[Events] above-and-beyond hospitality to newbies at an Indian open source event

[Sumana Harihareswara]

(cross-posting to wikimediaindia-l and the OpenHatch events list)

I recently read a thought-provoking piece, "The Bardoli Incident," by a
Gujarati open source software contributor.[0]  It's a moving story of
hospitality to newbies and I wanted to share it with you.

I especially appreciate that Pradeepto Bhattacharya personally took it
upon himself to stop newbie attrition at the event.  My Indian parents
taught me a heritage of hospitality, as I remembered in "Be Bold: An
Origin Story".[1] So this kind of heroism, the heroism of the host,
speaks deeply to me.

It's a tough balance, respecting each participant's right to drop out
while ensuring they know that we want them to stay.  I think
Bhattacharya got it right by asking honest questions and adapting the
newbies' experience.  Maybe other event organizers reading this have had
similar experiences?
-- 
Sumana Harihareswara
Engineering Community Manager
Wikimedia Foundation

[0] http://pradeepto.livejournal.com/18619.html

[1]
http://adainitiative.org/2012/06/sumana-harihareswaras-be-bold-an-origin-story-keynote-at-open-source-bridge/