Changes between Version 1 and Version 2 of dakar2011/mfpl-report

Timestamp:

Feb 22, 2011, 1:08:41 AM (13 years ago)

Author:

Mallory Knodel

Comment:

--

dakar2011/mfpl-report

@@ -1 +1 @@
 = May First/People Link Report on Dakar 2011 =
 
-== General ==
+== Context ==
 
-Power cuts are really bad - making it very difficult for us to work.  Also, our lack of french and the fact that things are really expensive here (we haven't found restaurants with entrees for less than $8 - $10), makes things difficult.
+Power cuts are are frequent throughout Dakar. Electric generators are needed for consistent up-time, although connection is more stable than most at the University (as well as hospitals and some hotels).
 
-However, the city is vibrant, the ocean is beautiful, our apartment is very comfortable and the convergence center house is looking really good :). Also, Mallory and I have agreed that having four of us here has made this trip unlike any other international trip we've taken. Our productivity, despite the power cuts and other difficulties, is a magnitude greater than any previous trip. It's amazing what we can accomplish when we can leverage our experience as a team.
+Having four comprise the May First/People Link team has made the trip a uniquely successful international trip. Our productivity, despite the power cuts and other difficulties, is a magnitude greater than any previous trip because we can leverage our experience as a team, divide responsibilities, and share resources.
 
 == World Social Forum ==
 
-Thanks to Mallory's hard work with WSF staff, we finally got admin level access to the Drupal site and svn commit access to the repository containing the code. We still don't have ssh access to the live server, so we're relying on the Chuva, the expensive and not particularly responsive Brazilian consultant firm, to push our changes to the live site. Mallory, Ross and Joseph are working hard at fixing the mostly broken site, particularly the mess of translation. We've made tons of progress on this front. We're also working at better integration with wsftv.net.
+Working directly with the WSF staff, we received admin level access to the Drupal site and svn commit access to the repository containing the code. We still don't have ssh access to the live server, so we're relying on the Chuva, the expensive and not particularly responsive Brazilian consultant firm, to push our changes to the live site. Mallory, Ross and Joseph worked to fix elements of the site that prevented simple, content updates, particularly due to a broken translation workflow. In two days, huge progress was made on this front essentially tearing through a month-old document that outlined important structural changes to the site that the developers never finished.
 
-We're also working with the Communications Commission - the Com Com Assembly has MFPL as an official sponsor, thanks to Mallory's persistence. More on that later as we find out details.
+MF/PL also provided help with infrastructure. We are also prepared to host the PDF of the program (if it is produced) on MFPL servers, behind a varnish proxy server. We should expect massive downloads because I'm not sure it will get to the printer in time.
 
-We've transferred a barely functional site into something quite amazing.  The final day of changes today really made a difference. All done without even getting ssh access to the live site (creating a huge obstacle for us).
+During the forum, We were asked to post the various programs to the web site. The documents were typically received on the morning of the program, in proprietary spreadsheet format, rather than the more readable PDF version of the printed programs. Despite the fact that it has been estimated that 80% of the workshops the first day were cancelled simply because the schedule that was released had incorrect locations in it, users 
 
-We are also prepared to host the PDF of the program (if it is produced) on MFPL servers, behind a varnish proxy server. We should expect massive downloads because I'm not sure it will get to the printer in time.
+Changes to the fsm2011.org website was done without even getting ssh access to the live site (creating a huge obstacle for us).
 
-Once the convergence center started up, our WSF commitments went down.  We were asked to post the various programs to the web site. We typically got them the morning of the program itself, in spreadsheet format that was virtually impossible to decipher. I confirmed with Cindy - 80% of the workshops the first day were cancelled simply because the schedule that was released had no locations in it. So "cancelled" might be a misnomer.
+We're also working at better integration with wsftv.net.
+
+We're also working with the Communications Commission.
+
+The Assembly on Communications lists MFPL as an official sponsor.
 
 Then, after the social forum, we attended the two day IC meeting on Saturday and (half day) Sunday. One of us was at the meeting at all times, with the four of us attending Saturday afternoon and most of the Sunday meeting.