Sven Guckes:
Title short: "chat+mail+wiki"
Title long:  "Effective Collaboration via chat+mail+wiki"
Duration:    15mins | up to 90mins including presentation

Description:

People need effective tools to communicate.
Over the internet there are three major ways
which are used very often: chat + mail + wiki.

This is quite a powerful combination which can
accellerate the collaboration within groups.

There are some good reasons for this - and
there are some good tools, too.
I'd like to share some of my experience
with you by showing you the tools I use.

The bottom line:
The combination of chat+mail+wiki
is recommended for every work group -
especially for open source events.
the tools are all there - use them!

By the way - all of these things might
also apply to company intranets. ;-)

A workshop is possible, too -
If there is a room available.

Talk Outline

= Talk =
Sat 2008-10-04 15.00-15.55
Sven Guckes:
Title short: "chat+mail+wiki"
Title long:  "Effective Collaboration via chat+mail+wiki"

= Who? =
who am i -> http://www.guckes.net/sven/
who is in the audience?
who uses chat+mail+wiki already?

= Whom? =
i want to enable group communication for orga, helpers, *and* visitors -
not only during and after the event, but *before* the event.

target audience:
any groups of people collaborating via the internet.
my focus is on the communities around floss events.

= Why? =
do we really need this? "definitely maybe!"
if it doesnt exist then you cannot use it.

chat: 1:N,  synchronous communication, lively talk.
mail: 1:N, asynchronous; embed links + attach messages;
      take your time to think and reply; archive!
wiki: repository; summary of chat talk and mail discussions.
      upload documents, add links.
      "recent changes" -> version history.

why the combination chat+mail+wiki? because it "works for me".
all services can be accessed via a web browser.
therefore these are *independent* of platform.

chat+mail+wiki - all services available online.
no need to rent a machine with root access and
no installation necessary.  maintenance by users.
personal configuration of clients highly recommended!

= How? =
make available chat+mail+wiki right from the start.

chat: create and register a channel for the project.
      give op status for some involved people.
      update the topic: next event (countdown), urls for wiki+www
      avoid idling -> create meetings at a given time.
      use moderation, if necessary.
      log all traffic.
      repeat words, or even parts of sentences to keep context.
      combine with phone:  talk + keep notes on channel.

mail: three lists: one list for newsletters (one-way broadcast),
      one for orga, one for everyone.
      subject tag okay, but no footer,
      limit messages to 5K (95%), 10K max (98%).
      drop all attachments -> small archive!
      enforce citation and summarization.

wiki: good for collaboration.
      create account: subscribe to pages.
      add summaries of conversations (chat+mail) here.
      useful firefox plugin: "it's all text" (show!)
      [todo: offline editing.]

= Summary =
      listen to *all* suggestions!
      try to answer *all* questions.
      create a FAQ for newcomers.
      summarize results in the wiki.

      $ cat chat mail | think -u /dev/brain >> wiki

please "open up" and "share by default!"

= Show =
      irc:  irssi; aliases, colors, notifications; topic overview
      mail: mutt; maillist; mailman archive.
      wiki: wiki.froscon.org  wiki.fscons.org
            wikidot.com  "it's all text"

= Feedback =
Q: Why not use blogs+rss,newsgroups,webforum,www, too?
A: sure - these media are possible, too - use them!
   cannot show them all in a lightning talk.
   and this combination was chosen to
   promote the use of chat+mail+wiki. :-)