Ubuntu Wiki

Description

Like a LAN party, a HackFest usually takes place on a weekend afternoon and evening. We start by getting a room with power, Internet, and a nearby bathroom. We stock the room with pizza, cola, and maybe beer. We put ourselves and our computers in the room, lock the door, and we don't come out for 12 hours.

Bug fixing is dull; a HackFest is fun. We reward people for fixing bugs. Hugs, pizza slices, colas, beers, and group cheers are common rewards. We reward people for asking for help. Help Me Bingo encourages people to share their problems and rewards problem solvers. We reward people for coming. The good will of the Ubuntu community we earn by our efforts, and we'll share it around by attaching the name of every HackFest attendee to our scorecard on the Ubuntu Wiki.

• We PRIORITISED 345 bugs.
• We CLARIFIED 234 bugs.
• We SUBMITTED 13 bugs.
• We FIXED 58 bugs.
• We rock.

A HackFest is open to everyone. Artists can fix artwork bugs. Writers can fix documentation bugs. Programmers can fix programing bugs. Everyone can fix easy bugs.

There are no bosses at a HackFest. Nobody will stop you from socialising. Nobody will stop you from upgrading your computer. Nobody will stop you from seeing how many beers it takes before you can't compile a bootable kernel. (But nobody will stop me from dragging your drunk butt outside if I think you're going to throw up on my laptop.)

Details

• Goal #1: Everyone will have fun.
• Goal #2: Everyone will contribute to Ubuntu before leaving.

Scheduled Activities:

1. Debian Package Tutorial by Joe Terranova at TBD
2. A GPG Key Signing at TBD
3. Lunch (bring money!) at TBD
4. Dinner (bring money!) at TBD
5. Discuss more activities on the mailing list!

Unscheduled Activities

1. Seat Swap: In pairs, everyone swaps seats with the person next to them for 20 minutes and tries to fix the other person's bug.
2. Discuss more activities on the mailing list!

Celebrations

(happen when a bug has been fixed or progress has been made):

1. The bug fixer gets a hug
2. The bug fixer gets food or drink
3. We all give up a cheer
   1. Puny cheers are best: Hip-hip Hardy! Hip-hip Heron!
4. Discuss more celebrations on the mailing list! (Celebrations are not mutually exclusive: we can do more than one for each bug fixed)

What You Must Bring

1. Computer and everything to make computer functional
2. Everything needed to connect your computer to an ethernet or wireless network
3. Food money.

What you Should Bring

1. Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon or Hardy Heron installed on your computer or in a virtual machine (Joe Terranova will have clean versions of Gutsy and Hardy available in Virtualbox images).
2. Have an account on Launchpad before you show up. Having a launchpad makes it much easier to edit documentation on the wiki, and post and comment on bugs.
3. If you want to get your GPG key signed, bring your GPG fingerprint, and valid ID (drivers license, passport, or similar).
4. Beverages for you to drink
5. Anything that will help you work. For example, artists should bring their tablets. Remember you'll be surrounded by other people; be considerate: for example, if you hack to music, bring headphones in consideration of the people who hack to silence.