Category — The Perl Foundation

The current state of play

YAPC::EU::2010::Pisa is just a week or so away and I thought it would be time to talk about the send-a-newbie initiative once again. (If you are unfamiliar with send-a-newbie visit the website at send-a-newbie.enlightenedperl.org)

As I spoke about previously this initiative was organised last year by Edmund von der Burg to great effect and was taken over by the Enlightened Perl Organisation to continue the good work. This year we had 3 successful applicants and all was going well until a communications SNAFU which has resulted in just one of our “newbies” able to attend (for specific details of the communications problems please talk to me privately, they aren’t suitable for this blog).

The Newbie

So with no undue haste and grandeur allow me to introduce you to Leon Timmermans who will be attending this year thanks to the donations of the wonderful Perl community. If you see Leon at YAPC::Europe make sure to say hello, perhaps buy him a beer in the bar and make him welcome to the conference going community.
I will be unable to attend the conference this year due to my wife having given birth to our first child just four weeks ago and it being a mite too early to attend such ‘fun’ events. I will miss you all and ask you to act as ambassadors for me in welcoming Leon.

Where do we go from here?

Well, now we have completed our first year of the initiative I am taking the time to reflect on what we did and how I will be doing it differently in the future.

1. Paypal is an easy way to collect money but makes a poor location to act as custodian. Paypal is easy to use, but many people do not like/trust its services and for some donating directly to a bank account is simpler and more satisfying. As of next year the money will be controlled by the main EPO account for ease but the funds will be kept separate in the EPO records and only used for the initiative.

2. Promotion of the event (YAPC::EU) and the Initiative should start directly after this years YAPC. This will allow more time to raise awareness, collect donations and allow many more applicants to apply and discuss needs (such as visas etc.).

3. More integration with the other community groups. Promoting the initiative amongst the monger groups so local representation and support can be obtained; tighter co-operation with TPF (though they were and are amazing and donated to this years initiative); co-operation with next years organisers of YAPC and with YEF to get their support and promotion. Also I would like to see information go to colleges to people on Computer Science courses etc., so that they can be targeted for sponsorship, this will most likely be done through local Mongers again.

4. Sorting the sponsors out two months earlier than this year to try and avoid any last minute communication issue(!).

So we end our first year knowing that the initiative works and seeing a road forward to improve the program. We also have funds left over to start the ball rolling next year. Once again I will be doing the rounds, cap in hand, to companies and individuals seeking to raise cash and push out the awareness.

A round of applause…

To all those who have donated and helped out this year I wish to offer my heartfelt thanks. You are all excellent people. To everyone else I urge you to seek these people out and thank them (or buy them a beer). To the companies and organisations I offer congratulations on doing a fine job of helping to support the community and I look forward to speaking to you about doing the same again .

If you have had any interaction with the folks at the TPF I think you will already know that they are quite super people. So why am I saying that the TPF are great in this blog.

Well….

It is all down to the efforts I have personally seen them make over the past twelve months and even more recently their input into the send-a-newbie scheme.

As you may know, and if you don’t you can visit the send-a-newbie website or read the last blog post, the send-a-newbie scheme is all about raising money to send people new to Perl events to a YAPC. This year it is being run by the EPO for YAPC::EU. In January I was approached by Karen Pauley of the TPF to ask if they minded if the TPF ran a scheme for YAPC::NA along the same lines. I of course said that I didn’t mind, in fact I actively encouraged this, the more successful schemes the better in my opinion and the TPF are actively involved with the American conferences on an administrative basis so they are best placed to run this initiative in the US.

Karen and I both agreed that this was another area that the TPF and EPO can mutually make as much an impact as possible, and recently they went a stage further with this by donating to the send-a-newbie scheme we are running. So I would like to give a big thanks to the Board and to Karen for supporting us in this manner.

(Due to time constraints the TPF will not be running the initiative for this year’s YAPC::NA (though there are plenty of things they are doing at the event to include first time attendees in the proceedings), from my understanding they will be running this next year.)

The TPF do so much more than this though. From actively supporting communities through grants and funding, to funding and encouraging the organisation of YAPCs and other workshops, providing websites and resources as well as promoting and supporting the marketing and promotion of Perl and the Perl community.

They are also incredibly approachable. If you meet any of these people you quickly discover that they are supportive in person. I have found every TPF board member and officer I have met to be helpful, attentive, to give encouragement and to have a real care (in fact a passion) for getting Perl the recognition it deserves and to expanding its horizons.

So I want to thank them once more and to raise a jolly huzzah for their continued development and existence.

