FAQ
From Chaos Communication Camp 2007
See NotFAQ for not so frequently asked questions. Add your questions there, and we will answer.
[edit] General Questions
[edit] When does the camp officially start?
The official opening ceremony took place at 11:00 (CEST) on August 8th.
[edit] Is it possible to arrive early (how early?) to help set up?
The core crew will be on the camp ground beginning August 1st. But dont expect Internet and similar stuff to be working already. If you want to help in building up the camp, you are very welcome - you can write to camp-orga (at) cccv.de if you are interested in doing some special things like helping with the network. Or just show up on Aug, 1st or later and we will find some work to do.
[edit] Is it possible to stay longer than the 12th?
Monday morning is fine. If you would like to stay longer, you will be considered a volunteer assisting us tearing the camp down. ;-)
[edit] I'm under 18 years old. Any problems there?
Attendance to the Camp and the lectures is not a problem. We will however enforce legal restrictions regarding serving alcohol, dance events and movie presentations. Check the Jugendschutzgesetz for details.
In case of doubt, bringing a Muttizettel is strongly encouraged.
[edit] Airport? WZF?
(will a plane land on my tent, do i need to bring earplugs)
No. The planes are about 2 Kilometres away, and only the "small private four seat"-ones. Flight operations only during daytime. Dont imagine some big public airport with 747 flying around during the night. We dont see any problems there.
[edit] Where can you get food? Is there some shop reachable without a car?
See Location: The location Finowfurt provides all necessary infrastructure like several ATM, Gas Stations, a big supermarket and a rather big Hardware Store (read: Hardware as in wood, nails and camping equiment, not as in motherboard). It is however not close enough for an easy walk - better use a car or bike. There are several food selling points at the campground, too.
[edit] What kind of things should I bring?
See Things to bring
[edit] Can I bring my own wireless equipment to the Camp?
Don't bring your own Access Points or anything else which interferes with our 802.11abg-Infrastructure.
[edit] Can I bring my remote controlled helicopter/plane/rocket/drone/kite?
Yes, please do. You will need to observe the rules for Drones and other flying objects.
[edit] What about power?
Don't bring power generators as we provide power next to your tent. But bring enough power adapters to 230v European plugs, extension cables and power outlet strips. The more sockets the better. This goes for network/internet as well. ;)
[edit] Is it possible to provide a bar?
Short answer: No. Longer answer: While food and beverages for your own needs are fine with us, we do not allow any food or drink selling points (aka "bar"). As soon as you want to take money or provide it to more than yourself and your pals, it is nothing we want to see at the camp. Sorry for sounding so harsh, but we wouldnt be able to keep the prices that low without this rule.
[edit] Is there some tent-sharing initiative going on?
Now there is: Tent-Sharing
[edit] How many People are at the camp?
Estimates are that there at least 2200 people camping here (as of wednesday morning). From tuesday till wednesday around 1000 people arrived.
[edit] Where to put your (full) garbage bags
At the Hackcenter there is a big container for garbage, and there are points for your full garbage bags at the bsd-village and at the cable bridge on the way to the crew area.
[edit] Which font do you use for the Camp-logo?
[edit] Location questions
[edit] What kind of weather/climate do you expect?
Ok, that's hard to say. It should be less rainy than WhatTheRain 2005 (at least we hope so). The Camp 2003 was too sunny and hot :-)
You can check out current weather conditions at this Finowfurt page and get a 5 day prognosis on this german weather site,
[edit] Will there be a place to use "soap"? Some might feel the need to remove Pizza leftovers off their bodies and hardware.
There will be showers and toilets. Way more than 2003. Kindly don't use the lake as a surrogate.
[edit] What kind of quality will the showers and toilets be? Will there be actual flushing toilets? Hot running water?
There are showers inside a container with warm water available.
Well well ... YES. I DON'T THINK SO! There's a limited amount of water which can be used a day. It's very limited... so don't expect a shower. That's more a privilege!
[edit] Is it possible to bring one´s dog to the location?
Sorry, no. See also here.
[edit] Will there be a place to securely deposit small hardware and other personal belongings temporarily?
No, there will be no such thing. Please watch each other's back, and say something if a stranger is a bit too much interested in your neighbors' stuff. At other events that worked out quite well.
[edit] Where is the lake located
The lake is a 15 minute walk from the camp site. Please DO NOT USE SOAP in the lake. This map shows the camp site and the lake
[edit] Are there showers at the lake or is it just a normal lake?
Uhh... it's a lake, dude. There's water in it, and stuff. No showers, no central heating either.
[edit] International/Language/Cultural questions
[edit] I presume most material presented will be in German?
As for most CCC events, preferred language is english, most (but not all) talks are held in english. "The conference languages are English and German. Don't worry about language issues though – the Camp is a truly international event! Everyone will be happy to communicate with you in the languages of the Internet - broken English and 1337speak."
[edit] Camp services and facilities
[edit] Which internetconnection will be provided at the camp?
There will be both wired Ethernet via Datenklos liberally sprinkled across the camping grounds, and WiFi (with a focus on the lecture halls). See Network for details.
[edit] Do I have to tell anybody if I plan to use a lot of bandwidth?
We will find you anyway if it's problematic. Please plug into an Ethernet switch and don't use wireless for significant network activity.
[edit] Will there be a radio or TV broadcast of the lectures?
DECT for sure, perhaps DVB-T. No Radio.
[edit] Will there be a camp radio? Can i get a daily radio show?
