DrupalCon Washington, D.C. 2009

This community report starts with a disclaimer. I am a Drupal nerd. This FOSS community looks inward at its own code as much as it looks outward to the clients it serves. Conversations at Drupal events range from database APIs to plotting crime statistics using geomapping tools to help people get home safely. This mix of code and humanity makes it easy to see why so many people are drawn to Drupal.

Dubbed "the event for Drupal developers," DrupalCon DC [1] was an overwhelming success. More than 1,400 Drupal fanatics gathered in Washington, D.C. to learn and share and have some fun. The organizing committee, led by Bonnie Bogle, did an outstanding job securing sponsors and turned a profit of nearly US$ 180,000. Yes, profit.

During the three-day conference, there were puppets (Figure 1), tree houses, [2] and fuse ball [3]. The usual suspects fired up ye olde Git vs. Bazaar debate. Sam Boyer and I had some newcomers this time, with author Victor Kane [4] weighing in, too. It wasn't all fun and games, though.

[...]