——————————

I thought I would re-use this blog post to repeat these two calls and to direct anyone who doesn’t know about the send-a-newbie initiative to the appropriate locations.

If you know of any mailing lists, forums etc., that can be used to post these messages to then please do not hesitate to do so.

The mailouts are printed below, just copy and paste as appropriate and spread the word. Please also consider donating to this effort.

————-DONATIONS————–

Subject line: Donate to Send-a-Newbie
Last year many individuals and companies donated money to the send-a-newbie initiative run by Edmund von der Burg. It was a great success. At the end of last year Edmund approached the EPO with the task of organising a similar event this year as he was unable to because of other commitments.

Therefore I come to you all to ask you to donate once again to this excellent project, please make a donation at send-a-newbie.enlightenedperl.org (or send your donation to send-a-newbie@paypal.com). If you made a donation last year, I thank you and would gratefully ask for you to do so once more.[1]

If you are new to this idea allow me a few moments to describe it.

The send-a-newbie scheme will allow people to attend a Perl conference (YAPC::EU for us, and this year YAPC::NA will have a scheme organised by the Perl Foundation) if:

a. they have never attended a YAPC/Major Perl event previously;
b. they are financially unable to do so;
c. they work in/study/use Perl.

The only changes we have made to the terms of entry this year is to broaden the scope. The Enlightened Perl Organisation members voted that we manage this initiative on the sole condition that it was open to all people regardless of age or circumstance (there were some minor restrictions in the previous year that did not reflect our requirements).

This year we will be listing our sponsors on the website to express our thanks[2] and because we believe in openess of information. A list of names will appear that people can admire and give respect[3]. If you would like to/do donate and don’t want your name listed then please contact Mark or Rosellyne and let them know and they will ensure that you are not listed.

Thanks for your consideration, and thanks-in-advance to those who are considering donating.

Kind regards

Mark
Secretary to the EPO

p.s. If you know of any list, forum where this information might be posted then I would kindly ask that you repeat it there.

[1] Please, please, pretty please on bended knees

[2] An almost exact opposite of name and shame.

[3] Also they can perhaps feel sickened that they were too jaded to support such a great idea.

—————END——————–

————-APPLICATIONS————–

Subject line: Send-a-newbie – Applications

The application process for the Send-a-Newbie initiative to allow participation at YAPC::EU::2010, which allows applicants who would otherwise be unable to due to financial constraints, is now open.

Please go to: http://www.send-a-newbie.enlightenedperl.org/applications.html for more information on how to apply.

Please note that the only condition, and that will only be applied dependent on the number of applications (it is a merit system based on exposure) is that you have not attended a YAPC or major Perl Workshop previously. No constraint on age, experience etc., is made.

If you know of any mailing list that this notice may be displayed then please forward the contents/repeat the information there.

If you wish to donate to this initiative then please visit: send-a-newbie.enlightenedperl.org (or send your donation to send-a-newbie@paypal.com).

Kind regards

Mark Keating
Secretary to the EPO

—————END——————–

-ttfn – Mark

Having a certain swagger…

By now I hope most of you have been following Gabor Szabo‘s and Renée Bäcker’s efforts to get Perl promoted at non-Perl conferences (see events on the TPF wiki here) and like me are in support. Their efforts are supported by The Perl Foundation, the YAPC Europe Foundation and the Enlightened Perl Organisation all of whom have helped by supplying funds/items to give away at the booth/event.

Wherever I lay my pint…

So the EPO have produced a set of Beer Mats as promotional items. About 1,000 of these mats will be sent to the CeBit conference to be given away (see more details on the CeBit Perl attendance on the Wiki page on TPF wiki), but there are another 2,000 of these items available and if you have an event, know of an event, where technical people may gather and would like some beermats to give away, then please contact Mark (the owner of this blog) at m.keating(at)shadowcat.co.uk and request some. We will deliberate and decide if it is a worthwhile request (don’t be shy, that’s just to stop people saying they want one for their beer mat collection – though go to a conference, add your support and grab some if that’s the case).

What they look like?

Well I am glad you asked. The beermats all share a common background image and the front is three different projects that are part of the EPO supported projects. They are displayed below. Enjoy .

Back Image of the beermats

-ttfn – Mark

What is it? It’s it…

The Send a Newbie program is designed to introduce new people to YAPC’s by collecting sponsorship from supporting companies. It was successfully run by Edmund von der Burg last year, but due to other circumstances Edmund has decided to pass the reins on this year and asked the Enlightened Perl Organisation to pick them up.

Where’s it at?

