Ruby Folk Are Nice

We’re in the midst of MountainWest RubyConf 2008, and I have lots I want to blog about it. But before I get there, and before I take a 36 hour nap, I just want to let you know how nice Ruby folk are. This may be a fairly simple example, but I want to share it anyway.

I’m one of the organizers of the conference, and that has meant that I miss about half the conference sessions because I’m running around trying to fix the power or fix the wifi or organize the distribution of food. On Friday we had a really delicious lunch from Rumbi’s, but it left the conference room we ate in rather messy. We paid a cleaning deposit, but the trash needed to be collected and the room straightened. I was informed of this just as we were breaking for dinner and I told them we would fix it before the evening session. I ended up stressing over this for the entire dinner break because I hate the idea of inconveniencing the great people at the Salt Lake City library who have been so accommodating towards the 200 geeks who descended upon them destroying their power circuits and their wifi.

I got back from dinner just 20 minutes before the evening session, and called out to the ~30 folks milling around in the foyer asking for help cleaning the room up. We had ~8 people in the room and had the whole thing straightened up in under 5 minutes. That’s awesome.

And to add to this, as we left at the end of the day I asked if everyone could pick up their empty water bottles. After chatting with some folks I walked out and the entire auditorium was cleaned out. Not a water bottle in site. Now this may seem like two very small things, but this means the world to me. It shows respect for the venue and I appreciate it very much. Thanks guys!

I’ve had so much fun at the conference this year. I’ve fully enjoyed meeting new people and talking with everyone I’ve been able talk with. We have a wide variety of folks attending this year; from the mind-bendingly smart gurus to the total noobs. But everyone is getting along and helping each other become better. Not just better technically in regards to Ruby, but I honestly believe that we are helping each other become better people as well. There is a great vibe here, I wish everyone could experience it.

I know we set the bar pretty high last year, but I think we on our way to being even better this year.