CERT on CCC Event Blog

#rC3: How To aktive Teilnahme

Sat, 12 Dec 2020 12:51:14 +0000

Welcome to the middle of the ~~film~~ warm-up blog!

Just like last weekend we bring you more information on how to participate in rC3 – because it all starts in a fortnight!

An appeal regarding the new ticket contingent: Please do _not_ click tickets for bots. Or your toaster, your fridges, or (insert any other IoT things here). Our capacity is limited and we would like to give priority to beings that pass the Turing Test. We will set up a small contingent for bots and, in the coming days, announce here how you can connect your toothbrush or remote-controlled telepresence robot.

But now to the more pressing questions like: How can you help with rC3? What about accessibility at rC3 for you beings with disabilities? And – essential for the pandemic situation – the most important information from our teams c3Gelb (the hygiene task force) and CERT (the medical and fire protection team known from the Congress).

Corona situation and risk minimisation

Please familiarise with the hygiene instructions composed by c3Gelb and keep them in mind – at least for rC3, even longer, it won’t hurt. We recommend reading and following the instructions entirely, especially if you plan to meet fellow nerds in person for the event. Stay responsible, especially with your most important people – we want to see you all again at 37C3!

Now, we hope that this information is not unsettling for some parts of the audience – well, at least it shouldn’t, unless you haven’t had any contact with the outside world since 36C3 or you’ve been following right-wing conspiracy theorists and their consorts. If you are among the latter group: Mask/CoVID deniers, right wingers and the like are not welcome here. We’d rather have the refrigerators. If you are respectful and responsible, and also act in solidarity, you are very much welcome, as every year.

Still with us? Great! Back to the good news.

Angels online

As every year, this event is supported by volunteers of all kinds and skillsets: the Angels. Traditionally, Angels take on more or less specialised tasks before, during and after the event. It is their help that makes the realisation, scope and low entrance fee possible in the first place. Without Angels there would be no Chaos events.

If you are one of the Angels planning the local rC3 Chaos Studios, you are surely already informed. For those and anyone with the itch to get involved online, our Angel coordination centre, the Heaven, looks after the Engelsystem.

Becoming an Angel is easy: You simply register at the Engelsystem (newly for every event, because we like data minimization).

Before the event, you can already keep an eye out for open shifts and requests for the virtual buildup. In the Engelsystem there is also a help-wanted list with different tasks that still need to be done. If you do have tasks, you can put them in a linked pad, and Heaven will push them over into the Engelsystem for you.

Being an Angel during the event is not only worth it for the feeling of having fought the 2020 blues together, but also to get in touch with new people. We don’t let anyone go out on a shift alone! Teams looking for junior staff may advertise mandatory trainee shifts for specialised jobs, so look out in time to secure your favourite tasks and try out cool new things!

Sadly, there’s no delicious food from the Angel Kitchen – we regret that deeply! But do check out PrivacyWeek’s @sternenkueche who faced the same challenge this year. The Sternenküche has shared some of the best-of recipes for angels at home – scaled down to private household quantities and for handy pre-cooking and reheating during the shift.

Because we are also asked time and again whether there will also be Angel goodies as existent at physical events: We are trying. Currently the scaling for more participants has priority, but we really want to make a goodie for our hardworking Angels possible after the event. Please allow email notifications on your account in the Engelsystem so that people can contact you afterwards – hopefully with super great news!

Accessibility at rC3

We consider ourselves lucky to regularly welcome community members with all kinds of of disabilities and needs to our events and learn from your perspectives.

While for some beings an online event makes all the fun accessible in the first place, the new implementation makes it much more difficult for other beings to participate. We are painfully aware that we cannot make rC3 accessible for all beings with the resources we have.

The new Accessibility team is currently collecting and pooling experience and feedback to help us get the best out of it.

If you want help, want to get involved or have any other concerns, please contact c3auti, Accessibility/Integration Operation Center (IOC) or call 2382 via eventphone.

