Penguicon 3.0 - Linux Conference in Michigan

I just survived running programming for Penguicon 3.0.  Of course, I didn't make everyone happy.  I didn't expect to.  Our Guests of Honors (GOHs) had a good time.  I had one that thought I put him on too few panels!   Some even said they may come back 'unofficially'.  Sorry, no name-dropping.

This con seemed to be hit by what we began to call the "Curse of Penguicon."  Everyone on ConCom got the nasty, nasty flu, then all of our cars broke down.  (We have an official Penguicon Mechanic now.  The Friday of the convention, I was #9 on the committe to call him!)  Of course, we can't forget the wonderful snowstorm that hit this weekend. 

Personally, I think we had a successful convention.  We tried some new things that some folks seemed to like.  Yes, there are things I would change.  And, there are things that I know I couldn't change.  (Anyone who runs a convention knows of which I speak!)  Of course, we all were completely fried by the dead dog party - but that is expected.

Anyway, the successes and failures made a group of us think that perhaps it would be good to create Convention Running Software.  I am putting a call out to everyone who has been involved in running Science Fiction Conventions around the country to respond here and to create a discussion on what is needed in such a thing.

Now, before some of you panic about a free-for-all on this forum, I am going to be writing up what I think are the base requirements.  I want to interview experienced older fen who have been doing this a long time to find out what kinds of tools they have used and what kinds of tools they wish they had.

What is my vision for this?  Well, after talking with Aaron Thule (the AV god for Penguicon), I'm thinking of a tiered system with a BSD type license.  (Remember, Penguicon is also an Open Source convention.)  Non-profits, like most conventions, would not pay a fee - or pay a nominal fee to contribute to upkeep - and for-profits would pay a tiered fee structure.  Think tailored sales.

We are looking at doing a web application that would possibly be centrally shared by both regional and world con folks eventually.

Why am I qualified to do this?  Well, I'm a trained and experienced business systems analyst and somehow I ended up a SMOF.  How does that happen? (That is a rhetorical question!)

Please, help us make this happen.  If you already have software you are willing to share - please share!  We want this to succeed so we can help ConCom keep more of their sanity running conventions.