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Panels
Chair: Kyle Brown, IBM, panels@oopsla.org
Overview
OOPSLA panels have consistently been among the best-attended and well-received attractions at the conference. The best panels offer an engaging, entertaining and informative examination of a timely topic from a variety of viewpoints. OOPSLA panels offer a unique forum that can allow emerging issues to be brought into focus before a broad audience. They also give the OOPSLA community a way to let experts tackle controversial and divisive topics head-on in a fun, interactive way that can shed welcome light on the issues we all must deal with.
Over the years, a variety of different panel formats have proven effective. The traditional panel format features a recitation of position statements, followed by a discussion among the panelists, and questions from the floor. OOPSLA audiences prefer that there be a certain degree of discordance among these positions. Hence, you are encouraged to seek out panelists with contrasting opinions.
Formal debates permit an informed, polished presentation of starkly opposing positions. This format may be particularly suitable for more narrow, highly technical topics.
More exotic formats have proven successful as well. For instance, courtroom simulations, game shows, and reality television shows have worked in the past. Audiences appreciate being entertained as well as informed. We will continue to accept proposals based on traditional formats, while encouraging creativity and innovation as well.
Part of the enduring appeal of OOPSLA panels is that they have customarily showcased the opinions of leading researchers and industry leaders. This is a tradition we will hope to continue to uphold. We hope as well, however, to move beyond the usual gurus and gadflies, and feature a broader cross-section of the OOPSLA community in this year's panel program. Panelists need not be experts; dispatches from the trenches can prove at least as enlightening as the latest sound bites from the usual suspects.
Part of the enduring appeal of OOPSLA panels is that they have customarily showcased the opinions of leading researchers and industry leaders. This is a tradition we will hope to continue to uphold. We hope as well, however, to move beyond the usual gurus and gadflies, and feature a broader cross-section of the OOPSLA community in this year's panel program. Panelists need not be experts; dispatches from the trenches can prove at least as enlightening as the latest sound bites from the usual suspects.
Important Dates
Submissions due date: March 19, 2004
Notification of acceptance or rejection: May 9, 2004
Submission Process
Go to the Panels submission system.
Electronic submission of proposals is required through the OOPSLA submission system. Other submissions will not be accepted. Submissions must include (at the least) a 2-4 paragraph abstract of the proposed panel, position papers from each of the panelists, and a biography of the proposed moderator. The abstract should include a description of the format of the panel as well as a clear description of what the panel is about and why the panel meets the needs of the OOPSLA audience. Each panelist’s position statement must include a short statement of their position on the topic as well as biographical information and contact information.
Submission Guidelines
A successful panel proposal should hold out the prospect that audience members will leave the panel smarter than when they arrived. Panel submitters should be aware that we will usually work closely with them to refine and enhance their submissions.
For More Information
Feel free to contact the panels chair Kyle Brown at panels@oopsla.org (in advance of submission date) if you have an idea for a panel, wish to be considered as a panelist, or require other panel-related information or clarification.
