Counting heads during NZNOG papers last week showed a steady attendance of somewhere between 45 and 50. (Tony McGregor's paper first thing on Friday morning had an audience of only 36 when it began, but 48 by the time it finished. I suspect that to reflect time of day rather than content or presentation.) That level of attendance, and feedback to various organisers, suggests to me that holding a face to face gathering was a worthwhile exercise. My thanks to all those who contributed, and particularly to Dean Pemberton. Now, if that one was worthwhile, how about doing it again? We have already two offers for future NZNOG gatherings. 1/ UniForum NZ Roger De Salis has volunteered to act as convenor for next year's UniForum NZ conference. In general terms, his intention is to stage a conference similar in structure to this year's, though with Linux content much more focussed toward a business audience, and in general a stronger programme. NZNOG would be welcome to participate on more or less the same basis as this year, though presumably making up a smaller proportion of a larger conference. This would probably be at around the same time of year and probably in Auckland. 2/ The University of Waikato The University of Waikato have offered to host a NZNOG gathering, to be held at their main campus in Hamilton. This would be a stand-alone event, with the university providing administrative staff time for registrations and the like. No decision has been made as to when this would be. If held outside university terms, e.g. in February, accommodation on campus would be available at a cost of approximately $35 per night. There would be a cost for the venue, but this would be well below the rate a hotel would charge. The Hamilton option is likely to have a significantly lower cost. It is possible that a university setting would discourage sponsors, who provided a good number of overseas speakers this year. On the other hand, the likely venue photographs well and we haven't asked them yet. I'd be interested in feedback, quite possibly including issues not considered in this posting. If anyone else has an alternative venue/organisation suggestion, or believes we can support more than one organised gathering a year, let's hear it. - Donald Neal ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "This communication, including any attachments, is confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, you should not read it - please contact me immediately, destroy it, and do not copy or use any part of this communication or disclose anything about it. Thank you." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - To unsubscribe from nznog, send email to majordomo(a)list.waikato.ac.nz where the body of your message reads: unsubscribe nznog