30C3

How to get power at 30C3 – bring ALL your multi-outlet power strips!

German summary: Unbedingt Mehrfachsteckdosen mitbringen! Außerdem: Cat5-Kabel, Lampen für Eure Assembly, Telefone, Werkzeug, etc…

Distributing power on 30C3 requires a lot of planning and effort, and of course a truckload of equipment. This year the setup consists of 5 kilometers (km) of CEE compliant three-phase and 8km of 230V/16A power cabling, resulting in a total of 13km of cables needed to distribute power at the venue. To connect all the cables there are also about 100 three-phase distributors needed, 25 of them being “big” ones with 63 amperes. On top of this power backbone we will have about 800 multi-outlet power strips in place, resulting in approximately 3900 power sockets.

=> So please bring your multi-outlet power strips!

That is very important as the sockets have to supply a lot of equipment on site, and there will be fewer outlets available than needed in busy most areas. So please bring a power strip to connect to the sockets provided on-site so you can share power with other users. If everybody starts charging their devices directly from that single free power outlet, there will not be any sockets left for other users. Also don’t forget to bring CAT5 cables for your laptops please, as there will be none provided!

Especially if you plan to connect several devices, or to set up an assembly you and your group should bring plenty of power strips with you. While you’re at it, please feel free to bring lamps (especially colored ones) and anything else that helps making your assembly a nice place worthwhile. Also you might want to bring your DECT phone or your old GSM mobile with an old SIM card, your soldering station and other devices and tools that might come in handy. If you are uncertain about what to bring or not to bring to the congress, please have at look our “How To Survive” page in the wiki.

For all travellers from abroad, please keep in mind that the German power sockets might be different from the ones you use to have. So don’f forget to bring your adapters.

Kids and Congress: Call for Participation!

Du hast Kinder und gehst auf den 30c3?

Dieses Jahr haben wir einen großen Bereich des Congresses für einen umfangreichen Kidspace vorgesehen. Hier sollen Kinder ab drei Jahren die Gelegenheit erhalten, sich dem Congress altersgerecht zu nähern und teilnehmen zu können. Wir haben in zwei großen Foyers ausreichend Platz, um auf der einen Seite einen ruhigen und auf der anderen Seite einen verspielten Bereich anzubieten. Im Ruhebereich könnt Ihr mit Euren Kindern entspannen und auftanken oder Euch auch mal auf einen Powernap hinlegen. Auf der verspielten Seite können sich die Kinder bewegen, Höhlen bauen, Hörspiele hören und an kindgerechten Elektronik- und Bastelworkshops teilnehmen. Lego wird es natürlich auch wieder geben ;) Außerdem sollen Kinder bis zwölf Jahre spezielle Badges bekommen, mit denen sie z. B. die Hörspielbox hacken können.

Damit das alles auch stattfinden kann, ist noch Hilfe nötig! Einige Dinge laufen bereits. Für andere brauchen wir noch Freiwillige. Vielleicht hast Du zum Beispiel Lust, einen der Workshops – und sei es Höhlenbauen – zu gestalten? Oder Du willst gerne auf der Lesebühne auftreten? Oder Du kannst Material beschaffen? Oder Du kannst beim Auf- und Abbau helfen?

Wenn Du auch der Meinung bist, dass Kinder auf den Congress gehören, und Du helfen möchtest, den Kidspace so richtig rocken zu lassen, dann trage Dich in die Kidspace Assembly ein und nimm Kontakt auf.

Und nochwas: Für einige Dinge ist es äußerst hilfreich, die Menge der anwesenden Kinder und deren Alter abschätzen zu können. Falls Du also vor hast, Dein Kind oder gar Deine Kinder mit auf den Congress zu bringen, dann schick bitte eine Mail mit Kinderanzahl und Alter an den Kidspace an fightling at elektropost.org! Nur so können wir dafür sorgen, dass auch alle Kinder einen Badge bekommen und so an allen Aktionen teilnehmen können.

kid
Picture: maltman23

English version

You have children and attend 30C3?

This year we plan to have a big area of the Congress as a Kidspace, to give children of three years of age and up the chance to age-appropriately participate in the Congress. We have enough space in two big foyers to allow for a quiet space on one hand, and a more playful area on the other. The quiet one allows for relaxing with your children and to refuel with a power-nap. The playful area invites to play around, build caves, listen to radioplays on the Audiobox and have hands-on experience in child-appropriate electronics- or tinkerworkshops. And of course there is going to be Lego again ;) Children up to 12 get a special badge, allowing them to hack e. g. the Audiobox.

