add ideas

2 files changed, 150 insertions, 33 deletions

diff --git a/organizers-notebook.md b/organizers-notebook.md
index 7a663664..ec5d75c8 100644
--- a/organizers-notebook.md
+++ b/organizers-notebook.md
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ This document is the general organizers' notebook that can be used as a starting
     -   [Getting ready for the conference](#pre-conf)
     -   [During the conference](#conf)
     -   [After the conference](#phases-and-lessons-learned-after-the-conference)
+-   [Ideas for improvement](#ideas)
 -   [General infrastructure](#general-infrastructure)
     -   [Linode instance sizes](#general-infrastructure-linode-instance-sizes)
     -   [File uploads](#upload)
@@ -179,6 +180,21 @@ Replace { and } with [ and ].
 [2023](file:///home/sacha/proj/emacsconf/wiki/2023/cfp.md)
 
 
+### Update dates
+
+<file:///home/sacha/proj/emacsconf/lisp/emacsconf.el>
+<file:///home/sacha/proj/emacsconf/lisp/emacsconf-erc.el>
+
+
+### Update the IRC topic
+
+    (erc-cmd-OPALL)
+    (erc-cmd-CONFTOPIC (emacsconf-replace-plist-in-string
+    										`(:year ,emacsconf-year :cfp-deadline ,emacsconf-cfp-deadline)
+    										"Getting ready for EmacsConf ${year}! Call for proposals: https://emacsconf.org/${year}/cfp by ${cfp-deadline}, volunteer: https://emacsconf.org/volunteer/"))
+    (erc-cmd-DEOPALL)
+
+
 ### Lessons learned
 
 -   Maybe incentivize proper timezone specification by saying we can translate times to their local time?
@@ -473,7 +489,7 @@ rsync -avze ssh root@bbb:/var/bigbluebutton/ bigbluebutton/
 ssh root@66.175.208.243 &rsquo;dd if=/dev/sda bs=5M &rsquo; | dd of=bbb-img-2024-12-08.img status=progress
 
 The img can be loaded with
-sudo losetup &#x2013;find &#x2013;show bbb-img-2024-12-08.img
+sudo losetup &ndash;find &ndash;show bbb-img-2024-12-08.img
 sudo mount /dev/loop10 test
 cd test
 
@@ -518,7 +534,7 @@ cd test
 
 ### Process the Q&A recordings and live presentations
 
--   Save answers videos as &#x2013;answers.webm.
+-   Save answers videos as &ndash;answers.webm.
 -   From the pad file: emacsconf-extract-copy-pad-to-wiki
 -   update cache
 -   Set `QA_PUBLIC` property to t as each Q&A gets processed.
@@ -580,6 +596,53 @@ emacsconf-mail-template-ask-volunteer-for-mailing-address
 ### Process the lessons learned
 
