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Planning for Voynich Manuscript Day 2024

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• Planning for Voynich Manuscript Day 2024

• RE: Planning for Voynich Manuscript Day 2024

  merrimacga > 06-11-2023, 06:07 PM

  We could do a new member welcome. These are usually easier to do in person, often in the form of a cocktail hour or some such. For ours, we could do one online via webinar (with or without video but audio required) where new members could introduce themselves and tell everyone attending a little about themselves.
  
  A Q&A panel webinar with some of our VM experts would also be a great idea.
  
  One or more VM blogging webinars could recap/present the recent articles of our more active bloggers.
  
  Our more knowledgeable members could present on different facets of VM research.
  
  It would be great to have experts in botany, medieval studies, manuscript studies (including provenance), linguistics, cryptography, astrology, etc. presenting their sciences as related to VM research. Someone could talk/present about the radiocarbon dating and the ink tests that were performed. For the newer members at least though likely many members would find such talks interesting.
  
  At the convention I worked for, we had hall fan tables for organizations that were less expensive than booths in the dealers and distributors rooms where items were available for purchase or marketed to industry professionals, respectively. And we also had bands performing music on hall stages in the host hotel open areas. And we had an art show and art show room where fan art was displayed, put up for auction, eligible for art show awards and sold directly. For VM Day, we could organize similar activities by having scheduled music performances presented live via webinar and threads where members can promote and include links for selling their VM-themed artwork. If we have enough art submitted, we might even be able to do an art auction, the proceeds of which could benefit the artist or their favorite charity.
  
  We could have a create your own VM-style manuscript page.
  
  We could have a VM AI art competition. Recognition would have to be the reward unless anyone wants to donate towards e-gift card prizes.
  
  Members working on VM projects that require funding could host funding drives or promote VM projects that need participation.
  
  I've seen mentioned on this site at least 1, possibly 2, VM-themed theatrical productions. Maybe some enterprising members could organize a live webinar VM play or reenactment. This could be a ticketed event.
  
  We could share VM-themed drink and food recipes, not only presenting pics of them on VM Day but post them in advance so others could duplicate them for VM Day. You know how much we all love reproducible results. 
  
  Just a few of the ideas I've had. I'm sure I will have many more and I am probably getting WAY ahead of myself, especially for a 1-day event.

• RE: Planning for Voynich Manuscript Day 2024

  ReneZ > 07-11-2023, 12:16 AM

  I think that any serious 'thing' should be done when the time is right, meaning as soon as there are people willing to organise and to participate. 
  Having an idea, and delaying its execution till Voynich day will not work.
  Some yearly event can certainly work, if there is a clear (group of) dedicated organiser(s).

• RE: Planning for Voynich Manuscript Day 2024

  merrimacga > 01-02-2024, 02:04 PM

  (07-11-2023, 12:16 AM)ReneZ Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.I think that any serious 'thing' should be done when the time is right, meaning as soon as there are people willing to organise and to participate. 
  Having an idea, and delaying its execution till Voynich day will not work.
  Some yearly event can certainly work, if there is a clear (group of) dedicated organiser(s).

  
  Now that it is February and the holidays are behind us...and hopefully my HR day job has calmed down enough too (we've been mired in ERC and W-2s on top of hires and fires)...I think it is high time to pick this discussion back up again and really get some serious planning going.
  
  Since this is just a one day event on 4 August, 2024, I don't think we should go too overboard in the suggestions but I don't want to limit anyone's suggestions either. However, I do think we need some structure in order to do some serious planning. So below is a summation of all the previous suggestions plus a few additional ones I came up with plus a tentative suggestion for structure complete with deadlines and breakout discussion threads. Let me know your thoughts.
  
  Tentative Activities (not in any particular order):

  • State of the Voynich - Koen (poll in July and results on VM Day; presentation via discussion thread?)
    
