add lessons learned

2 files changed, 135 insertions, 77 deletions

diff --git a/2023/report.md b/2023/report.md
index 86aaec67..693045f9 100644
--- a/2023/report.md
+++ b/2023/report.md
@@ -11,8 +11,8 @@ This file is automatically exported from [/2023/report.org](/2023/report.org). Y
 
 -   [Overview](#overview)
 -   [Highlights](#highlights)
--   [Process improvements](#process-improvements)
 -   [Technical details](#technical-details)
+-   [Process improvements](#process-improvements)
 -   [Finances](#finances)
 -   [Acknowledgements](#acknowledgements)
 -   [Updates](#updates)
@@ -162,35 +162,6 @@ There were lots of other great talks. Check them out at <https://emacsconf.org/2
     impressive, a presentation masterclass"
 
 
-<a id="process-improvements"></a>
-
-# Process improvements
-
-This year we tried out the following experiments:
-
--   Early acceptance: It was great being able to accept proposals as
-    they came in, and people chimed in with ideas for making talks even
-    better.
--   Two tracks from the beginning: Following on the success of EmacsConf
-    2022, we planned the schedule for two tracks and filled it right up.
--   We worked on reducing manual intervention.
-    -   We opened Q&A right away instead of waiting for the hosts to give the go-ahead.
-    -   We used Tampermonkey to automatically connect to BigBlueButton
-        from the streaming user.
-    -   Cron-based scheduling of talks kept us on time and made it easier
-        to manage multiple tracks.
--   In addition to the iCalendar files for the conference and the
-    individual tracks, we also generated Org files in many different
-    timezones so that people could get the schedule in that format.
-    People said:
-    -   "Yes, having the schedule in my own timezone was super helpful."
--   subed made it easier to adjust timestamps and sync subtitles.
--   We've started trimming Q&A videos to when the host leaves the
-    conversation, just in case the speaker forgot that the rest of it
-    was also recorded. If the speaker is okay with it, we can post the
-    full Q&A session.
-
-
 <a id="technical-details"></a>
 
 # Technical details
@@ -223,6 +194,59 @@ You can find out more about our infrastructure at
 <https://emacsconf.org/infra> .
 
 
+<a id="process-improvements"></a>
+
+# Process improvements
+
+This year we tried out the following experiments:
+
+-   Early acceptance: It was great being able to accept proposals as
+    they came in, and sometimes people chimed in with ideas for making talks even
+    better. A few talks got comments within the 1-week period, which helped
+    refine the talk idea more. We probably don't need to make this a
+    2-week review period.
+-   Two tracks from the beginning: Following on the success of EmacsConf
+    2022, we planned the schedule for two tracks and filled it right up.
+-   We worked on reducing manual intervention.
+    -   We opened Q&A right away instead of waiting for the hosts to give the go-ahead.
+    -   We used Tampermonkey to automatically connect to BigBlueButton
+        from the streaming user.
+    -   Cron-based scheduling of talks kept us on time and made it easier
+        to manage multiple tracks.
+-   In addition to the iCalendar files for the conference and the
+    individual tracks, we also generated Org files in many different
+    timezones so that people could get the schedule in that format.
+    People said:
+    -   "Yes, having the schedule in my own timezone was super helpful."
+-   subed made it easier to adjust timestamps and sync subtitles.
+-   We've started trimming Q&A videos to when the host leaves the
+    conversation, just in case the speaker forgot that the rest of it
+    was also recorded. If the speaker is okay with it, we can post the
+    full Q&A session.
+
+Some notes to remember for next year:
+
+-   We should include cfp.org as an attachment instead of inline.
+-   We need to ask for an increased limit for libera.chat so that
+    everyone can use chat.emacsconf.org to connect to it.
+-   Google Chrome and other Chromium browsers had a hard time with the
+    web-based player. This needs more testing.
+-   We can prepare a message for hosts to paste into the chat to help
+    people make the most of the Q&A (ex: adding an oops note for
+    editing).
+-   Make sure timezones are on anything that has time (schedule page, watch pages, etc.)
+-   It might be nice to use the intros and generate title sequences in
+    order to add them to the videos. It would also be nice to experiment
+    with other ffmpeg layouts so that we can view webcams and shared
+    screens at the same time.
+-   There were widespread network issues (dropped packets, etc.) on
+    Sunday morning. We set up an additional stream to toobnix.org as a
+    backup.
+-   The 480p alternate stream did okay this year, even when we were also
+    livestreaming via Toobnix. It might be worth the extra monitoring
+    and system load in order to livestream to YouTube as well.
+
+
 <a id="finances"></a>
 
 # Finances
@@ -303,19 +327,25 @@ We would like to thank the following:
 
 # Updates
 
-If you would like to get updates and announcements, please sign up at
+If you would like to get updates and announcements, you can sign up at
 <https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/emacsconf-discuss> .
 
