North America Touching Basis

users
#1

Pacific coast then Atlantic coast then Pacific coast -
           yet there's a couple thousand miles in between;
       seems to me, if you really wanted our participation - and help,
financial & otherwise - you'd meet somewhere in between ... ... ... :wink:

#2

Well the reality is the population density is on the coasts (for the
most part) so events happen on the coasts.

Best,
Joel

#3

But the Largest US Cities are generally not on the coast (which does not make your statement wrong).

1. New York City
2. Los Angeles
3. Chicago
4 Houston
5 Philadelphia
6, Phoenix
7. San Antonio

In fact, if I list the top 20, there is a very small number on the coast.

There is a large "tech" population in California, I will give you that much.

If you want to hit the largest population (east coast) with the smallest average travel distance, you pick the middle of Ohio (Columbus, Ohio).

I think that what you really want is:

1. Easy / cheap air fare to the location
2. Affordable lodging and food

What I have not bothered to figure out if (1) means you want to choose an airline's hub city, which increases the odds that you will have a direct flight, or, if you want a city that is not a hub since the airline often charges more for direct flights. I remember considering leaving from Detroit Michigan to fly to Florida, but, it was cheaper for me to use a connector into Detroit before getting on that same flight to Florida.

#4

But the Largest US Cities are generally not on the coast (which does
not make your statement wrong).

1. New York City
2. Los Angeles
3. Chicago
4 Houston
5 Philadelphia
6, Phoenix
7. San Antonio

Sure if there are events happening that we can attend please let us
know. The reality is that once a contributor wants to get together - we
try to get a sense of where the current contributors want to meet. The
reality is, we have an uphill battle gaining contributors in the United
States (testers, marketing, developers, etc...). Robinson and I dedicate
a tremendous amount of time trying to build a community in the US --
funny enough, this "debate" is perhaps the most "alive" I've seen North
America user base :slight_smile: Which, I'm glad to know you all are out there.
Please join our teams :slight_smile: We would be beyond happy to have you aboard and
then we can discuss options to meet in person.

http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=libreoffice-qa
http://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/

I'm partial to QA team :wink:

Best,
Joel

#5

But the Largest US Cities are generally not on the coast (which does not make your statement wrong).

Of the 7 cities listed, only two of them are not international ports, with container ships arriving/departing on a daily basis.

In fact, if I list the top 20, there is a very small number on the coast.

More than 40% of the US population lives in either BosWash or SanSan.
(Something else they have in common, is that both are one earthquake away from being completely obliterated from the map.)

smallest average travel distance, you pick the middle of Ohio (Columbus, Ohio).

Shortest distance does not correlate with "easiest to get to".
SanSan residents will go through Atlanta.
BosWash residents will go through either Detroit or Chicago.
Fly-over country residents will probably go through both Denver and Chicago.

1. Easy / cheap air fare to the location
2. Affordable lodging and food

Affordable lodging means going during the off season.
Cheap airfare means getting either a 90 day or 180 day APEX fare.

Also consider that rail is a viable alternative in BosWash.

#6

None right now - honestly we're not even close to that point and that's
why this is going so far off topic that it's become quite frankly a
waste of my time. I have sent out emails over the last 2 years trying to
encourage participation from North American users - we have some, not
nearly enough and yet now the conversation has turned into something
quite different. Once we see a "solid force" of people who are
contributing consistently then we can discuss locations.

That being said - the idea was to just say hi to my North American
colleagues and see if anyone had some spare cycles to help QA out with
the endless tasks we have. So, if someone is interested in helping ping
me privately and I'll help you get started. No development skills are
needed.

Best,
Joel

#7

Hi Joel,
Well, I am in the Mid-west, so it would be kind of far to travel just to say "Hello", but I would be happy to help if there is something you think I can do.
Ruth Ann, in Ohio, USA

#8

I popped on over to the Cincinnati when Jean Webber (documentation team) was there for a conference so that we could have lunch. It was nice to finally meet her in person :slight_smile: