obfuscurity.
hidden in plain sight

One of the overarching themes that drove me to organize Monitorama was the desire to bring together OSS developers in an effort to improve the current state of monitoring and trending software. I grew impatient with the lack of measurable progress that happens at the typical SysAdmin/WebOps/DevOps-style events, which tend to focus on automation and traditional operations fare. While I'm pleased that everyone is excited about our speaker lineup, the works we accomplish at this Hackathon will be the true barometer of our success. With this in mind I have some points to consider as you prepare for your attendance and participation at the event.

1. Preparation is key. Have an idea of the tasks or projects you'd like to work on. Get familiar with your tools and existing codebase so you can dive right in.
2. Be flexible. You might want to go it alone, or decide you want to join a team. Or multiple teams. Or work on multiple tasks by yourself.
3. Adjust your scope. Understand that you're working within the constraints of a single typical workday. We're not going to fix the entire Monitoring toolchain in a day.
4. There will be distractions. You're going to be surrounded by a couple hundred like-minded people who want to share their experiences and wisdom (or ask for yours). It's ok to mill around, but if you want some "me time" make sure to bring a good set of headphones.
5. Ask questions. Enjoy the workshops (but not too many). Be inquisitive but focused (see #4).
6. Enjoy the limelight. We might ask you to present your work(s) in a 5-minute demo. Embrace the opportunity to share your passion with others. We love you and want you to succeed.
7. Have fun. Leave your prejudices at the door. Meet new people and have a great time. We're holding this event to help make things better. You're a part of that now and no one can ever take that away from you.

We'll be sending out a tweet soon asking for suggestions of projects, GitHub issues, etc. that you think would be good tasks for working on during the Hackathon. If this is your own personal project, great! If not, that's fine too. Feel free to track down open tickets or issues online that you think will make a good candidate and bring it to our attention. Please note that these are merely suggestions that we'll have available in case someone is grasping for something to work on. You're under no obligation to work on any of these projects.

I'm really excited to see these months of planning finally converge. I hope that everyone who has a pass is able to attend. If you are unable to make it this year, I really hope to see you at next year's conference.