As promised, some considered reflections on OOoCon 2006. If OOoCon 2005 was the friendly conference, then OOoCon 2006 was surely the glittering conference. A major conference theme this year was that ODF had secured the “glittering prize” of ISO accreditation. The increasing recognition of OpenOffice.org in European public administrations was reflected in the civic reception laid on by the Mayor of Lyon in the fabulous Town Hall – a truly glittering occasion.

At this glittering conference, there were the usual upstairs/downstairs agendas. Upstairs the rumour/conspiracy mill was churning away around the commercial companies. IBM played the role of petrified honeymooner, telling the community how they were truly, deeply, madly in love with us but couldn’t quite bring themselves to get under the duvet. Come on big blue – it may be a bit uncomfortable at first, and it’ll get messy at times, but trust us – it’s where you really want to be.

Meanwhile, downstairs, the community business of OOoCon went on regardless, with some fascinating presentations. My personal highlight remains Claudio Ferreira Filho’s talk Brazil / A strange success case. Brazil demonstrates the highs and lows that an active native-language community can experience. For those who doubt what a group of volunteers can achieve, Brazil provides a glittering case study (Claudio’s slides are on this page, and the video is on this page).

So, goodbye to all those inspirational folks from around the world who make OpenOffice.org the wonderful and powerful community that it is. Once you’ve been to one OOoCon, it’s hard not to keep coming back annually for another fix.

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