Dear all,

 

it was a pleasure to work with all of you together also this year, especially Robert, Laura, Austin and Derek really great job in organizing it this year. Even though I couldn’t participate in organizational meetings and so on, I tried to follow the conversations and to help when was possible. I have the feeling that the NVDACon team gets stronger and grows in a sustainable way which makes me really lucky to see.

 

Regarding zoom, I explored this opportunity last year and had two long conversations with the Zoom people trying to negociate a meaningful plan which is teylored for NVDACon. I ended up at about 145 USD per month, if we include full recording features, 10 moderator accounts, full webinar features and so on. My conclusion was as follows:

• The best way would be to rent a Zoom pro account from an organization which already uses it regularly (cheapest way I would say)
• Zoom doesn’t offer weekend plans
• We need a backup through an NGO to get discount
• We need an account for NVDACon to begin fund raising throughout the community (i.e. a paypal account)
• We need to think about an alternative conference format, moderating a Zoom conference which takes three days long is really really not an easy job, especially if we want to avoid what happened during Opening forum this year.

 

Let me know your thoughts and I can start negociations with them again.

I will also try to find a solution for getting a Zoom pro account to test a one day conference, maybe in February.

 

Doug Lee and me we’re preparing an overview of the platforms out there and will try to find what the best is for NVDACon.

 

Best regards

Adriani

 

 

Von: intl@NVDACon.groups.io <intl@NVDACon.groups.io> Im Auftrag von Iván Novegil via groups.io
Gesendet: Dienstag, 8. Dezember 2020 03:18
An: intl@NVDACon.groups.io
Betreff: Re: [NVDACon] NVDACon 2020 post-mortem analysis: success, moving to a different platform, Twitter feed

 

Hi.

 

According to what I've seen, Zoom can be paid month-by-month, but the web offers anual plans by default. Anual prices are usually equal to 10 months.

Additionally, for nonprofit organizations, at least here in spain, zoom seems to offer a 50% discount on all plans, 1 plan request per organization per year, via Techsoup. As Techsoup is an international company, I think similar offers would be available in other countries.

I don't think moving from TeamTalk is a fundamental need for conferences such as NVDACon or our local meeting, but to be honest some people was complaining about TeamTalk also during our last conference, held in last month; however there wasn't such a strong debate as in NVDACon's openning forum.

 

Regards.

 

Congratulations on all your work. Regards.

Iván Novegil Cancelas
Editor
ivan.novegil@...



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O 08/12/2020 á(s) 2:20, Robert Hänggi escribiu:

Thanks Quentin for the kind words

I must say it was such a pleasure and so inspirational to work with

you one to one that I didn't mind staying up wide into the small hours

(like now where it is 2:00 am here).

Especially in the first weeks when I felt like doing a one-man show

and reaching out to you was soothing to my mental balance.

Our "conspiracy" produced some great ideas of which not all could make

it into the conference as yet but they are burnt into our sub

conscience (or just the email archive) so that they could pop up any

time again.

I'm looking forward to work with you again in whichever role that might be.

Cheers

Robert

On 08/12/2020, Quentin Christensen <quentin@...> wrote:

Congratulations Joseph, Robert, Derek, Austin, Laura and everyone involved

on running a very successful and well received NVDACon, great job!

Joseph, you will be missed, but you have setup a great foundation and got a

talented group of people holding the fort so enjoy your time away from

running the show next year!

In terms of cost, NV Access are certainly willing to contribute financially

to whatever solution is going to work best for the conference organisers

and participants - although of course we need to be able to justify the

expense as well, and it may be that approaching a particular platform about

sponsorship is worthwhile.

For now, congratulations again on a great conference, and I look forward to

hearing the recordings!

Quentin.

On Tue, Dec 8, 2020 at 11:48 AM Robert Hänggi <aarjay.robert@...>

wrote:

Hi

Again, for reference, here is the pricing page of zoom:

https://zoom.us/pricing

I'm horrified when I check the feature we want and read the total cost.