To make this happen, we need your help! While a lot is already ongoing, we still need volunteers. Perhaps you want to carry out a workshop? Or you are interested in appearing on the reading-stage? Maybe you can procure materials, or help with setup or teardown?

If you also think kids belong on the Congress and want to help making it happen, please register with the Kidspace Assembly and contact us.

As we plan for separate badges with special features for the children, it is helping a lot to know how many children and of which ages will be attending the Congress, to ensure they can participate in all activities. If you plan to bring your child(ren) to the Congress, please write an email to fightling at elektropost.org and let us know, how many children of which ages you are bringing with you to make sure they can get a badge to interact with the installations in the Kidspace.

Chaospatinnen – Mentoring for people visiting the Congress for the first time #30C3

English version below

Liebe am 30C3 interessierten Menschen, Außerirdische, Nerds und N00bs,

Du interessierst dich für Computer, Technik, Hacken und Netzpolitik? Du würdest gerne am 30C3 teilnehmen, weißt aber nicht genau, an wen du dich wenden kannst oder hast dich bisher noch nicht so richtig getraut? Du denkst, du bist eigentlich gar kein richtiger Hacker oder Programmiererin und hast Bedenken, ob du so gut zum 30C3 passt? Du würdest aber gerne lernen, wie man lötet, Roboter baut, programmiert, verschlüsselt oder Schlösser knackt?

Dann fühl dich herzlich willkommen auf dem Chaos Communication Congress und bei den Chaospatinnen! Du bist hier genau richtig. Wir möchten dich dazu ermuntern, dieses Jahr am 30C3 teilzunehmen und wollen dir dabei helfen, einen spannenden und schönen Aufenthalt zu haben. Eine oder einer unserer PatInnen wird dich an deinem ersten Tag willkommen heißen und dir das Gelände zeigen. Gemeinsam finden wir raus, wo es für dich interessante Workshops und Talks gibt und natürlich wo du Mate herbekommst. Einmal am Tag treffen sich die PatInnen und “Patenkinder” miteinander, wo sie sich gegenseitig kennenlernen und sich über den Congress, tolle Talks und ihre Interessen austauschen können. Auch im Vorfeld sind wir Ansprechpartnerinnen für deine Fragen. Egal, ob es dabei um generelle Unklarheiten, oder um deine Sorgen, Bedürfnisse oder Wünsche geht. Schick einfach eine Mail an chaospatinnen (at) lists.ccc.de und schreib uns, für welche Themen Du Dich interessierst, damit wir direkt Kontakt mit dir aufnehmen können. Wir freuen uns auf dich!

Wir wollen insbesondere Mädchen und Frauen dazu ermutigen, den 30C3 zu besuchen. Natürlich ist unser Angebot aber offen für alle.

Wir freuen uns auf dich!
Die Chaospatinnen

Link zum Projekt:
https://events.ccc.de/congress/2013/wiki/Projects:Chaospatinnen

=============================================
english version:

To all those interested in participating at the Congress for the first time

You are interested in technology, computers or net politics? However, you doubt whether you would fit into the Chaos Communication Congress, since you are neither a programmer nor an experienced hacker? But yet, you would love to learn about hacking, soldering, encryption, lockpicking or robots? 

Then you are more than welcome at the Chaos Communication Congress! We are convinced that this is just the right place for you and would like to encourage you to attend 30C3. Therefore we founded the Chaos Mentors. Feel free to contact us – we will welcome you on your first day and take you on a guided tour across the Congress area. Your mentor will assist you in finding workshops and talks that match your interests. You will also have the chance to meet other people who are visiting the Congress for the first time once a day in the Mentor Meeting. There we can chat about cool things we saw and interesting talks we want to visit.

During the congress, and beforehand, you can contact us in case you have any questions, concerns or needs. Write us an email at chaospatinnen (at) lists.ccc.de and tell us something about you and what your fields of interests are, so that one of our mentors can contact you directly.

We would like to encourage women and girls that are attending the Chaos Communication Congress for the first time, but of course we are open to everyone.

We are looking forward to you!

Yours,
the Chaos Mentors

Link to the project:
https://events.ccc.de/congress/2013/wiki/Projects:Chaospatinnen

Get your assembly ready until Sunday, 1st of December!

