use Perl

• Who cares about the talks? (Score:2)

  by brian_d_foy (44)

  I never really go to the talks because things like "What's New in DBI" are in the Changes file. Damian's talks are interesting if you haven't seen them before, but it's mostly entertainment.
  
  I go because I know interesting people will be there. I take over a table in the hallway and hang out with old friends. :)
  
  But then, I don't have to pay to do any of that. If it cost me anything, I wouldn't go.
  • Re:Who cares about the talks? (Score:2)

    by pudge (1)

    But then, I don't have to pay to do any of that. If it cost me anything, I wouldn't go.
    
    Exactly.
    
    I might go, but only because a. I am not paying, and b. I would see stuff other than Perl sessions.
    
    • Re:Who cares about the talks? (Score:2)

      by gnat (29) on 2006.04.14 9:26 (#47172) Journal

      I think of it like this: if all you program in is Perl, and you never have to mess with Apache, MySQL, Linux, Javascript, Ruby, or PHP--then definitely go to YAPC. It's the best Perl conference there is, with a lot of great Perl content.

      But if you deal with a lot of non-Perl topics, and you find them interesting, then consider coming to OSCON. We cater to that kind of diversity of interests and needs. There'll always be a better conference for every topic we cover, but those conferences only cover that single topic.

      So if you want depth in one area, go to that specific conference. If you want breadth, come to OSCON and go to the talks. If you want breadth and depth, come to OSCON and talk to people. In short, OSCON is for you if breadth is what you're about.

      I hear you (Pudge) saying, "I have a great time at OSCON, I talk to fun people, I go to a lot of interesting talks, it's just that they're not all Perl". And I say, "that's great. Enjoy it for what it is." If you want YAPC, you've got YAPC. You even say that you moved around between tracks in years past, so this year's program isn't different from past years in that respect. I'm not sure why you're harumphing.

      I remember back when YAPC was just starting up. There was a lot of worry that The Perl Conference would be evil and crush YAPC. (And there was some worry within O'Reilly that YAPC would kill TPC). TPC is now basically a track within OSCON (albeit still the largest track), TPC doesn't compete with YAPC, and nobody crushes anybody because everyone has their own niche. I think that, on the whole, this is a good thing.

      --Nat

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      • Re:Who cares about the talks? (Score:2)

        by pudge (1)

        Gnat, I basically agree with you, except that while you think OSCON should not have more Perl content, I think it should. However, this is not what I do for a living, so I would not even think of telling you that you're wrong: you certainly know the economics (both fiscal and social) of this stuff better than I do, by far. But to answer your query:
        
        I'm not sure why you're harumphing.
        
        Because I think it is sad that The Perl Conference is effectively dead. I liked it, and am sorry to see it gone.
        
        Perhaps you