 
+<a id="ideas"></a>
+
+# Ideas for improvement
+
+How can we make EmacsConf better for participants? Speakers? Volunteers? People who come across the videos afterwards?
+
+-   Emacs:
+    -   view Etherpad (read-only): might be able to query something like <https://pad.emacsconf.org/2024/export/html> or <https://pad.emacsconf.org/2024/export/txt>
+    -   view upcoming talks, countdown?
+    -   resources, past talks
+    -   ??: Collaborative real-time editing? Not sure crdt.el or collab-mode can scale up as far as we like; how would we test this?
+-   HTML/CSS/JS:
+    -   countdown on talk pages?
+    -   timezone translations in the schedule SVG, on the schedule page, etc.
+    -   prettier viewers for videos, captions
+    -   make it easier to see the talk/pad/IRC at the same time?
+    -   easy timestamp jumping
+-   Volunteers:
+    -   better documentation
+    -   share to OBS from local? Maybe vdo.ninja?
+    -   meeting layout?
+    -   countdown to switch over to the next talk, or easier manual control; web or command-line interface to control it?
+    -   make it easier for people to join as hosts or check-in volunteers?
+    -   improve backstage experience?
+-   Processing:
+    -   audio normalization: better workflow, more people helping
+    -   noise removal (many speakers don&rsquo;t have external mics)
+    -   Makefile improvements
+    -   captioning:
+        -   simplify common edits
+        -   reflowing? check out [sub-seg](https://gitlab.com/jun8git/sub-seg)
+    -   handle last-minute uploads
+    -   validation: make sure audio, video, and caption times agree
+-   Infrastructure:
+    -   upgrade to latest versions
+        -   Etherpad (deployed 1.9.7;
+        -   BigBlueButton
+        -   Icecast?
+    -   publish read-only non-JS links to pads; make the pads viewable through the web instead of being downloaded
+    -   customize BigBlueButton welcome, slides, title, branding
+    -   check out BigBlueButton live captions?
+    -   figure out if we can connect to or reuse the etherpad in BigBlueButton?
+-   Other:
+    -   panel? some thoughts: <https://pad.emacsconf.org/emacsconf-panel>
+    -   unconference?
+
+
 <a id="general-infrastructure"></a>
 
 # General infrastructure
@@ -674,7 +737,7 @@ Success: You can watch at <https://live.emacsconf.org>.
 
 New year:
 
-1.  ansible-playbook -i inventory.yml prod-playbook.yml &#x2013;tags live
+1.  `ansible-playbook -i inventory.yml prod-playbook.yml --tags live`
 2.  Republish with <elisp:emacsconf-publish-watch-pages>.
 3.  Update front:/var/www/live.emacsconf.org.
 
@@ -828,67 +891,67 @@ Explanation of files:
 </colgroup>
 <tbody>
 <tr>
-<td class="org-left">&#x2013;original.mp4/mov/webm</td>
+<td class="org-left"><code>--original.mp4/mov/webm</code></td>
 <td class="org-left">original file as uploaded by the speaker</td>
 </tr>
 
 <tr>
-<td class="org-left">&#x2013;silence.mp4/mov/webm</td>
+<td class="org-left"><code>--silence.mp4/mov/webm</code></td>
 <td class="org-left">silence sample if uploaded by speaker</td>
 </tr>
 
 <tr>
-<td class="org-left">&#x2013;reencoded.webm</td>
+<td class="org-left"><code>--reencoded.webm</code></td>
 <td class="org-left">converted to .webm format and compressed</td>
 </tr>
 
 <tr>
-<td class="org-left">&#x2013;reencoded.opus</td>
+<td class="org-left"><code>--reencoded.opus</code></td>
 <td class="org-left">audio only</td>
 </tr>
 
 <tr>
-<td class="org-left">&#x2013;normalized.opus</td>
+<td class="org-left"><code>--normalized.opus</code></td>
 <td class="org-left">normalized audio</td>
 </tr>
 
 <tr>
-<td class="org-left">&#x2013;reencoded.vtt</td>
+<td class="org-left"><code>--reencoded.vtt</code></td>
 <td class="org-left">WhisperX captions, WebVTT format</td>
 </tr>
 
 <tr>
-<td class="org-left">&#x2013;reencoded.json</td>
+<td class="org-left"><code>--reencoded.json</code></td>
 <td class="org-left">WhisperX word data</td>
 </tr>
 
 <tr>
-<td class="org-left">&#x2013;reencoded.srt</td>
+<td class="org-left"><code>--reencoded.srt</code></td>
 <td class="org-left">WhisperX captions, SRT format</td>
 </tr>
 
 <tr>
-<td class="org-left">&#x2013;reencoded.txt</td>
+<td class="org-left"><code>--reencoded.txt</code></td>
 <td class="org-left">WhisperX captions, plain text</td>
 </tr>
 
 <tr>
-<td class="org-left">&#x2013;main.vtt</td>
+<td class="org-left"><code>--main.vtt</code></td>
 <td class="org-left">edited captions</td>
 </tr>
 
