Drupal. I didnt come to Drupal code 14 years ago, I came for the community and stayed for the functionality. That is part why I never liked the "Come for the code, stay for the community" slogan. Sure, it is a perfect cheesy slogan. If all you want attract are coders in the community, it is even a perfect slogan. For a perfect community, of perfect happy coders.

We have got to learn to address humans. Not just humans who can code. That is, if we want to be a true community for a product. A product that is well designed and does attract both the business and the user to participate in the product, the process and hence the community.

Leaderers. Entrepeneurs. Visionaries. Testesters. Document writers. Project Managers, marketeers. To name just a few. Of course developers can also have the skills to do these jobs, an often overlooked fact. But someone who is "just" a marketeer, will not come for the code. (S)He might come for the job at hand, money that might be involved, the functionality, but the best reason why an external non developer should come to the community to help out, is the community that is helping her/him out. Not clean lines of code, but helping hands of love.

This is I am active in the Drupal community, to help out to get others on board. With a rocking team ( Marja, Imre, Rolf and Peter and others) we are organising the DrupalJam event in the low lands. The DrupalJam started with 20+ persons and pizzas in a room and is now a big event with over 300 people attending, over 25 sessions and a budget in the tens of thousands.

DrupalJam -organised by the Dutch Drupal foundation- will be held in Utrecht, April 30 and it really represents the helping hands -not just the lines of code- of the community. With keynotes from Bruce Lawson ( HTML fame), Marco Derksen (digital strategist, entrepreneur) and featured speakers like Jefrey Maguire (moustache fame, D8), Anton VanHouke (leading design agency in the NL, introduced scrum in to strategy and design), Stephan Hay (designer, writer) and Ben van 't Ende (Community Manager for the TYPO3 Asssociation).
And like last year, Dries will do a virtually Q-and-A. If you want to ask him nearly anything, do so at this form.

The event will be held in an old industrial complex as can be seen in these shots

I am really looking forward to this event, it has a long tradition and always strengthened the community and brought in new blood. People who "Come for the business and stay for the community" Those who come of the need for design and stay for the love. Or love the functional and stay for organising the next DrupalJam.

PS: Now this head has rolled, it is time we decide what we do the body. If you have 5 minutes of your spare time, read this post and if you have one minute more, see this one from 2008 as well.