EMWCon Spring 2018

The Enterprise MediaWiki Conference Spring 2018, or EMWCon Spring 2018, will be held March 21-23 in Houston, TX. EMWCon is a three-day conference featuring discussions of topics related to "Enterprise MediaWiki", i.e. the usage of MediaWiki software by and within companies, non-profits, governments, and other organizations. The intended audience of EMWCon Spring 2018 is anyone who uses, or would like to learn more about, MediaWiki within organizations.

This is the third EMWCon. EMWCon began as a spinoff of the Semantic MediaWiki Conference, or SMWCon, which is an annual conference held each fall in Europe. EMWCon and SMWCon are both three-day conferences with similar topics of discussion. EMWCon has a broader scope.

Event details

 * Dates: March 21-23 2018
 * Times:
 * Location: The Houston Technology Center (HTC).

Organizers
The organizers of EMWCon Spring 2018 are:
 * General Chair: Mark Hershberger
 * Local Chair: Frank Taylor
 * Registration Chair: Yaron Koren
 * Program Chair: Ginger Hershberger
 * Create Camp Chair: James Montalvo
 * Chair Emeritus: Cindy Chicalese

2 tracks
We are considering having a 2-track conferenceː one focused on newer users and the other on advanced users. If we do that, starting the newer users at the easiest concepts and working up is the only logical method. For the advanced track, it makes sense to work backwardsː start on the most complex topics and proceed towards simpler ones. At some point those complexity levels would likely cross, making it easier for people to jump between tracks. Additionally, we may consider doing a mini-hackathon or hackathon-planning thing very early on, such that people can be working on and talking about their ideas prior to the final day (See hackathon section below).

Topics

 * Replacing Extensions - thoughts on creating Approved Revs and other alternatives for existing functionality - Yaron Koren

New user tutorials
We'll need people to teach the tutorials. Below are some rough ideas for what tutorials may exists. Please add your name if you're interested in teaching.
 * Basic intro to wiki
 * Why SMW (or Cargo)? (people don't understand that data is being queried into a page)
 * How to make Templates & Forms

Advanced track

 * Something about meza (User:Jamesmontalvo3 and User:Darenwelsh)

Hackathon / Create camp
For the final day, Friday, we're considering having a hackathon. Currently we're considering having this near JSC, perhaps at the ISS Conference Center on Space Park Drive. Past hackathons at the end of conferences have not given much time to work on anything. They've seemed like an afterthought tacked onto the end of several days of presentations.

Registration
To register for EMWCon, please go to the EMWCon Spring 2018 page at Eventbrite.

The cost for the three-day event is:


 * $424.35 - standard rate
 * $160.41 - students and freelancers

(If you would be paying your own way, go with the lower rate. If your company or organization is paying, the standard rate applies.)

Sign-up
Also, feel free to add your name to the informal registration signup, below:
 * Peter J. Woudsma, NATO
 * Lex Sulzer, dataspects
 * Wolfgang Fahl, BITPlan/ProfiWiki
 * Yaron Koren
 * Bryan Hilderbrand
 * Mark A. Hershberger
 * Cindy Cicalese

Local accommodations
Here are some hotels within walking distance of the conference venue:


 * Holiday Inn (directions to HTC, 11 minute walk)
 * Best Western (directions to HTC, 10 minute walk)
 * Hyatt (directions to HTC, 11 minute walk)
 * Doubletree (directions to HTC, 14 minute walk)

Social activities

 * TBD