In order to make participation at rC3 as accessible as possible, we have decided to offer two “views”. There is a “PlainUI” for the rC3 platform. You will find all the important content such as the streams, workshops/self-organised sessions, subpages where assemblies present their projects and so on, and you can participate in workshops via this PlainUI. There will be the possibility for direct messaging and video chats. The PlainUI is available in a dark and a light theme and is optimised for assistance systems such as screen readers.

As usual, the talks will be subtitled. Do you want to help? Then follow the Call for Subtitles!

In addition to the stream and the PlainUI, there is also the “rC3 World”, a 2D world that virtually recreates the assembly halls. The assemblies are already working hard to create this view of the rC3. You can walk around in the 2D-world with an avatar and meet other participants and check out a lot of lovingly designed details. There will also be chats and video chats and lots to discover.

As in previous years, there will be the Quiet Qube by c3Auti, this time within the “rC3 World”. Furthermore, c3Auti will also continue the talks from DiVOC featuring strong voices of autistic people.

One more thing: The rC3 World can currently only be controlled via keystrokes. A physical keyboard is therefore necessary, especially for tablets and smartphones. To participate in the video chats, the opt-in of your microphone and, if applicable, your camera is required. And yes, it is perfectly okay to put a friendly plush animal or a running 3d-printer in front of the camera.

CERT online

Of course, CERT can’t be there for you as usual this year, because sticking purely digital plasters just won’t do the thing, and also because real telemedicine is terribly complicated as far as the legal side is concerned.

So that you don’t have to do without your first-aid-angels, we have thought up a few things:

For all those who miss our “CERT Special Isodrink”: We have a recipe.
For all those who always wanted to check first aid cabinets (seriously, checking material makes up half of our job ;-) ) we also have something: First Aid Cabinet (CERT Edition; until now German only, any takers for translation?)
Of course we are available for you on Eventphone via the number 1818. On the digital events we leave 112 (the German equivalent of 911) to the respective local emergency services, for safety’s sake. Please keep that in mind!
And for those who still haven’t had enough, look forward to:
The nerd-mergency-room – the CERT MMORPG (available in the rC3 World): CERT angels with appropriate experience will be the NPCs for you, answering your questions and sending you on quests, if you want. We will even allow you to relive one of the legendary Firewatch shifts from Leipzig!

To make sure everything works properly, we’ll start with a message from CERT for the Assembly architects:

There is a security-tileset! And for all assemblies who want to install it: On the 25th and 26th, CERT will be sending teams around the world to do a “security walk-through”, and if you want your assembly to be #CERTified, take note of the following:

Pay attention to fire safety (fire extinguishers and fire blankets are available. If you want test seals for the fire extinguishers, you can have a link from us to add the graphics).
Pay attention to the emergency exits (signs are also available in the tileset ;-) )
Secure dangerous areas (you guessed it; barrier tape, cones, etc. are ready)
Hang up a first aid kit (available in 2 sizes: DIN 13019 and DIN 13164)

If passed, you will receive a certificate:

(Disclaimer; the inspection is valid only for the virtual rC3 2D world, and has no validity or relevance for any physical, real-existing spaces).

You can register for the inspection of your assembly from Sun, 13.12. under assembly-certificates@cert.CCC.de. Just tell us where to find your map, and we’ll send you a team, as usual. ;-)

All the best and see you on Tuesday – with surprise guests.

The Chaos Emergency Response Team: CERT

Fri, 22 Dec 2017 09:38:51 +0000

Did you ever feel sick or had an accident at Congress or one of our Camps? We hope not. But if so, then you probably know the Chaos Emergency Response Team (CERT). It is a team of trained medical and fire prevention personnel who help in case of need. They take care for a safe and sound event and aim to reduce dangers of all kinds.

It is twenty years ago this year since the idea emerged to have an emergency team of our own. At 19c3 the actual CERT we know today came into existence and has grown ever since.

It is not only responsible for medical help but also for assisting in a crisis situation. That is why the team includes professional psychologists, mediators and crisis intervention specialists. If an intervention of any sort is required, you can count on the CERT.

In case of a severe medical emergency the CERT is equipped to help like any professional emergency vehicle could. The team does also cover a wide range of issues, providing first response to medical emergencies, fire prevention, and checking that emergency exits and escape routes are always unblocked.