I've read comments like "If they can't afford $10 per month, I will

gladly pay it from my own pocket".

This is very misleading. The minimum plan for our purpose costs $200 per

year

The ideal plan (with phone calling, enough participants, live

streaming, multiple rooms, replays, better website integration and so

on) amounts to $1200 per year.

Some people said that we could use their accounts.

I don't know how you feel about it but I don't like the thought to be

dependant on others.

Nonetheless, we will check out the options and Doug lee (as Joseph

said) is composing a workbook with all the possibilities.

Cheers

Robert

On 08/12/2020, Lino Morales <linomorales001@...> wrote:

Yes you are correct James. I wonder between NV Access and

individuals/non for proffit orgs around the world with some promotion

etc. could raise money to use Zoom? If the NVDA community worldwide

starts something like this now that would be great. Yeah I know many

folks can't donate, but if we get said orgs for the blind on board that

would be a running start.

On 12/7/2020 6:27 PM, James Teh wrote:

I'd respectfully point out that Zoom is not free - it actually ends up

being quite costly for something like NVDACon - so it's not simply a

matter of popular opinion. Any proposal to move to an alternative

platform also needs to consider how that platform will be funded

and/or set up.

Jamie

On Tue, Dec 8, 2020 at 9:08 AM Lino Morales <linomorales001@...

<mailto:linomorales001@...>> wrote:

    I didn't partake in the Con this year, however I vote for Zoom for

    2021 and later. As you stated Joseph the hosts have more control.

    I'm been crowing about getting Zoom for the past couple of years

    pree pandemic. Glad it went well and hope to hear the recordings

soon.

    On 12/7/2020 4:39 PM, Joseph Lee wrote:

    Hi all,

    First, it was great to see many people at NVDACon 2020. I

    personally consider this a successful event despite the pandemic

    and its effects. Although we had issues in the beginning, it ran

    smoothly, especially as the post-keynote QnA was very extensive.

    A few thank you’s:

      * Robert Hangi: chairing the organizing committee and upgrading

        the pre-keynote experience.

      * Laura Cornwell and friends: effective promotion, and for

        streaming parts of the conference.

      * Austin Pinto and other recording engineers.

      * Derek Riemer: infrastructure and providing support.

      * NV Access crew: another amazing keynote.

      * Presenters: for diversifying the topics.

    And most importantly, audience members who shared their passion

    for NVDA and giving organizers countless encouragements. Hope the

    event served as a healing moment for you.

    Second, based on actual experience and post-event feedback, I

    would like to suggest that organizers look into a different

    platform for NVDACon 2021 and beyond. Of course we have to think

    about accessibility and outreach, but mostly to help future

    conference moderators perform their tasks more efficiently. Zoom

    is a possibility, and Doug Lee apparently organized an Excel

    spreadsheet with potential platforms. I would also like to

    suggest that when a platform is chosen, organizers meet regularly

    using that platform to familiarize themselves as to how to use it

    effectively.

    Lastly, NVDACon Twitter feed is still alive. The next post from

    there will be done when recordings become available.

    I announced this after the closing forum, but this is to affirm

    that I will not be participating in NVDACon planning for next

    year. However, if people want me to, I can give coaching for

    presenters upon request – mostly to go over online presentation

    etiquette, how to respond to comments, and refining small things

    in content. Apart from that, I will be your biggest fan from the

    distance.

    May the NVDACon continue to bridge the community for years to

come.

    Cheers,

    Joseph

    Joseph S. Lee

    Student (communication studies), California State University, Los

    Angeles

    Code contributor and add-ons reviewer, NVDA screen reader project

    Certified NVDA Expert, 2019

    Founding chair, NVDA Users and Developers Conference (NVDACon –

    2014 to 2016

--

Quentin Christensen

Training and Support Manager

Web: www.nvaccess.org

Training: https://www.nvaccess.org/shop/

Certification: https://certification.nvaccess.org/

User group: https://nvda.groups.io/g/nvda

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NVAccess

Twitter: @NVAccess <https://twitter.com/NVAccess>