[Opensim-dev] Announcing the first online OpenSimulator Community Conference

[Justin Clark-Casey]

Hi folks.  Below is a press release for the first online OpenSimulator community conference which we've been getting 
together behind the scenes for a few months.  This is still evolving (e.g. keynote speakers, etc.) still to be announced 
but the basic details are in place.   It's going to be both scary but also exciting, as this is a very interesting place 
to take the platform and deal with capacity issues and other bugs firsthand (and one reason for the recent load tests). 
  More details will be announced on the website and via the Twitter handle (@opensimcc) as things progress!  In the mean 
time, some of the calls for presentations are open and the others soon will be, so please feel free to submit them.

...

The Overte Foundation <http://www.overte.org/> and
AvaCon<http://www.avacon.org/blog/>are pleased to announce the first
annual OpenSimulator
Community Conference 2013 <http://conference.opensimulator.org> (
http://conference.opensimulator.org), to take place on the OpenSimulator
Conference Center grid on September 7 – 8, 2013.  The OpenSimulator
Community Conference will be a celebration of the platform and of the large
and varied community using and co-creating it.  It will feature two days of
keynote speakers, presentations and panels on different topics, and an expo
area to showcase community activities and projects.

Anyone who is interested in the OpenSimulator software and the future of
the metaverse is welcome to attend.  We especially hope to see
OpenSimulator developers, grid administrators, and members of the community
who participate on OpenSimulator grids.

The conference will be held entirely within the OpenSimulator environment.
  The official program will be held in a grid specifically set up for the
conference.  We expect 150-200 attendees of the conference to be able to
attend virtually on the conference grid, as well as an even broader
audience through live streaming of the conference sessions on UStream.  In
addition, the conference will offer social hours following each day’s
program to accommodate satellite events that will take place in the many
grids operated by members of the community.  There will also be an
exposition area on the conference grid for sponsors.

Due to the “alpha” nature of the OpenSimulator software, this conference is
an experiment in capacity testing for OpenSimulator in addition to being a
community event.  Therefore, tickets to the conference will be free but
limited in number.  We hope to be able to accommodate over 200 users in
total, a figure which includes speakers, sponsors and staff .  Since seats
are limited, registration will open on a first-come-first-served basis on
June 17, 2013 until the maximum number of virtual conference center tickets
is reached.  At that point, community members will still be able to
register for the live streamed version of the conference that will be
available via UStream.  This will also be free.  The expo area will not be
ticketed and so can be accessed by any avatar, subject to constraints on
the number of avatars that the exhibition regions can hold at any
particular time.

For more information please see the conference website at
http://conference.opensimulator.org.

ORGANIZATION INFORMATION:

OpenSimulator is an open-source platform that supports the creation of
collaborative, immersive, distributed and social 3D virtual environments
over the Internet. Started in 2007 and developed by individuals and
organizations large and small, it has become a versatile system with which
anyone can experiment.  OpenSimulator software is now the basis for many
“grids” of varying sizes and purposes.  http://opensimulator.org

<http://opensimulator.org>

The Overte Foundation is a non-profit organization that manages
contribution agreements for the OpenSimulator project.  In the future, it
will also act to promote and support both OpenSimulator and the wider
open-source 3D virtual environment ecosystem.  http://www.overte.org/

<http://www.overte.org/>

AvaCon, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting
the growth, enhancement, and development of the metaverse, virtual worlds,
augmented reality, and 3D immersive and virtual spaces. We hold conventions
and meetings to promote educational and scientific inquiry into these
spaces, and to support organized fan activities, including performances,
lectures, art, music, machinima, and much more. Our primary goal is to
connect and support the diverse communities and practitioners involved in
co-creating and using virtual worlds, and to educate the public and our
constituents about the emerging ecosystem of technologies broadly known as
the metaverse.  http://avacon.org


*Web:*  http://conference.opensimulator.org

*Twitter*:  http://twitter.com/opensimcc

*Hashtags:*  #OSCC13 #OSCC #opensim

*Email:*  opensim at avacon.org <http://avacon.org>
-- 
Justin Clark-Casey (justincc)
OSVW Consulting
http://justincc.org
http://twitter.com/justincc