Future Work & Open Questions

Automated Event startDate in Structured Data

The JSON-LD in _includes/head/custom.html has a hardcoded startDate for the next event occurrence. The eventSchedule property with repeatFrequency: P1W and byDay: Tuesday handles the recurring signal for Google, but startDate should ideally stay near-future.

GitHub Actions weekly cron + Liquid template to calculate next Tuesday at build time.

Concerns

  1. Google doesn’t crawl on your schedule. Even with weekly rebuilds, Google may cache old pages for days/weeks. eventSchedule is more important than startDate for recurring events.
  2. Christmas exclusion logic. Event skips the last 2 weeks of December. Need to define exact dates (Dec 18-31? Dec 22-31?) — varies by year.
  3. GitHub Actions cron is best-effort. Not SLA-backed; may be delayed or skipped during high load.
  4. Silent build failures. If a cron-triggered build fails, the site stays on the old version. Need failure notifications.
  5. Effort vs benefit. Google uses eventSchedule as the primary signal for recurring events. Manual updates once or twice a year may be sufficient.

Decision

Deferred — eventSchedule is doing the heavy lifting. Revisit if Google Search Console shows issues with event rich results.


Resolved Items

Dual Eventbrite Event IDs (UX R5) - RESOLVED 2026-03-20

Unified all references to event ID 1983098086761 across index.md, about.md, navigation.yml, custom.html structured data, and _config.yml.

sessionStorage vs localStorage for Check-in (UX R4) - RESOLVED 2026-03-20

Switched to localStorage with 30-day TTL. Returning visitors are now recognized across weekly visits.

Parking/Transit/Wayfinding Info (UX R13) - RESOLVED 2026-03-21

Added “Getting Here” section to homepage with entrance directions, escalator/elevator info, parking details, and link to Seneca One’s parking page.

Homepage Social Proof - RESOLVED 2026-03-21

Added “What People Are Saying” section with 3 testimonial blockquotes (Scott Wojtanik, Yelenna Cichocki, Lena Levine) linked to their original LinkedIn posts.

“What to Expect” First-Timer Content - RESOLVED 2026-03-21

Added “What to Expect” section to homepage explaining the schedule (open networking, Gives and Asks, no hard out), etiquette (no pitching, bring business cards), and first-timer welcome.


Needs User Input

The same Google Form is used for sponsorship inquiries, Code of Conduct violation reports, and general contact. A separate form for sponsorship would improve professionalism. Requires creating a new Google Form.

Implemented post-check-in countdown redirect. Sponsor config in _data/sponsor.yml (name, URL, delay, enabled toggle). Currently defaults to 716.social. Countdown shows “Visiting [name] in 5 seconds…” with “Go now” and “Stay here” options.

Coffee and Code / BOCC Afternoon Events (UX R16) - RESOLVED 2026-03-21

Coffee and Code moved to their own site – check-in page removed. BOCC Afternoon Edition promoted on homepage with upcoming dates and RSVP link. Check-in page retained for event-day use.