 <tr>
-<td class="org-left">&#x2013;main&#x2013;chapters.vtt</td>
+<td class="org-left"><code>--main--chapters.vtt</code></td>
 <td class="org-left">chapter markers</td>
 </tr>
 
 <tr>
-<td class="org-left">&#x2013;main.txt</td>
+<td class="org-left"><code>--main.txt</code></td>
 <td class="org-left">captions as text (optional)</td>
 </tr>
 
 <tr>
-<td class="org-left">&#x2013;main.webm</td>
+<td class="org-left"><code>--main.webm</code></td>
 <td class="org-left">version for streaming based on the most recent resources</td>
 </tr>
 </tbody>
@@ -932,6 +995,13 @@ Lessons learned:
 
 -   After 2024: Added pronouns and pronunciation to the pad template since that&rsquo;s what the hosts will be looking at
 
+The pad is at front0.emacsconf.org
+
+Non-JS way to get plain text or HTML of a pad: ex:
+
+-   <https://pad.emacsconf.org/orgmeetup/export/txt>
+-   <https://pad.emacsconf.org/orgmeetup/export/html>
+
 
 <a id="media"></a>
 
@@ -1102,7 +1172,7 @@ ssh root@bbb &rsquo;dd if=/dev/sda bs=5M &rsquo; | dd of=bbb-img-$(date &ldquo;+
 
 ### Spinning BBB up again
 
-<span class="timestamp-wrapper"><span class="timestamp">[2025-01-22 Wed] </span></span> &#x2026; actually, this ran into some issues with the certificate, so I&rsquo;m just going to do a reinstall.
+<span class="timestamp-wrapper"><span class="timestamp">[2025-01-22 Wed]</span></span> &hellip; actually, this ran into some issues with the certificate, so I&rsquo;m just going to do a reinstall.
 
 Previous notes
 
@@ -1267,7 +1337,7 @@ backup on live:
 
 ## To play the other stream
 
--   mpv &#x2013;profile=full <https://live0.emacsconf.org/gen.webm>
+-   `mpv --profile=full https://live0.emacsconf.org/gen.webm`
 -   Change the channel topic to note that discussion can be in the other channel
 
 
diff --git a/organizers-notebook/index.org b/organizers-notebook/index.org
index 0da79919..991eb24b 100644
--- a/organizers-notebook/index.org
+++ b/organizers-notebook/index.org
@@ -587,6 +587,53 @@ emacsconf-mail-template-ask-volunteer-for-mailing-address
 :PROPERTIES:
 :CUSTOM_ID: phases-and-lessons-learned-after-the-conference-process-the-lessons-learned
 :END:
+* Ideas for improvement
+:PROPERTIES:
+:CUSTOM_ID: ideas
+:END:
+
+How can we make EmacsConf better for participants? Speakers? Volunteers? People who come across the videos afterwards?
+
+- Emacs:
+  - view Etherpad (read-only): might be able to query something like https://pad.emacsconf.org/2024/export/html or https://pad.emacsconf.org/2024/export/txt
+  - view upcoming talks, countdown?
+  - resources, past talks
+  - ??: Collaborative real-time editing? Not sure crdt.el or collab-mode can scale up as far as we like; how would we test this?
+- HTML/CSS/JS:
+  - countdown on talk pages?
+  - timezone translations in the schedule SVG, on the schedule page, etc.
+  - prettier viewers for videos, captions
+  - make it easier to see the talk/pad/IRC at the same time?
+  - easy timestamp jumping
+- Volunteers:
+  - better documentation
+  - share to OBS from local? Maybe vdo.ninja?
+  - meeting layout?
+  - countdown to switch over to the next talk, or easier manual control; web or command-line interface to control it?
+  - make it easier for people to join as hosts or check-in volunteers?
+  - improve backstage experience?
+- Processing:
+  - audio normalization: better workflow, more people helping
+  - noise removal (many speakers don't have external mics)
+  - Makefile improvements
+  - captioning:
+    - simplify common edits
+    - reflowing? check out [[https://gitlab.com/jun8git/sub-seg][sub-seg]]
+  - handle last-minute uploads
+  - validation: make sure audio, video, and caption times agree
+- Infrastructure:
+  - upgrade to latest versions
+    - Etherpad (deployed 1.9.7;
+    - BigBlueButton
+    - Icecast?
+  - publish read-only non-JS links to pads; make the pads viewable through the web instead of being downloaded
+  - customize BigBlueButton welcome, slides, title, branding
+  - check out BigBlueButton live captions?
+  - figure out if we can connect to or reuse the etherpad in BigBlueButton?
+- Other:
+  - panel? some thoughts: https://pad.emacsconf.org/emacsconf-panel
+  - unconference?
+
 * General infrastructure
 :PROPERTIES:
 :CUSTOM_ID: general-infrastructure
@@ -677,7 +724,7 @@ Success: You can watch at https://live.emacsconf.org.
 - [X] Schedule is correct
 
