summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/2023/captions/emacsconf-2023-emacsconf--emacsconforg-how-we-use-org-mode-and-tramp-to-organize-and-run-a-multitrack-conference--sacha-chua--main.vtt
blob: d97b9aa80b3cd2fb9ff8b7c5de0eaa6b35162221 (plain) (blame)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560
561
562
563
564
565
566
567
568
569
570
571
572
573
574
575
576
577
578
579
580
581
582
583
584
585
586
587
588
589
590
591
592
593
594
595
596
597
598
599
600
601
602
603
604
605
606
607
608
609
610
611
612
613
614
615
616
617
618
619
620
621
622
623
624
625
626
627
628
629
630
631
632
633
634
635
636
637
638
639
640
641
642
643
644
645
646
647
648
649
650
651
652
653
654
655
656
657
658
659
660
661
662
663
664
665
666
667
668
669
670
671
672
673
674
675
676
677
678
679
680
681
682
683
684
685
686
687
688
689
690
691
692
693
694
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728
729
730
731
732
733
734
735
736
737
738
739
740
741
742
743
744
745
746
747
748
749
750
751
752
753
754
755
756
757
758
759
760
761
762
763
764
765
766
767
768
769
770
771
772
773
774
775
776
777
778
779
780
781
782
783
784
785
786
787
788
789
790
791
792
793
794
795
796
797
798
799
800
801
802
803
804
805
806
807
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832
833
834
835
836
837
838
839
840
841
842
843
844
845
846
847
848
849
850
851
852
853
854
855
856
857
858
859
860
861
862
863
864
865
866
867
868
869
870
871
872
873
874
875
876
877
878
879
880
881
882
883
884
885
886
887
888
889
890
891
892
893
894
895
896
897
898
899
900
901
902
903
904
905
906
907
908
909
910
911
912
913
914
915
916
917
918
919
920
921
922
923
924
925
926
927
928
929
930
931
932
933
934
935
936
937
938
939
940
941
942
943
944
945
946
947
948
949
950
951
952
953
954
955
956
957
958
959
960
961
962
963
964
965
966
967
968
969
970
971
972
973
974
975
976
977
978
979
980
981
982
983
984
985
986
987
988
989
990
991
992
993
994
995
996
997
998
999
1000
1001
1002
1003
1004
1005
1006
1007
1008
1009
1010
1011
1012
1013
1014
1015
1016
1017
1018
1019
1020
1021
1022
1023
1024
1025
1026
1027
1028
1029
1030
1031
1032
1033
1034
1035
1036
1037
1038
1039
1040
1041
1042
1043
1044
1045
1046
1047
1048
1049
1050
1051
1052
1053
1054
1055
1056
1057
1058
1059
1060
1061
1062
1063
1064
1065
1066
1067
1068
1069
1070
1071
1072
1073
1074
1075
1076
1077
1078
1079
1080
1081
1082
WEBVTT captioned by sachac

NOTE Intro

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.839
Hi, I'm Sacha Chua. This presentation is a quick tour

00:00:04.840 --> 00:00:07.959
of some of the things we do to run EmacsConf.

00:00:07.960 --> 00:00:12.239
Since 2019, we've run it as an entirely online conference,

00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:14.699
and we do as much of the organization as possible

00:00:14.700 --> 00:00:16.579
within Emacs itself.

NOTE Reasons

00:00:16.580 --> 00:00:19.759
I have three reasons for making this presentation.

00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:22.759
The first is entirely selfish: I need to figure out

00:00:22.760 --> 00:00:25.359
all the stuff I built for last year's EmacsConf,

00:00:25.360 --> 00:00:28.079
since it was a bit of a crazy scramble.

00:00:28.080 --> 00:00:30.159
The second is that I want to show people

00:00:30.160 --> 00:00:33.239
the process of thinking about a complex project,

00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:35.879
looking for little things to automate in Emacs,

00:00:35.880 --> 00:00:38.439
and building things up from small pieces.

00:00:38.440 --> 00:00:39.799
Maybe you'll get some ideas

00:00:39.800 --> 00:00:42.759
and start building tools for yourself, too.

00:00:42.760 --> 00:00:47.039
The third is that you find any of these little tools interesting,

00:00:47.040 --> 00:00:49.439
I want to point you to blog posts and source code

00:00:49.440 --> 00:00:51.239
where you can find out more.

