finally ready with the CfP. Time is short, so please read through carefully and get ready with your proposals. The registration system will open from October 10, 2008.

Introduction

FOSS.IN is a contributor event, focusing on development efforts in FOSS from India. This is a Call for Participation inviting proposals for talks and FOSS WorkOuts at FOSS.IN/2008

Format

FOSS.IN/2008 will have significantly fewer talks than previous editions of the event. The focus of FOSS.IN/2008 will be FOSS developers working together, attempting to tackle challenges in the FOSS world. In order to facilitate this, this year’s edition of FOSS.IN will be centered around ”FOSS WorkOuts”.

FOSS WorkOuts

FOSS WorkOuts are developer-led sessions with a focus on tackling real challenges in a project. Each WorkOut will occur in a single hall for 3 hours, either in the morning session, or post-lunch session. Special requests may be made for day-long WorkOuts.

WorkOuts are to be proposed via the Speaker/WorkOut registration system. The proposer is expected to drive the session as the WorkOut Lead. Accepted WorkOuts will be published as per the schedule below, following which interested delegates may request to be part of the WorkOut using the registration system. The WorkOut Lead will then select the participants based on the problems at hand and the skills required to solve them. At the end of each day, the WorkOut Lead will present a summary, and possibly a demo, of the challenges addressed during FOSS.IN.

A proposal for a WorkOut must contain the following information:

• Purpose of the session — issue(s) being tackled, links to existing work
• Agenda to solve these issues. This includes:
• What needs to be achieved before the event
• What will be done at the event
• Link to a planning page/mail thread
• Pre-requisites for participants, such as:
• Code to be familiar with
• Tools required
• Special Hardware or Software Requirements

Remember that a well-defined agenda with very specific goals is far more likely to be accepted than a vaguely defined or overly ambitious one.

Keynotes

There will be a keynote at the start of each day of FOSS.IN/2008, as well as the end of the final day. Keynotes will be in-depth, technical talks from well-established contributors in the FOSS world. The event opening keynote will be by an Indian FOSS contributor and sets the tone for the event. Only the closing keynote on the final day will be on a non-technical, but relevant topic.

Talks

Other than keynotes, FOSS.IN/2008 will have three to five talks per day, held in the Main Auditorium. Each talk will be between 45 – 75 minutes in length. Talks are expected to be technical in nature, and targeted towards an audience of contributors, with an emphasis on where contribution is required in the project, and how it may be achieved.

Speakers may submit talks via the speaker registration system. After the deadline for talk submission, the organizers will publish the list of accepted talks. Speakers are requested to submit slides in PDF format. The organizers will then review the submitted slides and suggest feedback if required. If a speaker fails to provide slides, the organizers will select another talk to replace it. Please see below for the various deadlines.

Talk proposals must have the following information:

• Abstract
• Intended audience, and prerequisites
• Speaker’s biography, including a list of contributions

While submitting a talk, speakers should ask themselves what their audience will take away from the talk, and how it will help them contribute to the project. Contribution is the key focus of the event and all submissions will be judged on their relevance to increasing contribution.

Project of the Day

Every day at FOSS.IN/2008 will feature a Project of the Day. Talks related to the Project of the Day will be held at the 250-seater SDA Auditorium. The Project of the Day session will begin after the morning keynote and feature a set of talks and hands-on/hacking sessions.

Talks for the Project of the Day must be submitted in the same manner as other talks. This must be followed by a Letter of Intent from a contributor to the project, which must be submitted via the contact system and contain the following information:

• Proposer’s name
• Proposer’s role in the project
• Agenda for the Project of the Day session
• Proposed schedule of the day

As with talks and WorkOuts, Project of the Day sessions must be aimed at getting contribution towards solving very specific problems or challenges in the project (although they might be slightly more focused towards newer contributors). Submissions consisting of generalised material are not likely to be accepted.

Free-schedule events (BoFs)

In addition to the above, there will be Birds of a Feather sessions — freely scheduled discussions in 15-20 seater tents behind the the main auditorium. These will be available throughout the day on all days of the conference. The length of each session will be variable, but in general will be about an hour, with a granularity of 15 minutes. Formal BoFs must be announced before 11:00 am of the day it is scheduled to happen. There will be a dedicated registration desk for registering new BoFs.

Travel Support for Speakers

Speakers and WorkOut Leads do not pay a registration fee. The travel budget, particularly for international speakers, is severely limited this year. We encourage speakers to seek funding from their employers or FOSS agencies. We request all potential speakers to seek travel sponsorship only after they have tried all other avenues. Travel sponsorship is NOT guaranteed in any way, and will be available only in exceptional cases.

Important Dates

Talks
09-Oct-2008 | Call for Participation
10-Oct-2008 | Talk proposal registrations begin
16-Oct-2008 | End of submissions of FOSS WorkOut and Project of the Day proposals
18-Oct-2008 | Due date for Talk abstracts (no submissions after this date)
22-Oct-2008 | List of selected talks and PotDs published
22-Oct-2008 | End of registration of WorkOut participants
25-Oct-2008 | Due date for final slides & talk materials
25-Nov-2008 | Conference begins

WorkOuts
09-Oct-2008 | Call for Participation
10-Oct-2008 | FOSS WorkOut proposal registrations begin
16-Oct-2008 | End of submissions of FOSS WorkOut proposals
18-Oct-2008 | List of accepted FOSS WorkOuts published
18-Oct-2008 | Registration of WorkOut participants starts
23-Oct-2008 | End of registration of WorkOut participants
25-Oct-2008 | Accepted WorkOut participants published
25-Nov-2008 | Conference begins

Publication Rights

The conference requires non-exclusive, unrestricted publication rights to submitted presentations including the publication of audio and video recordings of the proceedings. Copyright is retained by the author. To ensure this, no speaker will be allowed to present without first clicking/signing a permission document, allowing us to use the material (slides, video and audio recordings of the presentation, supporting material, etc.) in a non-exclusive, unrestricted manner, preferably under a Creative Commons License.

Quick Reference:
http://foss.in
http://foss.in/contact
http://foss.in/register

PDF version of the CfP for reference and distribution