  • Voynich Fools Day (our version of April Fools Day; discussion thread with submissions on VM Day and separate poll for the best one that week)
    
  • Just for fun: Your most absurd VM theory (discussion thread with submissions on VM Day and poll for the best one that week)
    
  • Bulletin Board for local VM Day events and meetups (discussion thread starting 8 April up to and including 3 August)
    
  • VM Day Recipes (discussion thread with VM-themed food and beverage recipe submissions by 8 April, Q&A until 3 August (if needed) and presentation photos for those who have made them on VM Day with a separate poll for the top 3 food and top 3 beverage recipes that week)
    
  • Your most likely plant identification (one per member, submissions by 8 April, separate multiple choice poll to select the top 3 between 9 April and 3 August, results summarized on VM Day)
    
  • Create your own VM folio (all submissions must be in the style of a VM folio (images and indecipherable text) but be an original work, submissions by 8 April, multiple choice poll to select the top 3 between 9 April and 3 August, results summarized on VM Day)
    
  • VM Music Programming Track (live timed events; presented by video (or at least audio) webinar for each artist to perform live on VM Day, no live recordings (unless the artist permits) but artists can later share links to audio/video recordings)
    
  • VM Art Show (discussion thread where artists can post images of VM-themed art they have created between 8 April and 3 August, including works they have available for sale and links to where they can be purchased; separate poll between 28 July and 3 August for best work submitted by 21 July in each of several categories (TBD, should include an AI one) with results presented on VM Day)
    
  • VM Art Auction (if there is enough interest and if we can manage to organize it; live timed event; presented by live video webinar; we'll need someone who can be the auctioneer; artists would donate VM-themed works with the proceeds going to a pre-selected charity)
    
  • Live video interviews and audience Q&A with experts (live timed events; I think Koen is already working on this but I envision one expert per live interview and we'll need someone to interview each expert)
    
  • VM-themed panel discussions (live timed events; a panel of experts to discuss and do audience Q&A for each of a variety of VM-themed topics; a moderator will be needed for each)
    
  • Individual guest talks (live timed events by webinar on a variety of VM themes and various related sciences presented by experts and others who are knowledgeable; I would love it if someone from the Beinecke could be one of these guests since VM Day is based on the VM MS 408...perhaps Raymond Clemens would be willing?)
    
  • Voynich Ninja Peer Review (call for papers by 8 April, live timed presentations via webinar on VM Day by those whose papers are selected; other details TBD by the VN admins/editors who will helm this)
    
  • New member welcome (live timed event; audio/video webinar; need to reach out each new member added say within the last 12 months and confirm their attendance; moderator needed)
    
  • Year in Review: VM Blogging (could be by discussion thread or by live timed webinar at the discretion of each blogger)
    

  
  Tentative Schedule:

  • February 2024:
    • Possible multiple choice poll to determine members' interest in the different activity suggestions 
      
    • Call for volunteers with tentative list of planning tasks 
      
    • Establish planning committee and assign tasks
      
  • March 2024:
    • Weekly assigned task updates planning committee members
      
    • Start confirmation of participating experts, other speakers, musicians and artists as well as interviewers and moderators
      
  • April 2024:
    • 8 April: deadline for call for papers for peer review; submissions due for Voynich Fools, plant ID entries, VM folio entries
      
  • April 2024 - 4 August 2024:
    • Bi-weekly assigned task updates planning committee members
      
    • 8 April: start work on program
      
    • 8 April - 3 August: Bulletin Board for local events active
      
    • 9 April - 3 August: Plant ID entry and VM folio entry polls and recipe Q&A
      
    • Peer review of submitted papers
      
    • July: State of the Voynich poll
      
    • 21 July: all interviewers, moderators, experts, other speakers, musicians and artists confirmed; artists' works submissions due for the Art Show poll; charity and art works finalized for Art Auction or event cancelled; all live event webinar details due so they can be included in the program
      
    • 28 July - 3 August: Art Show entry poll
      
    • 28 July: program finalized and published to site calendar and discussion VM Day 2024 main thread (separate of this one); new member RSVPs deadline for the new member welcome
      

  • August 2024:
    • 3 August: polls end for Plant IDs and VM folios; deadline for Art Show entries not submitted for the poll or the auction
      
    • 4 August: VM Day and all related activities and scheduled events
      
    • 5 August - 11 August: post VM Day polls active
      
    • 12 August: post VM Day poll results announced
      
    • Dead dog party - well, no, not really since we're doing this virtually but you catch my drift I'm sure
      

• RE: Planning for Voynich Manuscript Day 2024

  ReneZ > 03-02-2024, 07:26 AM

  I don't want to leave you disappointed here, with no response ;-)
  
  I guess some of the less complicated options will be able to go ahead without too much preparation.
  