00:00:51.240 --> 00:00:52.559
That way, you don't need to try

00:00:52.560 --> 00:00:55.399
to read and understand everything quickly.

00:00:55.400 --> 00:00:57.719
You can find this presentation and other links

00:00:57.720 --> 00:01:04.439
on the talk page at emacsconf.org/2023/talks/emacsconf.

00:01:04.440 --> 00:01:06.319
There are a lot of different parts,

00:01:06.320 --> 00:01:09.399
so I'll try to use this map to help make sense of it all.

NOTE Information

00:01:09.400 --> 00:01:11.199
There's so much information to work with,

00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:14.919
so it probably doesn't surprise you that we use Org Mode a lot.

00:01:14.920 --> 00:01:17.999
Most of the conference coordination happens over e-mail,

00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:20.639
which I can quickly search with notmuch.

00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:22.359
Some of the information is private,

00:01:22.360 --> 00:01:24.519
like emergency contact numbers.

00:01:24.520 --> 00:01:28.079
We store the talk information in a private Org file.

00:01:28.080 --> 00:01:30.079
I try to put as much as possible

00:01:30.080 --> 00:01:32.319
into our public organizers' notebook

00:01:32.320 --> 00:01:35.359
so that processes and decisions are documented.

00:01:35.360 --> 00:01:36.919
We need a public website.

00:01:36.920 --> 00:01:39.039
We use Ikiwiki to make the webpages

00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:41.119
because we can work with plain text files

00:01:41.120 --> 00:01:42.599
in a Git repository.

00:01:42.600 --> 00:01:45.399
We also make a few static HTML pages

00:01:45.400 --> 00:01:48.119
for things where Ikiwiki is a little awkward.

00:01:48.120 --> 00:01:50.519
We post announcements to mailing lists.

00:01:50.520 --> 00:01:53.159
We also receive submissions in a private mailing list

00:01:53.160 --> 00:01:55.639
so that a number of people can review them.

00:01:55.640 --> 00:01:56.839
We have a backstage area

00:01:56.840 --> 00:01:59.959
for sharing files with volunteers and speakers.

00:01:59.960 --> 00:02:03.119
We share those files publicly when the talk goes live.

00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:06.319
And there's all the other stuff that goes into running EmacsConf,

00:02:06.320 --> 00:02:09.159
like shell scripts and configuration files.

NOTE Properties

00:02:09.160 --> 00:02:12.319
First, speakers propose a talk by sending an e-mail.

00:02:12.320 --> 00:02:15.799
We take the info from that e-mail and store it in Org properties

00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:18.199
so that we can work with it later.

00:02:18.200 --> 00:02:20.599
Every talk is identified with an ID,

00:02:20.600 --> 00:02:24.119
but since `:ID:` and `:CUSTOM_ID:` have special meanings for Org,

00:02:24.120 --> 00:02:25.399
I use `:SLUG:` as the keyword.

00:02:25.600 --> 00:02:27.759
Speakers' names go into the `:NAME:` property,

00:02:27.760 --> 00:02:29.799
and a short version goes into `:NAME_SHORT:`

00:02:29.800 --> 00:02:32.199
so that we can include that in a greeting.

00:02:32.200 --> 00:02:34.439
If people follow the template closely...

00:02:34.440 --> 00:02:38.039
...we can even automatically fill in the Org subtree for their talk.

00:02:38.040 --> 00:02:40.799
We can use regular expressions to recognize the text

00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:42.879
and extract the properties.

00:02:42.880 --> 00:02:45.359
Other properties need to be set by hand.

00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:47.559
I often mess things up when I retype them.

00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:51.039
To avoid typos, I have a function that sets a property

00:02:51.040 --> 00:02:56.039
based on the current region. I bind that to `C-c C-x p`.

00:02:56.040 --> 00:02:58.599
That makes it much easier to set properties

00:02:58.600 --> 00:03:00.639
that couldn't automatically be recognized.

00:03:00.640 --> 00:03:04.519
Sometimes it makes sense to dynamically generate a property

00:03:04.520 --> 00:03:07.679
and then edit it, like with filenames.

