User:Bgibbs (WMF)/Sandbox/Choosing to meet up virtually or in person

What problem does this solve?[edit]

When a conference is being scheduled, someone needs to decide if his or group will teleconference, videoconference, meet via IRC or an instant messenger service, or have an in-person event.

Videoconferencing and teleconferencing (for example, videoconferencing with Google Hangouts; see Grants:Learning patterns/Hosting a successful Hangout) may work well for

Meetings with small numbers of participants
Meetings that are relatively brief
Meetings that are held on short notice
Meetings where the time-loss and cost of travel outweigh the benefits of an in-person meeting
Meetings for which there is insufficient time or funding to accommodate travel and lodging
Meetings for which legal, political or safety conditions make it risky or impossible to have an in-person event
Meetings where all participants have access to reliable and compatible communications methods

IRC and instant messenger meetings may work well under similar circumstances to videoconferencing and teleconferencing, except that

Internet bandwidth requirements are often low for IRC and IM services, which may enable more people to participate
IRC may require a higher level of technical proficiency than IM, videoconferencing, or teleconferencing
IRC and IM meetings allow participants to record logs of the meetings, which may or may not be desirable
IRC and IM may make it difficult for participants to communicate their emotions and to understand the emotions of other participants, because the vocal and visual cues for emotions are absent unless participants express their emotions in writing.

Meetings that will involve dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of participants
Meetings that will require many hours or multiple days of participation
Meetings that are intended to be motivational
Meetings of participants who lack reliable and compatible methods for videoconferencing or teleconferencing
Situations where we want to give people an opportunity to experience a local culture or work environment
Situations where we want to give people an opportunity to personally meet other people such as board members, staff, contractors, volunteers, and/or external partners

Examples of meetups in Wikimedia include those listed below. Meetups with virtual participation options are noted.

Wikimania 2013 in Hong Kong
Wikimania 2014 in London, U.K. (In-person meetup with outgoing live video for remote viewers)

Wikimedia Foundation monthly metrics and activities meetings (in-person meetup in San Francisco, with additional participation through Google Hangouts and IRC)
Wikimedia Foundation all-hands meetings

Travel and accommodations may be expensive and complicated to arrange.
Internet and voice communications services can be unreliable. In parts of the world where Internet connections and phone connections are very unreliable, it may be best to arrange in-person meetings.
Both in-person communications and electronic communications may have less security and privacy than you wish. For example, it may be possible for the operators of electronic communications services to eavesdrop on communications that pass through their services.
People who are invited to meetings may have practical reasons for wanting to teleconference or videoconference instead of attending in person. These reasons may include:

The most common videoconferencing tool among Wikimedians appears to be Google Hangouts. Many Wikimedians also have access to Skype.
IRC is commonly used by Wikimedians and the Wikimedia Foundation on the Freenode network. For more information about the use of IRC to discuss Wikimedia, click here.
Before committing to a videoconference, ask all of the essential participants to test their videoconferencing hardware and software.
Firewalls may interfere with the operation of videoconferencing software.
Youtube has a humorous and informative video about the downsides of teleconferencing.