Discussion Topic: Event Calendar Management

[Landon Kea]

Discussion Topic: Event Calendar Management
As HSL continues to grow, one area worth discussing is how we should manage our event calendar moving forward. Our current and future event schedule is one of the primary ways members and the public learn about upcoming activities, so it's important that it remains accurate, organized, and easy to use.

The question is:

Should HSL have a dedicated Events Team that reviews and publishes events through a submission form, or should members (and potentially the public) be able to post events directly to the Google Calendar?

There are valid arguments for both approaches, and this discussion is intended to gather feedback before making any decisions.

Option 1: Dedicated Events Team with an Event Submission Form
Under this model, anyone wishing to schedule an event would complete a simple form with the event details. An Events Team would review the submission, ensure it meets HSL guidelines, resolve scheduling conflicts if necessary, and then publish it to the official calendar.

Pros
Creates a consistent and professional-looking calendar.

Reduces duplicate, incomplete, or inaccurate event listings.

Helps prevent scheduling conflicts between events.

Allows event descriptions, locations, and times to follow a standard format.

Ensures all events meet HSL policies before being published.

Makes the official calendar a trusted source of information.

Gives members a dedicated point of contact for questions or assistance.

Cons
Introduces an extra step before events appear on the calendar.

Events may not be published immediately if the Events Team is unavailable.

Requires volunteers willing to consistently manage submissions.

Can become a bottleneck if submission volume increases.

Some members may feel the process is unnecessarily restrictive.

Option 2: Direct Calendar Access
Under this model, approved members—or even the public, depending on permissions—would add events directly to the Google Calendar without requiring approval beforehand.

Pros
Events can be posted immediately.

Encourages member involvement and ownership.

Less administrative workload for staff or volunteers.

Easier for recurring event organizers who already know the process.

Allows the calendar to grow naturally with community activity.

Cons
Greater risk of formatting inconsistencies.

Increased chance of scheduling conflicts.

Events may contain incomplete or inaccurate information.

Mistakes may require staff intervention after publication.

Potential for accidental edits or misuse if permissions are too broad.

The calendar may appear less polished as HSL continues to expand.

Things to Consider
As we discuss this, it may also be worth considering questions beyond simply choosing one model over the other.

Should recurring event organizers have direct access while new events go through a submission process?

Should emergency or last-minute events have an expedited approval process?

Would a small Events Team have enough volunteers to provide timely reviews?

What service level should members expect—for example, should submissions be reviewed within 24–48 hours?

Should the calendar prioritize speed, consistency, or a balance of both?

As HSL continues to grow, which system is more sustainable over the long term?

A Possible Hybrid Approach
Rather than choosing one extreme or the other, HSL could consider a hybrid model.

An Events Team could manage the official public calendar through an event submission form, ensuring consistency and quality. At the same time, trusted organizers or recurring event hosts could be granted direct publishing access after demonstrating familiarity with the process. This would maintain quality control while avoiding unnecessary delays for experienced members.

Open Discussion
This is not a proposal for or against either option. Instead, the goal is to determine what system will best serve HSL both now and as our community continues to grow.

Some members may value the flexibility and speed of direct posting, while others may prefer the consistency and oversight of a dedicated Events Team. Both viewpoints have merit, and your feedback is encouraged.

Discussion Questions

Which model do you believe would best serve HSL?

What concerns do you have with either approach?

Is there another solution that hasn't been considered?

Would a hybrid approach provide the best balance between flexibility and consistency?

As HSL grows, what should our long-term goal for event management look like?

[Antonio Contrisciani]

I don't personally see anything wrong with our current process in place. We have a google form where anyone can submit an event at which point a few volunteers parse the submission and enter it on to the calendar. If volunteers wish to join that team we can certainly introduce and train them and currently there hasnt been any lapses or problems with the current solution.

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[Kirk]

As far as I understand it, the current system is the same as your option 1.  If you think there is a deficiency or an improvement that can be made, I think you should first discuss with the people handling the current system because they probably know best what is needed.  The system seems to be working fine and I don't want to expend mental energy thinking about it, because my philosophy is if it ain't broke, I ain't fixing it.

[Moheeb Zara]

That is the current process. Primarily Eric Ose handles it, more people should be on it. 

Same as how we do email moderation, for example Luis has been moderating email list for years, until someone randomly removed his access. (must've been a mistake)