00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:10.399
We like to name all the talk files the same way,

00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:14.439
but sometimes special characters in talk titles or speaker names

00:03:14.440 --> 00:03:17.839
need a little tweaking. I'll put that in a `:FILE_PREFIX:` property

00:03:17.840 --> 00:03:19.439
so I can edit it.

00:03:19.440 --> 00:03:22.799
An Org property match can map over all the talk entries

00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:25.439
that don't have `:FILE_PREFIX:` defined.

00:03:25.440 --> 00:03:29.199
We can use that `:FILE_PREFIX:` to rename files from Emacs.

00:03:29.200 --> 00:03:32.639
With that property, we can then rename files using that prefix,

00:03:32.640 --> 00:03:35.639
some extra text, and the file extension.

00:03:35.640 --> 00:03:38.879
Sometimes it's easier to work with the data outside Emacs,

00:03:38.880 --> 00:03:42.119
like when I want to rename files with a shell script.

00:03:42.120 --> 00:03:45.319
If I export a subset of the data as JSON

00:03:45.320 --> 00:03:48.959
or JavaScript Object Notation, using `json-encode`...

00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:51.119
... then I can extract the data with `jq`

00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:53.119
and use it in shell scripts.

NOTE Timezones

00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:55.639
Another example of semi-structured information

00:03:55.640 --> 00:03:56.759
is speaker availability.

00:03:56.760 --> 00:03:59.319
We have speakers from all over the world,

00:03:59.320 --> 00:04:02.599
so we try to schedule live Q&A sessions when they're around.

00:04:02.600 --> 00:04:04.559
That means working with timezones.

00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:08.439
Completion makes it much easier to set the timezone property

00:04:08.440 --> 00:04:10.599
without worrying about typos.

00:04:10.600 --> 00:04:14.359
We can take advantage of the timezone list from the tzc package,

00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:16.679
which works with Unix timezone definitions.

00:04:16.680 --> 00:04:19.919
Then we can convert times using Emacs.

00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:22.639
Using a standard format to encode the availability

00:04:22.640 --> 00:04:24.399
makes it easier to parse.

00:04:24.400 --> 00:04:27.439
I can use those availability constraints to report errors

00:04:27.440 --> 00:04:29.119
when I'm experimenting with the schedule.

NOTE Scheduling

00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:30.759
Now that I have the availability information,

00:04:30.760 --> 00:04:31.919
I can think about scheduling.

00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:38.239
When we were planning EmacsConf 2022, the schedule was so full,

00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:40.839
I wanted to see if we could make it more manageable

00:04:40.840 --> 00:04:43.039
by splitting it up into two tracks.

00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:45.919
It was hard to think about times with just a table.

00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:48.199
I was able to turn the schedule information

00:04:48.200 --> 00:04:51.279
into an SVG to convince the other organizers

00:04:51.280 --> 00:04:53.359
to get on board with this crazy plan.

00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:54.959
And the nice thing about SVGs is that

00:04:54.960 --> 00:04:57.519
they can even be clickable on the wiki.

00:04:57.520 --> 00:05:00.639
Being able to quickly make SVGs of different schedules

00:05:00.640 --> 00:05:04.199
also helped me test scheduling ideas and think out loud.

00:05:04.200 --> 00:05:06.879
I could change the time between talks, the order of the talks,

00:05:06.880 --> 00:05:08.599
and even what tracks the talks were in.

00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:10.719
This was helpful when I needed to include

00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:13.239
some late submissions or availability changes

00:05:13.240 --> 00:05:15.599
and I wanted to ask speakers what they thought.

00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:18.799
They could see the different schedule options themselves.

00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:22.679
It's really nice to have Emacs Lisp support for working with SVGs.

00:05:22.680 --> 00:05:25.399
I also love how I can have an Emacs Lisp block

00:05:25.400 --> 00:05:28.599
in an Org Mode document that updates an SVG

00:05:28.600 --> 00:05:31.279
that I can view right there in my text editor.

00:05:31.280 --> 00:05:34.799
Setting the timezone lets me automatically translate times

00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:36.919
to the speaker's local timezone when I e-mail them.

00:05:36.920 --> 00:05:39.079
That's mostly a matter of using `format-time-string` with a timezone.

NOTE Templates

00:05:42.360 --> 00:05:43.159
There's also a lot of text to work with,

00:05:43.160 --> 00:05:45.119
which means templates are super handy.

00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:48.119
There are a number of templating functions for Emacs Lisp,

00:05:48.120 --> 00:05:52.959
like the built-in `tempo.el` or `s-lex-format` from `s.el`.

00:05:52.960 --> 00:05:54.439
I ended up writing something

00:05:54.440 --> 00:05:57.279
that works with property lists (plists) instead,

00:05:57.280 --> 00:06:02.199
since we use plists all over the emacsconf-el library.

00:06:02.200 --> 00:06:03.999
All it does is replace `${variable}`

00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:05.519
with the value from a property list.

00:06:05.520 --> 00:06:07.559
I use this mostly because I have a hard time

00:06:07.560 --> 00:06:11.079
keeping track of which `%s` is which when I use `format`,

00:06:11.080 --> 00:06:13.919
and it's hard to get an overall view if I just use `concat`.

00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:17.599
The code looks for the properties and replaces them with the values.

00:06:17.600 --> 00:06:20.919
I just find it a little easier to think about sometimes.

00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:24.079
Getting all the information is just a matter of going over

00:06:24.080 --> 00:06:26.999
all the talk entries using `org-map-entries`.

00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:30.319
This builds the talk info by running a bunch of functions.

00:06:30.320 --> 00:06:33.439
Some functions get the information from the Org file.

00:06:33.440 --> 00:06:36.359
Other functions use the info already collected.

00:06:36.360 --> 00:06:39.039
This can take a while to do again and again.

00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:41.479
It's useful to `memoize` this function

00:06:41.480 --> 00:06:43.239
when I know I'll be using it a lot,

00:06:43.240 --> 00:06:45.679
like when I export the organizers notebook.

00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:48.119
Memoize caches recent values.

NOTE Wiki

00:06:48.120 --> 00:06:50.239
We combine this templating function

00:06:50.240 --> 00:06:51.479
with the talk information

00:06:51.480 --> 00:06:53.119
to fill in the conference wiki,

00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:56.279
since that's a matter of writing templated strings to files.

00:06:56.280 --> 00:06:58.279
The talk pages are generated once

00:06:58.280 --> 00:07:00.279
and then left alone for manual editing,

00:07:00.280 --> 00:07:02.399
while the navigation is regenerated

00:07:02.400 --> 00:07:04.199
every time we change the details.

00:07:04.200 --> 00:07:05.799
Here are some examples

00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:07.319
of how we fill in the conference wiki.

00:07:07.320 --> 00:07:10.959
We put in the format of the talk, how Q&A works,

00:07:10.960 --> 00:07:12.319
and what the status is.

00:07:12.320 --> 00:07:14.959
Once the talk is live, we include the video

00:07:14.960 --> 00:07:16.479
and the links to the files, too.

00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:18.719
The code is a little bit long,

00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:20.079
but the important part is that

00:07:20.080 --> 00:07:22.639
we fill in a plist with the values we calculate,

00:07:22.640 --> 00:07:26.159
and then we can use `emacsconf-replace-plist-in-string`

00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:27.719
to put that all together.

00:07:27.720 --> 00:07:30.079
The schedule is a little more complicated.

00:07:30.080 --> 00:07:32.079
I wrote an Ikiwiki directive

00:07:32.080 --> 00:07:33.839
so that the markup is more manageable,

00:07:33.840 --> 00:07:36.159
and the Emacs Lisp function uses that.

00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:40.399
The Ikiwiki directive takes all the data and turns it into HTML...

00:07:40.400 --> 00:07:42.959
...so we can use Emacs Lisp to iterate over

00:07:42.960 --> 00:07:44.679
a slightly smaller property list

00:07:44.680 --> 00:07:47.479
and put them into the format Ikiwiki expects.

00:07:47.480 --> 00:07:50.079
It's nice to be able to navigate between talks

00:07:50.080 --> 00:07:52.319
without going back to the schedule page each time.

00:07:52.320 --> 00:07:55.399
This is handled by keeping two extra copies of the list:

00:07:55.400 --> 00:07:57.319
one with the first talk popped off,

00:07:57.320 --> 00:08:00.159
and one with an extra element added to the beginning.

00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:02.439
Then we can use the heads of those lists

00:08:02.440 --> 00:08:03.959
for next/previous links.