An assembly is your place at 30C3, the /home of a group of people belonging together, hackers who like to work and hang out. At bcc we had such groups around projects, but last year we invented the concept of assemblies as an experiment, that worked out great!

Assemblies
(Picture of assembly: maltman23)

You find background on the idea of assemblies in last years blogpost on this topic. In sum it is like the villages in the camp: Bring your toys and tools, show your projects and work on them, and just have fun – and let others participate in what you’re doing! Write a nice wikipage on your assembly, give information about your group, the reason why you belong together and which projects you are working on. Very important are the information about self-organized-sessions you plan to provide at your assembly or in one of the workshop rooms, as those show how you want to be part of the idea to bring people together to share knowledge and develop new ideas. The “Free Text” field in the assembly form will be the body of the page, you can use normal wiki syntax there, write text, add pictures, provide links and so on.

Things that might be brought
(Picture of things that you want to bring: wizard23)

Assemblies are also very much invited to decorate their spot on the Congress, as long as everything you bring does not block exit paths and is not inflammable. Please specify those in the field “things we bring” or contact the orga directly if you are not sure. Also please specify what kind of location you would like to sit in: Please have a look at the newly invented field “specification”. The more information you give us on your preferred seating, the better we can look for a suitable place for you. The building will be used in a different way this year, so often an entry like “same place as last year” won’t work, but you can always add what you liked/disliked from last years spot, as any information helps.

Decorated assembly
(Picture of decorated assembly: wizard23)

Keep in mind that the size of the building is not infinite – so please just apply for as many seats as you really need (this is usually not more than 1/3 of the number of people wanting to attend). Please make sure that you get your entry submitted until next Sunday (December 1st), as we need to start to plan the seating then.

Looking forward to have you there!

Assembly things
(Picture: saschaludwig)

Mit der Bahn zum Congress / Take the train to the Congress

Symbolbild à la Bahn: Hacker auf dem Weg zum Congress

Symbolbild à la Bahn: Hacker auf dem Weg zum Congress

Wie in den letzten Jahren, bietet die Deutsche Bahn zum Congress wieder ein spezielles Veranstaltungsticket an. Im Gegensatz zu den Jahren zuvor ist der Mindestpreis jedoch von 89,00 Euro auf 99,00 Euro gestiegen – einen Rabatt für die Onlinebuchung gibt es leider nicht mehr.

Alle Informationen zum Ticket und zur Buchung des Tickets finden sich im Wiki.

Außerdem gibt es im Wiki eine ausführliche Liste an Hotels und anderen Unterkünften: Einige Hotels bspw. das Generator Hostel und das A&O-Hostel bieten sogar spezielle Raten für die Congresszeit an.


As in previous years, the German railway company (Deutsche Bahn) is offering a special ticket for your travel to the Congress. But opposed to the last years, the cheapest fare has been changed from 89,00 to 99,00 Euro – there is no more discount for booking the ticket online.

All further information regarding this special offer and how to book it can be found in the Wiki.

Furthermore, an extensive list of hotels and other accommodations can also be found in the wiki: Some hotels like the Generator Hostel and the A&O-Hostel even offer a special rate for stays during the congress.

Tickets available for preorder

Last year Congress moved to Hamburg and it was great to have enough space for all of you! To ensure that this will be the case for 30C3 again, we booked some more space this year. Therefore we kindly ask you to choose one of our supporter tickets, as 30C3 will cost us much more than standard tickets priced at 80 EUR will pay. Supporter tickets are available for 100, 120 and 140 EUR.

In addition business tickets for 350, 550 and 750 EUR are on offer if you or your company want to make a larger contribution to congress, supporting congress and all the volunteers driving it. Please note that this is the only ticket type that comes with an invoice including a name and an address.

For 29C3 the experiment worked: a lot of you paid more money for their ticket voluntarily. This year congress kind of depends on you doing likewise. So, if you can afford to pay more than 80 Euros, please do! This allows us to keep a low price for those who cannot afford it.

For those of you who can’t even afford 80 EUR, please use the Friends application in the ticket shop or get in touch with 30c3-friends@cccv.de and tell us a bit about yourself, what you’re doing and how much you could pay. Be sure, we’ll find a solution.

Now you can order your ticket for 30C3. Please register and login at https://tickets.events.ccc.de.

