In accordance with our code of conduct and privacy policy, please do not share this unlinked page with anyone outside of the conference.
The Pre-Recorded Talks
The pre-recorded talks are now available on our YouTube channel as unlisted videos. You can access them via the respective Mattermost channels for each session, or the conference schedule webpage, which is linked to in the first announcement in Mattermost. You should watch the talks and discuss them on Mattermost before their scheduled live discussion.
All the scheduled live discussions will be recorded and shared with the participants. Therefore, do not worry if you miss a session, you can still catch what was discussed later. These recordings will not be made publicly available after the conference. In addition, you should be able to find the speakers in the live conference space during formal conference hours and be able to talk to them in person.
We strongly advise deliberately setting time aside to watch the talks and not leaving it to the last minute!
The Mattermost Workspace
The invitation link to the conference Mattermost workspace is included in your welcome email. Mattermost will be the main source of communication during the conference: we will post all announcements, instructions and guidelines there.
The Mattermost workspace will also host asynchronous discussions of all talks. Each scheduled discussion session has its own Mattermost channel. We encourage you to begin discussing the talks as soon as you have watched them. These asynchronous discussions complement and improve the scheduled live discussions: Speakers will have time to carefully think about the questions asked; and all participants will be able to inform themselves of the likely points of interest in the live discussions.
Mattermost will also be where the themed discussions are suggested, planned and scheduled – as well as where asynchronous discussion of the chosen themes happens beforehand.
Mattermost Etiquette
- When using Mattermost, please adhere to our code of conduct. It is OK to have scientific disagreements with other participants, but keep them constructive and kind.
- Try to follow the rule of one thread per discussion topic. For example, do not reply to someone with a new top-level post in the channel, but do start a new thread if you have a new, unrelated question. This allows other participants to navigate and join in the many ongoing discussions more easily.
- If your question (or discussion point) is to someone in particular, e.g. the speaker of a pre-recorded talk, you should @their-name so that they know you have asked the question.
- To facilitate this, please sign in with your full name (optionally, pronouns can be provided in your profile).
The Live Conference Space (Zoom)
All scheduled live talk and themed discussions will take place in our live conference space. Participants can gather at all other times in the space to discuss and collaborate.
Live Etiquette
Treat the space as you would treat the conference venue at an in-person event. Wherever possible, when you have a discussion with other conference participants, do it through the conference space. The purpose of using a persistent online space is to allow participants to see what conversations are taking place at any point of the conference and to freely move between them. If your discussion is pre-planned, let others know about your plans on Mattermost.
As a general rule, whenever you are online during the formally scheduled conference time, log in to the space and put yourself in one of the rooms. Doing this allows other participants, who might want to talk with you, to see you and strike up a conversation.
We have dedicated social rooms that will be open in the conference space during formal conference hours, so even if you are online but taking a break from discussing physics, make use of these rooms to meet and interact with other conference participants, who have joined Parity Violation from Home from countries in all corners of the world. There is also a quiet room in case you want to make yourself available for other participants to find, without actively joining an ongoing discussion right away.
Outside formal conference hours the space will still be available for spontaneous live discussions, but may have more limited functionality (e.g. just one room).
Themed Discussions
During the conference we will also be having scheduled themed discussions. These will be chosen by participants during the conference. You can suggest a topic, and discuss the scope and framing of other participants’ suggestions, in the “Themed Suggestions and Scheduling” channel on Mattermost. This is also where we will organize the scheduling of the live themed discussions that people suggest.
Feel free to suggest any topic you are interested in related to Parity Violation in Cosmology!
There is no prescribed format for the themed discussions. Some might be a tutorial by an expert on a difficult topic of interest. Others might be a lively debate of a contentious issue within cosmology. Still others might be working groups getting together to begin tackling a scientific, or social, topic of interest to participants.
Each themed discussion will be assigned an official chair to moderate the live discussion on the day.
Asynchronous discussion of the themed discussions happens in the “Themed Discussions” channel. You do not have to wait for the live discussion to be scheduled to begin asynchronously discussing the topic.
Other Asynchronous Scientific Discussions
Any other asynchronous scientific discussion not specifically related to a talk or scheduled themed discussion session can also take place in the “Themed Discussions” channel.
Social Events
Beyond the use of the social rooms in the conference space, there may also be scheduled social events throughout the conference. This will include regular online games and general chats.
Final Comments
Take advantage of the Mattermost and live conference spaces to get the most out of the conference. The officially scheduled discussion hours are not the whole conference. We warmly encourage participants to schedule their own informal discussions (and social interactions) in the conference space and to inform other participants of these plans in Mattermost.
If you think of something that could be added to make the conference even better, let us know in Mattermost, and we can all bring it about together.