NOTE Etherpad

00:08:03.960 --> 00:08:06.679
Links to the next talks are also handy

00:08:06.680 --> 00:08:08.639
on the collaborative Etherpad documents

00:08:08.640 --> 00:08:12.039
that we use for collecting questions, answers, and notes

00:08:12.040 --> 00:08:12.839
during each talk.

00:08:12.840 --> 00:08:14.679
Etherpad has an API...

00:08:14.680 --> 00:08:17.319
...so I can start the pads off with a template

00:08:17.320 --> 00:08:18.559
before the conference.

00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:21.239
I don't want to accidentally overwrite a pad

00:08:21.240 --> 00:08:22.679
that has been manually edited.

00:08:22.680 --> 00:08:25.719
We can save the timestamp of the last modification

00:08:25.720 --> 00:08:27.679
and then compare it before overwriting.

NOTE E-mail

00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:30.839
Templates are also very handy when it comes to e-mail.

00:08:30.840 --> 00:08:33.599
Sometimes we send e-mails one at a time,

00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:35.199
like when we let a speaker know

00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:36.599
that we've received their proposal.

00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:39.559
That's mostly a matter of plugging the talk's properties

00:08:39.560 --> 00:08:41.119
into the right places in the template.

00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:44.799
Sometimes we send e-mails to lots of speakers at the same time,

00:08:44.800 --> 00:08:47.999
like when we send them instructions for uploading their files.

00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:51.439
Instead of sending one e-mail and Bcc-ing everyone,

00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:53.479
or sending people multiple e-mails

00:08:53.480 --> 00:08:54.999
because they have multiple talks,

00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:57.559
I like to draft these as individual e-mails

00:08:57.560 --> 00:08:59.799
to each speaker (or group of speakers,

00:08:59.800 --> 00:09:02.599
if more than one person is associated with a talk).

00:09:02.600 --> 00:09:05.479
That gives me an opportunity to personalize it further.

NOTE BigBlueButton web conferences

00:09:05.480 --> 00:09:08.119
Many speakers answer questions live

00:09:08.120 --> 00:09:10.039
in BigBlueButton web conference rooms.

00:09:10.040 --> 00:09:12.639
Setting up one room per group of speakers

00:09:12.640 --> 00:09:15.199
makes it easy to give the speakers the details

00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:18.519
and associate the recorded video with the talk afterwards.

00:09:18.520 --> 00:09:20.599
For EmacsConf 2023,

00:09:20.600 --> 00:09:24.839
I used Spookfox to control Mozilla Firefox from Emacs

00:09:24.840 --> 00:09:27.479
so that I could automate creating the rooms

00:09:27.480 --> 00:09:30.919
and adding the URLs to the talk properties in my Org file.

00:09:30.920 --> 00:09:33.959
Then I can use mail merge to send each speaker

00:09:33.960 --> 00:09:36.399
the check-in instructions for their specific room.

00:09:36.400 --> 00:09:38.679
Some speakers will take questions by e-mail

00:09:38.680 --> 00:09:41.399
after the conference instead of attending live,

00:09:41.400 --> 00:09:43.359
so we send them shorter instructions

00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:45.119
just in case they want to drop by.

00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:46.479
Live Q&A sessions start off

00:09:46.480 --> 00:09:46.919
with just the speaker and the host.

00:09:46.920 --> 00:09:48.119
After the first rush of questions,

00:09:48.120 --> 00:09:49.959
we can open it up for other people to join.

00:09:49.960 --> 00:09:52.759
This is handled by changing the public page

00:09:52.760 --> 00:09:55.119
from one that just refreshes in a loop

00:09:55.120 --> 00:09:58.119
to one that redirects to the actual web conference room.

00:09:58.120 --> 00:10:00.079
Just in case, we also

00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:02.159
generate static copies of those redirects

00:10:02.160 --> 00:10:04.039
so that we can copy them if needed.

00:10:04.040 --> 00:10:06.679
That way, I don't have to count on Emacs being able to

00:10:06.680 --> 00:10:07.759
publish them over TRAMP.

NOTE Shortcuts

00:10:07.760 --> 00:10:11.239
During the conference, I'm often jumping from talk to talk.

00:10:11.240 --> 00:10:13.199
Instead of going to the Org file

00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:14.519
and then searching for the talk,

00:10:14.520 --> 00:10:17.239
I've made a little Hydra with keyboard shortcuts.

