PyCon US 2024 Recap
katherinemichel.github.io
katherinemichel.github.io
PyCon is overwhelming and delightful in every way -- and it just gets more so every time I attend. That said, you managed to see a ton of amazing stuff and people, which is quite impressive.
I hope to see you back in Pittsburgh next year!
Also incredible how many people you know in the Python (and larger!) community.
Thanks for posting.
That’s why many who attend do it by convincing their company to pay for the the trip and the ticket
https://pycon.blogspot.com/2024/03/TravelGrantsReport2024.ht...
A substantial number from PyCon US 2023 went out on 02-Jun-2023 (ie exactly a year ago today).
Like you I see "144 unavailable videos are hidden" and only 9 videos available to watch.
I'm looking forward to watching some of the content when they do publish :)
Their fate shows that GIL is not as important as it might appear at the first glance.
Python is becoming more complicated everyday e.g., with things like PEP-695 Python is starting to resemble C++ (not a good thing). https://discuss.python.org/t/please-consider-delaying-or-eve...
1. I absolutely, positively love meeting new people at PyCon, regardless of their background, level, etc. I learn new things from just about everyone I meet, and that's a huge part of the fun for me. I'm frustrated that I don't get a chance to just meet and chat with more people during the conference, and actively try to eat meals with people I don't yet know so that I can get to know them.
2. Part of the greatness of the Python community is that we realize other people, regardless of their fame, are just that -- people. They were unknown at some point, and people were nice to them. So they'll probably be nice to you, too.
3. Every community has jerks, Python included. If someone famous isn't nice to you, then just ignore them from that point on, and concentrate on the numerous nice people. It's not worth getting riled up or upset about it.
We're all just people. Meeting someone in-person who enjoys something you've done is enjoyable for nearly everyone. Fawning is a bit much, but a "thank you for what you do" is really lovely.
If you're not sure how to "break in": keep the Pac-Man rule that's often embraced at PyCon in mind. If there's an open spot in a huddled group or if the group seems to notice you eyeing them and make a spot for you, join the group. Feel free to just fish bowl the conversation. Most of the time I've seen this happen, eventually someone chats with whoever just joined the conversation. Don't be afraid to either keep fish bowling or walk away if the conversation isn't what you were expecting. Either are acceptable.
You noted that you're afraid of being rude. That means you're exactly the person most folks would love to chat with since you're probably both humble and kind. :)
I think this post will be great for PyCon newcomers. Getting the chance to experience a play-by-play of a past PyCon before attending your first PyCon might be even more useful than reading the various "how to have a great first PyCon" posts that many of us have written.
It was great seeing you at PyCon! :)
> We are nice people and many of us and our fellow community members can’t attend without health and safety guidelines in place. We want PyCon US to be an event that everyone feels safe attending. PyCon US is exceptional in that we have people attending from all over the world—last year we had people attending from 75 different countries! We love that people bring their unique perspectives… but they also bring their local germs and Covid strains. We’re masking to keep our immuno-compromised friends safe at PyCon US and to ensure that those of us who share their homes with immuno-compromised people can also consider joining us without quarantining when they return home.
I salute you. I wish more conferences did this. I am quite bitter about how after all the inclusion and diversity talk over the years most open source conferences do not do this. Even Fosdem didn't have one despite
1. volunteer driven so free from financial pressure from anti vaxxer owned companies (not all communities were so lucky)
2. famous for being crowded
3. is not in the US -- where this is most politicized
Edit: please read https://www.thegauntlet.news/p/unmitigated-covid-is-overwhel... if you think we are past the pandemic.
I am astounded that four years in we still need to explain that a) masks are effective in stopping community transmission b) masks worn by the source are more effective or, in other words, your mask protects me while my mask protects you. How is this new?
No, your stance is absolutely selfish -- not uncommon of course, but it is selfish.
He isn’t any more selfish than you are, traveling to a crowded conference while living with an immuno-compromised person, and on top of that expecting people to bend over to your requirements.
To each their own, but I personally will not be attending PyCon next year because it was exhausting to wear a mask for 5 days straight.
This has echoes of how people with AIDS were considered back then.
Except we are not after the pandemic, it's made up by politicians and the rich. The second highest measured covid ratio in wastewater across the United States was in 2023 December-January. It's just the virus now kills a lot less people but its long term effects, named "long covid" is a debilitating disability that people prefer to pretend not existing.
But we all live with some level of risk. Keeping the risk level at or near zero isn't realistic, or something that most people want. We cross the street, travel in cars, etc.
I find it weird that PyCon had a mandatory masking policy, when medical conferences staffed by doctors and disease experts don't have such a policy any more. And I'm guessing that PyCon's policy was made by well-meaning people who aren't doctors or medical experts.
My suggestion -- and yes, I wrote this in my PyCon follow-up survey -- is that our masking policy follow whatever the CDC, AMA, or a similar body is doing for its conferences at the time PyCon takes place. If the experts require masking, then we should do so, also. And if they don't, then we should encourage people to mask if they need or want to, but we shouldn't force it upon everyone.
In other words: PyCon should make decisions about the conference and Python-related things. Medical decisions should be left to outside experts.
how much did people actually follow the mandate? I looked through the pictures, and it seems to be ~not at all for picture/social situation, and maye 50% for general?
But whenever there was a chance to take the mask off, people did. If there was food around, people immediately ditched the masks and stayed with food or drink in their hand to justify keeping the masks off. I was at one small (10-person) session where everyone agreed to keep masks off, gingerly making sure that no one objected. We then all made sure to have drinks in front of us to "justify" doing so.
And when people went outside, the masks were off. At the PSF member lunch, where we ate together, masks were off as soon as we got food. At the PyLadies auction, where we (again) ate together, people were also without masks. I'll note that the auction took place in the same room where talks had taken place several hours earlier, with strict mask enforcement (and adherence).
Bottom line, people were generally willing to follow the rules. But there was a lot of grumbling about why there should be a mask mandate in 2024, and what the justification was for having one.
With vaccines and other ways of dealing with Covid infections it does not seem reasonable to have to do this anymore. And I doubt it’s very effective anyway, people are notorious terrible at wearing masks.
There is zero mask wearing in my country now and it’s mandated until nearly everyone was vaccinated. Now it’s no longer used as a Covid prevention measure here.
There were so many bad talks at All Things Open in 2022 I didnt go last year. I will try it again this year, though.
The worst offenders are always 25 min talks with 10-15 min "why I am great" self-intros. I am in the minority, perhaps, but I dont really care what you have done / where you work if you have something interesting to say. But we all default to appeals to authority.
Remember how this was kickstarted after a plan and a promise by a core dev for a 5x speedup in a few years if he was sponsored to work on that?