 New year:
-1. ansible-playbook -i inventory.yml prod-playbook.yml --tags live
+1. ~ansible-playbook -i inventory.yml prod-playbook.yml --tags live~
 2. Republish with elisp:emacsconf-publish-watch-pages.
 3. Update front:/var/www/live.emacsconf.org.
 
@@ -830,19 +877,19 @@ Update this with elisp:emacsconf-publish-backstage-index
 
 Explanation of files:
 
-| --original.mp4/mov/webm | original file as uploaded by the speaker                 |
-| --silence.mp4/mov/webm  | silence sample if uploaded by speaker                    |
-| --reencoded.webm        | converted to .webm format and compressed                 |
-| --reencoded.opus        | audio only                                               |
-| --normalized.opus       | normalized audio                                         |
-| --reencoded.vtt         | WhisperX captions, WebVTT format                         |
-| --reencoded.json        | WhisperX word data                                       |
-| --reencoded.srt         | WhisperX captions, SRT format                            |
-| --reencoded.txt         | WhisperX captions, plain text                            |
-| --main.vtt              | edited captions                                          |
-| --main--chapters.vtt    | chapter markers                                          |
-| --main.txt              | captions as text (optional)                              |
-| --main.webm             | version for streaming based on the most recent resources |
+| ~--original.mp4/mov/webm~ | original file as uploaded by the speaker                 |
+| ~--silence.mp4/mov/webm~ | silence sample if uploaded by speaker                    |
+| ~--reencoded.webm~  | converted to .webm format and compressed                 |
+| ~--reencoded.opus~  | audio only                                               |
+| ~--normalized.opus~  | normalized audio                                         |
+| ~--reencoded.vtt~  | WhisperX captions, WebVTT format                         |
+| ~--reencoded.json~      | WhisperX word data                                       |
+| ~--reencoded.srt~       | WhisperX captions, SRT format                            |
+| ~--reencoded.txt~       | WhisperX captions, plain text                            |
+| ~--main.vtt~            | edited captions                                          |
+| ~--main--chapters.vtt~  | chapter markers                                          |
+| ~--main.txt~            | captions as text (optional)                              |
+| ~--main.webm~           | version for streaming based on the most recent resources |
 
 Other files might also have been uploaded by the speaker, such as slides or notes.
 
@@ -1259,7 +1306,7 @@ docker exec -it greenlight-v2 bundle exec rake user:create["USERNAME","EMAIL","P
 :CUSTOM_ID: other-process-notes-to-play-the-other-stream
 :END:
 
-- mpv --profile=full https://live0.emacsconf.org/gen.webm
+- ~mpv --profile=full https://live0.emacsconf.org/gen.webm~
 - Change the channel topic to note that discussion can be in the other channel
 
 ** When a system is down