00:10:17.240 --> 00:10:19.079
One of these shortcuts lets me

00:10:19.080 --> 00:10:20.799
jump to a talk with completion

00:10:20.800 --> 00:10:23.999
so that I can just type in part of the talk ID,

00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:25.679
title, or speaker name.

00:10:25.680 --> 00:10:28.679
I've also defined some Embark actions

00:10:28.680 --> 00:10:31.719
so that I can act on a talk right from the completion menu.

00:10:31.720 --> 00:10:34.719
For example, I might want to jump to the wiki page

00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:36.199
or e-mail the speaker.

NOTE Logbook

00:10:36.200 --> 00:10:39.839
I can also add notes to a talk while looking at an email,

00:10:39.840 --> 00:10:41.639
like when a speaker lets me know

00:10:41.640 --> 00:10:42.839
that their video will be late.

00:10:42.840 --> 00:10:45.799
Making it easy to add a note turns Emacs into

00:10:45.800 --> 00:10:49.439
a very basic contact relationship management system, or CRM.

00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:52.439
The way this works is that we have a function

00:10:52.440 --> 00:10:55.159
that lists all the email addresses associated with a talk.

00:10:55.160 --> 00:10:57.919
We can then map that over the list of talks,

00:10:57.920 --> 00:10:59.959
look up the author of the current email,

00:10:59.960 --> 00:11:03.319
prompt the user for the talk to add the note to, and add the note.

NOTE Captions

00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:04.679
On to captions.

00:11:04.680 --> 00:11:07.239
We've been doing captions for the last couple of years,

00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:09.959
and now we have a small army of volunteer captioners.

00:11:09.960 --> 00:11:12.679
They get early access to the recorded talks

00:11:12.680 --> 00:11:16.159
and fix up misrecognized words, format keyboard shortcuts

00:11:16.160 --> 00:11:19.359
to follow Emacs conventions, spell names correctly,

00:11:19.360 --> 00:11:21.839
and do all sorts of other wonderful things.

00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:24.399
One of our evil plans with EmacsConf

00:11:24.400 --> 00:11:28.359
is to get cool stuff out of people's heads into videos

00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:31.799
and also make captions so that those videos can be searched.

00:11:31.800 --> 00:11:34.999
To make that possible, we first need a backstage area

00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:36.639
where volunteers can get the files.

00:11:36.640 --> 00:11:39.839
This is just a simple password-protected directory

00:11:39.840 --> 00:11:43.559
with a static HTML page that lists the talks by status

00:11:43.560 --> 00:11:46.119
and shows the files related to each talk.

00:11:46.120 --> 00:11:49.599
As a talk moves through the process, I update its TODO state

00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:51.359
and republish this index.

00:11:51.360 --> 00:11:54.519
Talks that are ready to be captioned show up in that section,

00:11:54.520 --> 00:11:57.679
and volunteers can call dibs on the talk they're interested in.

00:11:57.680 --> 00:12:00.799
That's all done with a function that formats the information

00:12:00.800 --> 00:12:03.839
and uses TRAMP to save the file directly to the server.

00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:06.679
You can find more details on our captioning process

00:12:06.680 --> 00:12:09.039
at emacsconf.org/captioning.

00:12:09.040 --> 00:12:12.519
I like using subed to edit subtitles within Emacs.

NOTE Crontabs and playing the talks

00:12:12.520 --> 00:12:15.399
Let's talk about actually playing the talks.

00:12:15.400 --> 00:12:19.559
For EmacsConf 2022, we tried using Emacs timers

00:12:19.560 --> 00:12:20.519
to run the talks.

00:12:20.520 --> 00:12:24.079
It turns out that you can't call TRAMP from a timer

00:12:24.080 --> 00:12:26.719
when you're already using TRAMP from another timer

00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:27.439
at the same time.

00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:29.719
I thought about just tweaking the schedule

00:12:29.720 --> 00:12:31.799
so that we always start things at different times,

00:12:31.800 --> 00:12:34.799
but I figured there's probably a more elegant way to do this.

00:12:34.800 --> 00:12:37.519
This year, I'm planning to experiment with using cron

00:12:37.520 --> 00:12:38.959
to start talks on autopilot.

00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:42.119
The shell scripts will take care of playing the videos...