The website is now up at send-a-newbie.enlightenedperl.org (also sendanewbie.enlightenedperl.org) and there is already a Donate button on the front page if you feel magnaminous and want to make a donation. All contributions will be published on a donations page (though the option to donate anonymously will be offered if requested).

The send-a-newbie was originally done for YAPC::EU and had three people sponsored to attend. This year the Perl Foundation (TPF) will also be organising a send-a-newbie for the YAPC::US and we wish them all the luck in their endeavours. Hopefully the two programs will continue to work together and maybe we can get groups to do this at the other YAPCs worldwide.

Who can do it?

The EPO believe that the send-a-newbie should be open to everyone. The program is being run by Rosellyne Thompson and Mark Keating and they will be happy to answer questions & queries, send an email to  send-a-newbie(at)enlightenedperl.org.

-ttfn – Mark

This is the second article based upon my Keynote that I presented this year and is part of a series of articles on the Terrible Things We All Must Do.

Lead by example…

One of the points I made in my Daisy Chain article last week was the need to link to each other in our blogs and social media locales. So I have resolved myself to lead by example and to try and do that as much as I can. To this end I will be attempting to blog to Ironman twice a week from now on (when necessary) so that I can link to and discuss other peoples blogs and the groovy things I read on them.

Basically I am gossiping.

Wrap it up and Design

There was a great post by XSawyerX (http://blogs.perl.org/users/sawyer_x) which pointed out the need for all Perl modules/libraries/projects to have a good looking website. This went from a series of discussions he had concerning popularity of projects being connected to how they present themselves.

My feeling is that this is part of the problem, not the whole of the issue (not that he implies that, I am just talking out my thoughts) and that there are some other things for us to consider in the marketing and understanding of the marketplace, some of which I am going to try and cover in this series of posts.

But his idea to have a website for every project, that looks good and promotes the item is a solid one and I join Leo Lapworth (http://blogs.perl.org/users/leo_lapworth) in supporting him, check out his post on More Design Love.

Outside the Bubble

FOSDEM happens this week and the energetic Mister Szabo will be manning the stand and presenting papers on Perl to a wider audience, so if anyone can get there then please seek him and the other volunteers, including the indomitable Master Dave Cross, and say hello. This is really a great effort and it is good to note that they are also getting some help form the wonderful TPF (The Perl Foundation Homepage) at this event.

Frameworks

The other notable item for me this week was the article by Stevan Little On Frameworks, I really like Stevan’s blog he always seems so wide read, considering how busy the guy is I wonder how he makes the time to do so much reading and thinking on things. Thankfully I can read his blog so that I don’t have to think about them : ). Also good to note that Miyagawa has taken yet another step closer to a version 1.0 release of Plack (Plack the Perl Web Server)

Cultured Perlers

In a bold move I have decided that I will start yet another blog initiative (I currently blog to 4 places, some more than others which are all linked from flavors.me/mdk) if Dave Cross gets his Cultured Perl site up and running. I like the idea and have expressed the need for more introduction/promotion of the Perl community to a wider world and expressed this as part of my keynote, so I felt obliged to join in. My only concern will be the overlap with this blog and the strain on my limited writing capabilities. But, hey ho, we will see what happens. Hopefully Dave will let us all know soon what is going on.

That wraps up my week of Ironman posts that I needed to share with you.

-ttfn – Mark

My Ironman Status

It is with great pleasure, and with some tardiness and lack of expedience, that I announce the London Perl Workshop to be held on Saturday 5th December at the University of Westminster’s New Cavendish Campus.[1]

The theme for this year is Beginning Perl, which can be taken as Perl for beginners if one so wishes, or aimed at people new to Perl who are fluent in another language, or in fact any variant theme that one can conjecture including beginning a CPAN module, projects that are fun/welcoming/reliant on beginners (and also we expect some of you to ignore this all together and submit as you feel).

The call for papers is now open and the website should be live very soon (if someone grabs Monsieur Cholet and shouts into his ear it will be sooner). The closing date for submission will be Friday 6th November (of this year obviously) and notification will arrive on Monday 16th November.

As always the London Perl Workshop is a totally free event solely supported by the efforts and goodwill of the community. If you would like to help in any manner or organise an event to coincide with this then please contact Mark Keating. There has already been an offer to find a venue for the public house for the customary workshop socialisation which will be handled by the erudite Mister Laver. But many other things can be done to help.

The event will once again welcome Josette of O’Reilly who will bring a good range of books with her at the usual discounts, so bring lots of money and a small mule to carry home your purchases.