On the acceptance and rejections in the 30c3 Society, Politics & Ethics track

Within the next hours, everyone who submitted a talk or lecture (not: lightning talk or workshop) should receive their notice of acceptance or non-acceptance. Some of you will be disappointed, because talks that you considered important did not make it into the program. We would like to share with you how decisions were made and by which priorities, so everyone can have a better understanding of how the final Society, Politics & Ethics program came into existence.

First, we would like to give you some background on the content team process. In previous years, there was one global content team for all tracks. This year, we had five “track teams”,  each responsible for one track. The track teams consisted of subject matter experts who reviewed the submissions thoroughly. We did this in order to (a) reduce the work load on each content team member and (b) to increase the time for reviewing each submission.

Before we started, the total number of available congress slots was split up between the tracks. The resulting distribution of slots aimed at creating a proper balance between tech/science subjects, IT security questions and politics/society topics, as well as art & beauty and making/crafting. The CCC congress has always lived from its very wide area of subjects and topics, so distributing the available talk slots among different tracks is a good way to get the right mix.

The Society, Politics & Ethics track was assigned 29 hours out of 120 hours total lecture time. This does not include lightning talks, workshops, CCC related talks or evening shows. We received a total of more than 300 submissions to the congress – more than 120 of which were aiming at a slot in the  Society, Politics & Ethics track. Many submissions asked for slots even longer than one hour.

With regards to contents, this track’s goal is to reflect on last year’s important discussions and events in order to bring forward the debate in our community and in society in general and to – and this is just as important – have a number of talks that just widen the horizon and introduce you to fields you haven’t heard or thought about much so far. The overarching goal was of course to help forming connections between different communities in the fight for digital freedoms and to learn from each other’s successes and mistakes.

So, we needed to make some hard decisions.

The track team, after reviewing all submissions, came up with some rules to ensure general fairness between submissions:

  1. Maximum slot length is one hour.
  2. A number of talks has to be condensed to thirty minutes, so we can cover more topics.
  3. No panels – unless we have contrarian, extra-ordinary, kick-ass panel members.
  4. No lectures whose sole purpose is the introduction of a specific project (we humbly ask you to do this in a workshop or lightning talk).
  5. Strong international/European focus, no predominantly US-centric talks.

As a first step, we identified this year’s general topics of interest and clustered submissions into 12 resulting sections. Within each section, submissions were then rank-ordered. Judgements were made strictly based on the talk submission’s contents. As we have emphasized on numerous occasions before the submission deadline: Submitting a weak, hastily written or convoluted description or one that does not convey what you really want to talk about, immensely reduces your chance of acceptance.

After the first round of thorough reviewing and within-section ranking, we ended up with about twice as many talks as we could fit into the available time. This means: For every submission we accepted, we had to drop at least one other submission that we had also agreed to accept. As you can tell, this was when the really tough decisions had to be made.

At this point, there were two types of conflicts:

(a) the intra-subject conflict: When there were two submissions dealing with the same (or very similar) topics, we had to opt for only one of them, in order to not discriminate other, just as important subjects. This is when we introduced speaker performance as a criterion. We looked at videos of previous talks, read through the rankings collected at previous CCC-events and asked around to hear about audience experiences with the speaker in question at other conferences.

(b) the inter-subject conflict: Even after (roughly) enforcing the one-slot-per-topic directive we had laid upon us, there was still not enough time. The only solution was to shorten submissions down to thirty minutes of length, and – ultimately – dropping them. So we sat down and made these uncomfortable decisions based on which talk might interest the bigger audience, has the higher relevance in the current situation.

In the end, only 35 submissions made it into the final program.

If your submission was accepted, please keep in mind that two other submissions had to be rejected to make space for you, one of which was originally considered indispensable by the track team. We trust that you will not disappoint our faith in you.

If your talk – or one that you feel strongly about – has not made it into the final 30C3 Society, Politics & Ethics track, don’t despair. You all were up against some very serious competition. We could have filled about twice as much time as we had and would still not have weak talks in the program. The other track teams faced similar problems, just that they had (except for the Security & Hacking track) a far less dramatic submissions to available slots ratio.

To those of you who did not make it into the final round, there is one consolation: Judged by the number of rejected obviously-unrejectable submissions, we’re sure to have compiled a kick-ass program. :)

More information at 30c3? Here: https://events.ccc.de/congress/2013/wiki/Main_Page.