Joining Debconf by remote
For those of you who don't read my blog through Planet Debian: at this very moment, people are gathering in Oaxtepec, Mexico, for DebConf6, the yearly Debian conference. While I joined it last year (when it was in Helsinki, Finland), for various reasons I was under the impression that I wouldn't be able to join this year (eventually it turned out that I would have been able to, but when I found that out it was too late to go ahead and organize things).
This year they'll be doing something new for the first time: live
Internet streaming of the talks that will be held. While it doesn't even
remotely compare to actually being there—the talks are only part
of the Debconf experience; far more important, at least IMHO, is the
ability to meet people whom you otherwise only know as their IRC nick or
email From: header— the ability to follow the talks as they are
happening is something very nice indeed, and I'm sure going to try to
attend
some of them.
However, there's one thing. Since Oaxtepec is in the -0500 timezone while I live in +0200, that means some of the talks will be very, very late at night. Since they'll undoubtedly all end up at the Meetings archive afterwards (and probably in much better quality at that), I don't really see any added value in following it live—unless I can actually join in while having a look at the live stream.
So, I guess this is a question: is the network in Oaxtepec good enough to allow for IRC sessions in the rooms where the talks will be held? And if so, is there going to be a way for me to ask questions or provide feedback or anything through IRC? Because that would make it worthwile to stay up at night for me...