There is no official camp radio station. Maybe this will become something like a camp-wide fm radio: Wireless:USB-FM-Transmitter
[edit] fux data in the hackcenter opening times
It is said it's open from 13:00 to 19:00 at the back of the hackcenter
[edit] Listening to the shelters foo and bar
The DECT Numbers for listening to the speaks in the shelters are 8001 and 8002
[edit] There is no water in the bathroom
If its 4am to 5am don't worry its just maintance. As soon as we are done, water will be back.
[edit] unsorted Questions
[edit] Is there something / anything for non-techies to do at the camp (apart from cooking and herding children...)?
There's all kinds of fun stuff going on. One nice example of a non-techie activity is treeclimbing. And there will be plenty of books to read. And there are several non-technical volunteer jobs that don't involve either cooking or children, too.
[edit] Will there be a time frame during which other motor vehicles may drive on the campground to load and unload tents, garden furniture, computers and other stuff?
Yes, the days before the Camp starts cars and other vehicles can drive on the campground. When the camp begins no cars are allowed at the campground but we will provide carts and perhaps a motored shuttle service for luggage from the parking area to the campground.
[edit] Can we drive on the campground on sunday to take down a bigger tent?
Yes, but not directly after the closing event. Late afternoon, early evening for sure.
[edit] How many visitors are expected / How much space for how many people can be provided?
We do have kind of a "modular" space, so we can change it dynamically. However, we currently expect about 1500 people, which is an experience from former events like WTH or Camp 2003.
[edit] What about cooking? Will it be allowed to cook anywhere (either using open fire or electrical power)?
No open fire, but electrical (or camping-gas-stuff) is fine for us. However, there will be one public open fireplace at the market place.
[edit] Tickets
See Tickets.
[edit] Are there day-passes?
No. We are just not able to make sure that everyone with a day pass leaves when he should. Well, to be precise: It is of course technically possible, but whe thought that it will destroy much of the atmosphere if every participant has to show his armwrist several times per day. Just imagine some security guy, for example, controlling every time you enter or leave a shelter. We dont like that idea, and we are quite confident most of our visitors agree here. Camp is about "family atmosphere" and stuff, so we decided to keep this whole security situation off the camp ground.
However, we offer a cheaper weekend ticket for 100 euros. The sold of this ticket will start earliest at 8:00 pm.
[edit] After payment, how long until I hear something? I'd like to be sure my payment got through.
We try to check incoming money weekly. Sorry, no automated process here. Please allow up to 14 days for your ticket to arrive by e-mail. There´ll be no payment confirmation beside the ticket itself, even if you ask for ;-). ONLY if you don´t have your ticket until 3rd of august, please inquire via email to camp-presale@cccv.de .
[edit] Can I pay for my presale ticket with paypal, cheque, credit card, etc instead of bank transfer?
Sorry, but the only possibility to pay for your ticket during presales is by bank to bank transfer.
For payments by credit card or PayPal we would have to pay charges. Also time and effort for verifying your payments would increase. Both things together usually results in higher ticket prices. I think you got the point now ;-)
[edit] Can I receive an invoice for my ticket?
Yes, sure. It will be available either directly at the entrance or at the infotresen - you will find this out when you arrive at the camp site ;)
[edit] What about pay methods like ec-cards or credit-cards at the camp site ?
Only cash at the campsite (no 200€ or 500€ bills, they are simply too rare), please. We currently discuss payment with ec-cards at the campsite, but this cannot be guaranteed, we will see.
[edit] Is there also a discount on the tickets for starving college students or unemployed people?
Short answer: No. For the long answer, see NotFAQ
[edit] Why is it so expensive?
It is actually not expensive. Take the WTH, for example, lasting only four days at the same price of 150 Euros. They were barely able to break even.
[edit] Where is all the money going?
The infrastructure (rent, water, electricity, internet, sanitary, trash disposal, conference equipment) exceeds 200.000 euros in cost for us. Planning with 1500 attendees we get a cost of about 133 euros per ticket, which is almost exactly what we charge for a default ticket in presale.
Please note that the camp is a non-profit event. We are not planning to make any money with it. In fact, we hope many of you get a supporter or business ticket, if you can afford it (you can probably tax deduct it).
[edit] How can I book several tickets at once for one Group?
Presale is over a while now. Please show up all at the entrance and pay for all members of your group so we can book it as single tickets.
[edit] What is the prefix for the extension number? I want to be called :)
Ask the Phone Operation Center.
[edit] Where is the nearest place I can buy a tent? I'm traveling via plane and it weights too much.
In Berlin, where you probably arrive with your plane are several shops. The big shopping centers like Karstadt and Horten sell cheapo tents and are in the city center.
The Real in Finowfurt has a special offer of one tent and two sleeping bags for 50 euros.
[edit] Can I receive packages at the camp?
Yes, send it to
Your Name c/o Luftfahrmuseum Finowfurt Museumsstrasse 1 16244 Schorfheide
and ask the Projektleitung about a day after you think it should have arrived.
[edit] Unanswered Quesions
[edit] How often DID thefts happen in the previous camp ? Was it like all around ? Or more like a single-time problem?
About one or two pieces of equipment like notebooks were stolen at the last events. Please ask others to watch for your equipment and look after the equipment the people around you. And if you think your equipment was stolen call HonkHase(DECT 110).
[edit] I have an unanswered question
See NotFAQ for not so frequently asked questions. Add your questions there, and we will answer.