00:12:42.120 --> 00:12:44.399
... figuring out the appropriate Q&A...

00:12:44.400 --> 00:12:47.119
... and joining the web conference if needed.

00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:49.599
We just need to format the information...

00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:51.759
...and install it as the track's crontab.

00:12:51.760 --> 00:12:54.079
It's useful to be able to switch tracks

00:12:54.080 --> 00:12:55.599
to manual mode independently,

00:12:55.600 --> 00:12:57.679
just in case things go haywire.

00:12:57.680 --> 00:12:59.719
Then we can start everything manually.

00:12:59.720 --> 00:13:02.359
I can also manually update a talk's status,

00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:05.919
like when the host tells me that it's okay to open up the Q&A.

00:13:05.920 --> 00:13:08.719
The shell scripts we run from the crontab

00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:10.839
can also update the talk status themselves.

NOTE Transitions

00:13:10.840 --> 00:13:14.319
Then a bunch of things happen automatically based on

00:13:14.320 --> 00:13:15.599
the talk status changes.

00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:18.959
This uses org-after-todo-state-change-hook.

00:13:18.960 --> 00:13:20.359
We get the talk information

00:13:20.360 --> 00:13:21.959
and pass it to a list of functions.

00:13:21.960 --> 00:13:26.279
Internet Relay Chat or IRC is an easy way for people

00:13:26.280 --> 00:13:28.719
to join the conversation around EmacsConf.

00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:31.239
We announce a talk whenever it changes state.

00:13:31.240 --> 00:13:33.599
For example, when a talk starts,

00:13:33.600 --> 00:13:36.039
we post the URLs to the talk webpage

00:13:36.040 --> 00:13:39.439
and the Etherpad for questions. We change the topic as well,

00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:41.879
so anyone can see the current talk's information

00:13:41.880 --> 00:13:43.039
even if they're a little late.

00:13:43.040 --> 00:13:45.799
This is easy to do with a little bit of Emacs Lisp

00:13:45.800 --> 00:13:48.519
because (of course!) Emacs has an IRC client.

00:13:48.520 --> 00:13:49.639
In fact, it has several.

NOTE Wrapping up

00:13:49.640 --> 00:13:52.799
It seems like a lot of automation and Emacs Lisp,

00:13:52.800 --> 00:13:56.439
but really, all of this was just built up little by little.

00:13:56.440 --> 00:13:59.279
And tinkering with this is *fun*, you know?

00:13:59.280 --> 00:14:00.679
It's like always being able to ask,

00:14:00.680 --> 00:14:02.159
"Hey, wouldn't it be cool if..."

00:14:02.160 --> 00:14:05.279
and then actually being able to go and do it.

00:14:05.280 --> 00:14:07.999
Sometimes it feels like EmacsConf is an excuse

00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:09.359
for me to play with Emacs.

00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:11.999
It's pretty amazing what you can do

00:14:12.000 --> 00:14:13.799
by combining a bunch of pieces.

00:14:13.800 --> 00:14:16.719
A way to store slightly-structured information.

00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:18.879
A way to get it out again. Templates.

00:14:18.880 --> 00:14:20.679
TRAMP, for working with remote files

00:14:20.680 --> 00:14:21.919
and running remote commands.

00:14:21.920 --> 00:14:23.839
A way to talk to a web browser.

00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:25.399
A way to work with SVGs.

00:14:25.400 --> 00:14:27.759
An email client. A chat client.

00:14:27.760 --> 00:14:29.639
You can smoosh them all together

00:14:29.640 --> 00:14:32.319
in a way that you couldn't if they were all separate things.

00:14:32.320 --> 00:14:35.879
The code is in the emacsconf-el repository.

00:14:35.880 --> 00:14:39.119
It's a bit of a tangle because it's accumulating organically

00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:40.879
and I haven't really had the brainspace

00:14:40.880 --> 00:14:42.359
to step back and clean it up.

00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:45.519
But if you spotted anything interesting in this presentation,

00:14:45.520 --> 00:14:48.279
you can go check it out and see what you can scavenge.

00:14:48.280 --> 00:14:50.999
The link and this presentation are available

00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:59.119
from this talk's webpage at emacsconf.org/2023/talks/emacsconf .

00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:05.200
Let's figure out how to make Emacsconf even awesomer next year!