Once again I would ask that if anyone has a video camera and intends to video an event we get together on the wiki and work out a possible coverage. If we then use the auspicious YAPC.TV website we may get the entire conference uploaded for the whole community to enjoy. Please feel free to use the wiki to start any organisation of this manner and ping mdk on irc or mail m.keating [at] shadowcat.co.uk to let me know and I will attempt to find other volunteers to make this easier.

So enter the date in your diary, sharpen your presenting wit or prepare to attend the best event in the calendar™.[3]

[1] Part of the delay in this formal announcement was the negotiation for the venue with a new Dean. Sean as always was in our corner confirmed the venue. Otherwise we would have held it in Dave Cross’ house where he has promised to hold a barbecue and roast a organiser or two.[2]

[2] This may, or may not, be true.

[3] Okay this one probably isn’t true, but I would invite all detractors to first argue this with the proud and upstanding folk of London.pm, bring beer money you’ll need it.

So there is a set of conversations happening in the community at the moment whether it is on respectable blogs such as Philip Smith’s discussion on Perl Typefaces, the discussion on the EPO marketing list regarding logos or London Perl Mongers call to bring more (cuddly/stuffed) camels to their next social meeting(!). These discussions all regard the look of Perl, in regard to quality and consistency and I thought I would tackle the issue of the logo.

There are two logos that people identify with Perl. The first is the Camel used by O’Reilly on some of their Perl books and adopted by the community (and London.pm with Amelia and Shadowcat Systems/Enlightened Perl Organisation with Niles) as a fun logo to use.

Niles (on the left) and Amelia (on the right) meet in Lisbon

The second is the Onion which I believe was created as a logo to represent Perl (it is an onion it has many layers, they could have chosen a tiramisu ). The Onion is owned by The Perl Foundation.

If you wish to use either of these logos you must first (and quite rightly) contact either of the two bodies who own the copyright/trademark for these logos, and who will usually grant you permission as long as the involvement is with Perl and not derivative (or -too- derivative if we count Matt S. Trout in an Onion t-shirt).

So there is an issue as the logos in question are owned by a corporate body and an organisation and therefore have restrictions in how they can be used/displayed and cannot be freely used by anyone wishing to do so. One must seek permission and even if this passes smoothly through the inevitable red-tape you must still be careful not only to make sure you do not deride the logo and to ensure content in location doesn’t breach any conditions that the company may set. To take a random for instance, O’Reilly could rightly restrict me using the Camel on a page that advertises the Apress/Packt Catalyst books and so could TPF as it shows favouritism to a company/companies/competitor. I am not saying they will do, but we have no control over them doing so, and it may be within their best interest to do so.

What is the answer?

It is quite simple to me, in order for us to have a logo that can be picked up and used by anyone in the community and used in any manner to promote Perl or their Perl-related project we must have a logo that is associated with Perl that is under Creative Commons licence. The more we use such a logo to promote every site/article/work/whatever in our language the faster it will grow in perception as being the recognised, adopted standard.

To do this we must either persuade O’Reilly or TPF to release the image under a CC licence or we must come up with a new logo for Perl and release it under the CC licence. The author of such work can still claim Artistic Copyright but it must be allowed to be used by everyone however they wish.

There is an issue of releasing it as CC and then someone producing derivative forms of the logo for their own purposes, but to my mind this isn’t much of a problem. Let us examine this, if we have a hundred sites that use the logo in a good faith manner to promote Perl and a random punk decides to mock us with an obscene version of the logo how much damage would that actually do? The answer is very little if any at all. To the people outside the bubbles (either in Perl or in the punk’s kingdom) their would be the perception of a recognised logo showing consistency and brand recognition and a random site created by someone with too much time on their hands.

There could be an issue of someone using the logo for their own product as it carries a CC licence, but if the logo is actually called The Perl Logo, then that is also part of the Licence, so let them. It would be kinda funky to have a logo called The Perl Logo on the side of a -come up with your own obscene, techy, smart or satirical item here-.

For me, I would like to see The Perl Foundation release the Onion as the logo for Perl under the CC and to let us use it as we see fit. They could even take a specific version of it and make it their copyright image and leave us the outline vector art for us to fill, merge, warp, cut and manipulate as we see fit for our sites and modules. As long as we have some recognisable element that makes people in the community see it as Perl and that we can present as part of our branding and display as Perl then it is forward from where we stand now.

If that isn’t possible, then I may be willing to put money, and to grab other people into putting money, into having a logo either designed for us, or as a prize in a competition.

Let me know what you all think…the debate is on.