  I am quite skeptical of the idea of a peer-reviewed webinar, for quite a number of reasons.
  That is: in favour of the webinar, but not of the peer-reviewed part.
  
  If this forum should organise something like that, I would suggest to cut out the major overhead and the major risk of failure, both at once, by not having such a review, but allow people to contribute on a 'first come, first serve' basis. 'First come' would require a clear proposal, not just: "yeah I'll do something".

• RE: Planning for Voynich Manuscript Day 2024

  merrimacga > 04-02-2024, 04:11 AM

  Thanks, Rene.
  
  Anything on the list that isn't too complicated, and anything else like it added later, that is those activities that don't involve peer review, moderators, interviews, experts, other speakers, musicians or artists (and Koen's State of the Voynich), I should be able to manage myself, including polls and the program. Those things I can't handle myself I will need volunteers to handle, hence the need for a planning committee.
  
  Koen, in addition to his State of the Voynich, indicated he has something in mind regarding interviews. For anything he hasn't got covered, we will need a volunteer (moderator, getting expert and other speakers). And he also suggested getting Cary to participate as an artist. And Lissu offered to participate with music. So I am hoping they can help handle those activities. Or if not, one volunteer in each of the three areas may be sufficient. It would be great if a blogger could organize the blogging review activities. And it would be good to have a volunteer, perhaps a site admin or editor, organize the new member welcome. That's a max 6 volunteers for the planning committee for everything except the peer review and what I have covered.
  
  Polling the members as to what activities they would like included in the VM Day program may eliminate some of the activity suggestion list and/or possibly add to it (because you know members will likely make suggestions in the poll thread). So I think that is a good idea and I will run with that sometime this upcoming week. But I can put out a call for volunteers for the planning committee as well without waiting on that poll's results.
  
  So speaking of the peer review, that and the art auction suggestion (the latter I realize probably won't happen) are likely the most time consuming activities to organize so far. In order to move forward with any form of peer review, I would want a panel, preferably made up of those who normally would handle peer review here, to review any papers submitted. But it may be better to just review and approve or decline papers for their authors to present as part of the VM Day program instead of a full peer review. In the Drafts For Peer Review forum here, there are already excellent guidelines (and an additional thread that goes more in-depth) that we can use to limit the submissions for VM Day. All the review panel would need to do is decide which papers are best ready for presentation and narrow the selection down to those few they approve for the program. The panel could set a cap on how many papers can be submitted and close submissions at whichever is met first, the cap or the 8 April deadline. The panel would also set the limit for the final number of papers approved for presentation. And they could add any additional requirements for the VM Day author presentations. I would suggest each author be required to provide their own webinar details so once they are given the green light by the panel and added to the program, the panel's work would be done and the rest up to each author. I suggest each author be limited to 60 to 90 minutes max presentation duration, including Q&A.
  
  Of course, I realize it is possible, for whatever reasons, we may still only get a limited number of submissions. It may be worth it to run a separate poll to see if there is sufficient researcher interest and readiness first and I could run that unless a site admin/editor would prefer to do so instead. If the results prove insufficient to keep this in the program, we could instead offer presentations on the peer review process and getting published, which could help de-mystify these processes for authors, especially those who are looking to get reviewed or published for the first time.
  
  My two cents for what it's worth. Any additional thoughts from anyone on any of this?

• RE: Planning for Voynich Manuscript Day 2024

  davidjackson > 04-02-2024, 07:34 AM

  Well it's a lot of work. 
  Feel free to use the forum in any way you can for this and ask for IT help you think you can use. 
  Why not try to contact some of the companies who deal with the voynich (ie Siloé) and see if they want to get involved?