In case you need help, just call 112 on every DECT phone or pay the CERT a visit in Glashalle, at level -1. Every „Angel“ – as we call our volunteers – with a radio or a DECT phone is able to alert the team of first responders. You can also reach the CERT via Twitter but please refrain from using it for emergencies.

And be excellent especially to the CERT, you never know if you maybe need them.

A galactic Congress welcomes all lifeforms

Sun, 26 Nov 2017 22:02:13 +0000

Anyone who ever experienced the distinct feeling of „wow!“ on the first Congress knows: There’s an outside world and then there’s Congress. Even though the event copes with challenges that come with growth, we think we’ve built a space that promotes tolerance, curiosity, fun, open-minded communication, friendliness and cooperation. Unlike traditional conferences, where visitors receive full service for paying an entrance fee, CCC events are run by volunteers. The whole event is organized by people who buy their own tickets and spend their holidays to make it happen. Visiting 34c3 means to participate rather than assuming everything is taken care of for you. This means that everybody attending the 34c3 shares the responsibility to keep the event safe, secure, and enjoyable to all. So Be excellent to each other! is not just a slogan, but the event’s very soul.

The Congress stands upon 34 years of liberal and tolerant tradition to enjoy technology and culture, regardless of people’s background. We are dedicated to keep this tradition going by continuous improvement. Over the past years we have learned a lot, developed new methods and initiatives – by volunteers, of course –, improved many details, and generally put a stronger emphasis on our guiding principles. If you have suggestions for further improvement, please do not hesitate to contact the organisation team.

The Chaos Computer Club is, both by its chapter and common consent, a galactic organization that welcomes all lifeforms. As such, we are dedicated to providing a safe, secure and enjoyable experience for everybody attending our events, regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, origin, or physical appearance. Lifeforms who refuse to share this openness towards others are not welcome at our events. Sexism and racism contradict the preamble of the CCC statutes and our extended anti-discriminatory statement published in 2005.

We stand for freedom of expression, but will not condone any form of sexism, group-focused enmity, violence or harassment. The Chaos Computer Club and the organizers of the Chaos Communication Congress are committed to continue to fill our statutes and principles with life.

But even in our hacker’s utopia we can not prevent each and every problem – after all, there’s way over 10.000 of us coming together now. So, since the Congress is the sum of its participants, we count on all of you: If you witness a violation of our principles, please act responsibly and also call on those participants around you to help as well. If this turns out to not be sufficient, please contact the appropriate teams directly via phone or ask any Congress volunteer to do so. Volunteers are called „Angels“ at CCC events and can be recognized by their badges. They are literally hundreds, willing to help.

During a large event like the 34C3 many things can happen that require attention or intervention. Sickness, escalation of unpleasant interactions with misbehaving participants, fire hazards or personal crises are just a few of the problems where assistance needs to be provided by trained professionals. Just as in previous years, three dedicated teams of volunteers are available in person around the clock and reachable by phone to assist you in matters of safety and security. When you feel you cannot solve the problem at hand on your own or with the help of the people around you, let them know immediately. To familiarize everyone with our initiatives, teams and efforts to make the 34C3 a safe, secure and enjoyable and open event for all, we will introduce them in more detailed posts over the next couple of weeks:

The Awareness Team provides a point of contact for people to process experiences, resolve conflicts, and to create a safe and enjoyable atmosphere, especially for underrepresented groups.

The Safety and Security Team is dedicated to preventing any conflict or escalation thereof. It will be there in case of conflicts or people misbehaving substantially but also to prevent hazards. In most cases, a firm but friendly reminder of our principles is sufficient. Don’t be the exception that gets shown the door.

The CERT (Chaos Emergency Response Team) consists of trained doctors, medics, firefighters and crisis intervention specialists. It provides aid in all cases and emergencies that require professional attention. The CERT will be there for sickness and injuries of all kinds but also to make sure the fire prevention and escape paths codes are observed.

Pictures: miguel, CC BY-NC 2.0