-Keep an eye out for interesting things that might be fun to present at
-next year's EmacsConf. We love to get talks at all levels of
-experience and about lots of different kinds of interests. One of the
-speakers wrote:
-
+Please keep an eye out for interesting things that might be fun to
+present at next year's EmacsConf. We'd love to get talks at all levels
+of experience and about lots of different kinds of interests. Speakers
+wrote:
+
+-   "I always got the feeling of being heard and welcome in spite of the vast
+    distances and cultures separating us. This community always feels like it
+    is open to new members any time. With regards to the conference process
+    also, it was a microcosm of the bigger community and hence I got the same
+    feeling. You didn't have to be an expert or a person who's been using emacs
+    for a long time to talk about something useful for the community. Even the
+    struggles of a noob may be useful for someone else in the community."
 -   "I can honestly say though that I had a great time putting my talk
     together. I hope people will have a good time listening to it. Now
     that the work is over, I can say it was worth it. so I recommend it
     warmly"
 
-See you
-next year!
+Hope to see you next year!
 
diff --git a/2023/report.org b/2023/report.org
index a9144a12..df4717bf 100644
--- a/2023/report.org
+++ b/2023/report.org
@@ -568,35 +568,6 @@ overall
 - "What our Swiss friends are doing looks quite nice"
 - "yeah virtual conf is fire"
 
-* Process improvements
-:PROPERTIES:
-:CUSTOM_ID: process-improvements
-:END:
-
-This year we tried out the following experiments:
-
-- Early acceptance: It was great being able to accept proposals as
-  they came in, and people chimed in with ideas for making talks even
-  better.
-- Two tracks from the beginning: Following on the success of EmacsConf
-  2022, we planned the schedule for two tracks and filled it right up.
-- We worked on reducing manual intervention.
-  - We opened Q&A right away instead of waiting for the hosts to give the go-ahead.
-  - We used Tampermonkey to automatically connect to BigBlueButton
-    from the streaming user.
-  - Cron-based scheduling of talks kept us on time and made it easier
-    to manage multiple tracks.
-- In addition to the iCalendar files for the conference and the
-  individual tracks, we also generated Org files in many different
-  timezones so that people could get the schedule in that format.
-  People said:
-  - "Yes, having the schedule in my own timezone was super helpful."
-- subed made it easier to adjust timestamps and sync subtitles.
-- We've started trimming Q&A videos to when the host leaves the
-  conversation, just in case the speaker forgot that the rest of it
-  was also recorded. If the speaker is okay with it, we can post the
-  full Q&A session.
-
 * Technical details
 :PROPERTIES:
 :CUSTOM_ID: technical-details
@@ -629,6 +600,59 @@ for this year's conference:
 You can find out more about our infrastructure at
 [[https://emacsconf.org/infra]] .
 
+* Process improvements
+:PROPERTIES:
+:CUSTOM_ID: process-improvements
+:END:
+
+This year we tried out the following experiments:
+
+- Early acceptance: It was great being able to accept proposals as
+  they came in, and sometimes people chimed in with ideas for making talks even
+  better. A few talks got comments within the 1-week period, which helped
+  refine the talk idea more. We probably don't need to make this a
+  2-week review period.
+- Two tracks from the beginning: Following on the success of EmacsConf
+  2022, we planned the schedule for two tracks and filled it right up.
+- We worked on reducing manual intervention.
+  - We opened Q&A right away instead of waiting for the hosts to give the go-ahead.
+  - We used Tampermonkey to automatically connect to BigBlueButton
+    from the streaming user.
+  - Cron-based scheduling of talks kept us on time and made it easier
+    to manage multiple tracks.
+- In addition to the iCalendar files for the conference and the
+  individual tracks, we also generated Org files in many different
+  timezones so that people could get the schedule in that format.
+  People said:
+  - "Yes, having the schedule in my own timezone was super helpful."
+- subed made it easier to adjust timestamps and sync subtitles.
+- We've started trimming Q&A videos to when the host leaves the
+  conversation, just in case the speaker forgot that the rest of it
+  was also recorded. If the speaker is okay with it, we can post the
+  full Q&A session.
+
+Some notes to remember for next year:
+
+- We should include cfp.org as an attachment instead of inline.
+- We need to ask for an increased limit for libera.chat so that
+  everyone can use chat.emacsconf.org to connect to it.
+- Google Chrome and other Chromium browsers had a hard time with the
+  web-based player. This needs more testing.
+- We can prepare a message for hosts to paste into the chat to help
+  people make the most of the Q&A (ex: adding an oops note for
+  editing).
+- Make sure timezones are on anything that has time (schedule page, watch pages, etc.)
+- It might be nice to use the intros and generate title sequences in
+  order to add them to the videos. It would also be nice to experiment
+  with other ffmpeg layouts so that we can view webcams and shared
+  screens at the same time.
+- There were widespread network issues (dropped packets, etc.) on
+  Sunday morning. We set up an additional stream to toobnix.org as a
+  backup.
+- The 480p alternate stream did okay this year, even when we were also
+  livestreaming via Toobnix. It might be worth the extra monitoring
+  and system load in order to livestream to YouTube as well.
+
 * Finances
 :PROPERTIES:
 :CUSTOM_ID: finances
@@ -693,20 +717,24 @@ We would like to thank the following:
 :CUSTOM_ID: updates
 :END:
 
-If you would like to get updates and announcements, please sign up at
+If you would like to get updates and announcements, you can sign up at
 [[https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/emacsconf-discuss]] .
 
-Keep an eye out for interesting things that might be fun to present at
-next year's EmacsConf. We love to get talks at all levels of
-experience and about lots of different kinds of interests. One of the
-speakers wrote:
-
+Please keep an eye out for interesting things that might be fun to
+present at next year's EmacsConf. We'd love to get talks at all levels
+of experience and about lots of different kinds of interests. Speakers
+wrote:
+
+- "I always got the feeling of being heard and welcome in spite of the vast
+  distances and cultures separating us. This community always feels like it
+  is open to new members any time. With regards to the conference process
+  also, it was a microcosm of the bigger community and hence I got the same
+  feeling. You didn't have to be an expert or a person who's been using emacs
+  for a long time to talk about something useful for the community. Even the
+  struggles of a noob may be useful for someone else in the community."
 - "I can honestly say though that I had a great time putting my talk
   together. I hope people will have a good time listening to it. Now
   that the work is over, I can say it was worth it. so I recommend it
   warmly"
 
-
-See you
-next year!
-
+Hope to see you next year!