• RE: Planning for Voynich Manuscript Day 2024

  Ruby Novacna > 04-02-2024, 09:54 AM

  Quote:I suggest each author be limited to 60 to 90 minutes max presentation duration, including Q&A.

  15 min for presentation + 3*5 for Q&A

• RE: Planning for Voynich Manuscript Day 2024

  ReneZ > 04-02-2024, 10:28 AM

  One of the main reasons why I am not in favour of peer review, and just let anyone make a presentation who wants, is, that peer reviews work in academic environments, where both the submitters and the reviewers are used to this concept.
  Here, we don't have that.
  
  At the conference organised by Malta, the reviewers were academics used to this concept, but many submitters weren't, and a few found it hard to accept rejection. Some would not even accept that the reviewers had the necessary expertise. In the Ninja forum, that will be even much more the case, and bad feelings will be inevitable.
  
  As the main purpose of review is to be able to reject contributions, I wonder why that should be done.
  Let anyone explain their ideas (at least once). It might be helpful to better understand them than from just the forum posts.
  
  In any case, this will not lead to any publication, so there is no academic reputation at stake...

• RE: Planning for Voynich Manuscript Day 2024

  merrimacga > 12-02-2024, 08:50 AM

  I started the poll to gauge community interest in the current activity suggestions. Polls here will only allow up to 10 choices so the other 6 couldn't be included in the poll question but are listed in the poll thread. I re-sorted the list and excluded from the poll those 6 activities we would most likely offer regardless of community feedback. The poll will be open the rest of this month.
  
  Poll thread link (also in the event in the site calendar and added separately to the calendar):
  You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.
  
  Note: I changed the VN Peer Review activity to Individual VM research paper presentations. I will probably wait a week and then, if it looks like there is interest in this activity, post a Google survey for researchers to express their interest and readiness in presenting on VM Day (polling options are limited here to a single question so I have to move that survey offsite). If neither the community nor the researchers express sufficient interest, we can drop this from the activity list. In case we move forward with this activity and too many researchers express an interest, the researcher survey will indicate a limit may need to be set and a review process put in place as to how many and which researchers can be listed in the 2024 VM Day program, in which case we can then figure out how best to address such a review.
  
  Stay tuned. I will follow-up again here soon.

• RE: Planning for Voynich Manuscript Day 2024

  merrimacga > 16-02-2024, 07:03 AM

  The response to the activities poll has been pretty light so far but there is support for the research presentations so I have drafted what I am calling a submission form, though it pretty much is a survey. I used Google Forms to create it so there are limitations, one of which is not being able to lock the form for editing once it is active, which Forms are as soon as they are created. The form is set so that researchers should be able to save progress and continue later and they shouldn't need to log in to Google to complete it. The form is set to insert responses from submitted forms into a Google Sheet, which has also been created. I still have time to tweak it further before I intend to launch and promote the submission form. With Google Forms, I can add collaborators who will also be able make changes to the form (no more than 1 or 2 needed). 
  
  If anyone would like to volunteer to look it over and offer suggestions for changes or be able to make changes to it themselves, send me a private message here and let me know if you just want the live link to the form to review it and test it or if you want to be added as a editor as well (the latter will require an email address that is linked to a Google account).
  
  I would like to launch the submission form here by Monday, 19 February, if possible.
  
  Once the form link is posted on this site and one or more submissions have occurred, no further changes should be made.
  
  I may also need 1 or 2 collaborators to help review the submissions closer to the deadline. Researchers won't be required to submit their work (or their presentations thereof) prior to the submission deadline. Rather the questions are preparatory in nature asking things like how complete is their research, how they intend to present it, and basic details we can use for promoting their presentation as part of the VM Day activities. No limit is set yet but if we get a lot of responses, it may be necessary to set a limit as to how many will be accepted for VM Day and that is indicated in the form description. If it comes to that, then deciding which ones to reject is where I will need the most help after launch.
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