On Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 4:23 PM, Bess Sadler <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> On Nov 28, 2012, at 1:04 PM, Shaun Ellis <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > In that respect, I would suggest the preconference hackfests/workshops
> that involve some kind of pair programming with experienced/inexperienced
> hackers, which could follow up into a mentor relationship outside of the
> conference.  I do like the idea of mentor/mentee speed-dating to align
> interests, but in this sense, the workshop/hackfest you sign up for kind of
> does that for you (assuming all the preconference proposals[1] are actually
> going to happen).
> >
> > [1] http://wiki.code4lib.org/index.php/2013_preconference_proposals
> >
> > -Shaun
>
> My understanding is that all of the pre-conference proposals are going to
> happen (note to self: ask Erik Hatcher whether the evening solr session
> could happen at a bar somewhere). The RailsBridge workshop in particular is
> aimed at folks who are new to Rails and perhaps new to programming in
> general, and RailsBridge as a thing was started as a way to bring more
> women into tech. If anyone is interested in helping out at the RailsBridge
> session, or at the Blacklight-tailored-for-RailsBridge session in the
> afternoon, please join us! Workshops like this can never have too many
> people walking the room to help out, and if we had enough experienced
> folks, this would be a great opportunity for pair programming and meeting
> potential mentors.
>
> Bess
>

I'll just echo what Shaun and Bess have said. This is part of the reason I
made the pre-conference proposal. Yes, I think the Ruby and Rails
pre-conference using the RailsBridge curriculum is an excellent opportunity
to make mentoring connections, grow the community, and encourage
diversity. I'd love it if there was a low ratio of helpers to attendees. If
you want to help grow the Code4Lib community, please add your name to the
wiki as a helper and let me know. All that I'll ask of you to help is that
you go through the curriculum in advance and come prepared to help folks.
If you're new to programming or Ruby/Rails, please sign up to attend. I'm
very excited to get a chance to offer this, especially in light of the
recent threads on the list.

Jason