Organizing CentOS Dojos (DRAFT)

In addition to promoting CentOS at events and user group meetings the community occasionally organizes CentOS Dojos. We're eager to help the larger CentOS community become involved in running Dojos, so we'll use this page to help provide a guideline and resources for running Dojos.

Approval for Dojos

If you'd like to run a Dojo, the first step is to get approval on the centos-promo mailing list. We have a few considerations that are important for the Dojos, and we want to ensure that they're observed:

CentOS Dojos should focus on user stories, technical content, tutorials, how-tos, and so on. We don't want to feature sales pitches or marketing fluff in any of the presentations, so we will ask that organizers agree to this policy and ensure it.
CentOS Dojos have a code of conduct, and we will ask that organizers agree to and enforce the code of conduct at events.
We want to ensure appropriate time to promote an event. If at all possible, we'd like to start preparing an event no less than 90 days in advance, and 60 days is the bare minimum.
We want to avoid conflicts with similar events or other Dojos in the same region, so we may ask that organizers find dates that don't overlap similar events or Dojos in the same region. For example, we would not want to run two CentOS Dojos in a major city less than 90 days apart, or run a Dojo in North America the same week as LinuxCon U.S.
We want to ensure that CentOS trademarks are used appropriately.
Dojos should be held in a comfortable location, with snacks, beverages, and lunch (if appropriate) provided.

Getting approval is not a difficult process, but we do ask that organizers seek and get approval before proceeding.

To get approval, sign up for the CentOS-Promo mailing list and send an email to centos-promo@centos.org . Please let us know:

The proposed location for the Dojo, and venue or if a venue is being sought.
The proposed date for the Dojo.
Who will sponsor the event to provide food, t-shirt, etc.
Whether you're looking for additional assistance planning.

Location and Considerations

Dojos work best with an audience of 40 to 80 people. We can, and have, run larger Dojos, but it reduces the ability for speakers and attendees to interact. Having the ability to ask questions and get feedback is very important for Dojos, and we want to maintain a friendly and conversational tone for presentations and sessions at Dojos.

Finding Speakers and Content

Content needs to be technical in nature and appeal to an audience of system administrators. We should look for:

User stories on deploying or managing CentOS.
Case studies on deploying technologies on top of CentOS or with CentOS, such as using Puppet to manage CentOS, or using CentOS with storage solutions like GlusterFS or Ceph.
Tutorials on working with CentOS or technologies on top of CentOS.
Best practices on managing CentOS or closely related technologies.

Note that Dojos can also have a theme, like configuration management, deploying Infrastructure-as-a-Service, virtualization, etc.

You can ask for help in soliciting speakers on the CentOS-Promo list.

Recordings

If at all possible, we'd like to have presentations recorded for those who cannot attend. This is not a hard requirement for running a Dojo, but it is a goal.

Even if this is not possible, you should encourage speakers to make their slides available after the event.

Additional Questions?