FAQ

This FAQ list is meant to help BOF organizers understand the scope and organization of the SC14 BOF program. Direct any additional questions or concerns to bofs@info.supercomputing.org.

General Questions

• What is a BOF?

  • A BOF provides a forum for audience-driven discussion, developing grass-roots participation and professional networking. BOFs are non-commercial with a focus on community building through highly-interactive discussion of a wide variety of topics.

• What isn’t a BoF?

  • There are a few things for which SC BOFs are not the appropriate venue:

    • Vendors advertising their latest product release or feature (instead, consider the SC Exhibitor Forum);

    • A session consisting solely or mainly of presentations and discussion between a small group of experts (instead, submit a proposal for an SC Panel);

    • A project team meeting that is not focused on building community (e.g., by not allowing non- project team members in the discussion).

• How should a BOF be organized?

  • While we do not prescribe how a BoF should be organized, BoFs should have a format that ensure high levels of audience interaction and engagement. They are explicitly not to be dominated by unidirectional talks or presentations given by the organizers or anyone else for that matter.  
     

BOF Logistics and Accommodations

• When will BoFs be held?

  • While a definitive schedule is not yet available, generally BOFs will be held in parallel tracks at approximately the following times:

    • Tuesday, November 18: Noon-1:30p and 5:00 - 6:30p

    • Wednesday, November 19: Noon-1:30p and 5:00 - 6:30p

    • Thursday, November 20: Noon-1:30p

• Can you schedule my BoF at time X because it conflicts with …?

  • We will try to accommodate scheduling constraints as best we can, but ultimately we will not be able to schedule all BoFs such that all organizer/attendee conflicts are avoided. It is best to make any potential scheduling conflicts known to us as early as possible.

• Can we make special equipment requests for our BoF?

  • In general, no. BoF rooms will be equipped with standard A/V equipment such as projectors and microphones including portable microphones for brief presentations and audience participation. We do not anticipate being able to accommodate any requests for additional equipment or reconfiguration of the provided equipment and furniture.

• Who can attend BoFs?

  • For past SC’s, anyone registered for the technical program, workshops, tutorials or as an exhibitor could attend BoF sessions. We anticipate this to be the same for SC14. We will update this FAQ with specific details when SC14 registration opens in July.

• Is there an additional registration charge for access to the BoF?

  • No. See question above.
     

BOF Speakers, Moderators and Organizers

• Do BoF speakers, moderators or organizers receive an honorarium?

  • No.

• Do BoF speakers, moderators or organizers receive any registration waivers or discounts?

  • No.