The Rules of Barcamp

Where Do the Rules Come From?

Not every barcamp follows every one of these rules, and none of them are mandatory. But most barcamps share some version of them, and together they are what sets a barcamp apart from a generic Open Space event.

The first BarCamp took place in August 2005 in Palo Alto, California. Tantek Çelik, Chris Messina, Matt Mullenweg, Andy Smith, Ryan King, and Eris Stassi (née Free) organized it in less than a week as an open alternative to Tim O'Reilly's invite-only Foo Camp. They borrowed the self-organizing format from Harrison Owen's Open Space Technology and added a few conventions of their own.

The original list on the BarCamp wiki was written by Tantek Çelik as a parody of the Rules of Fight Club. The eight rules below follow that list. Over time, most barcamps also adopted Open Space principles from the 1980s — the law of two feet, "whoever comes are the right people," "when it's over, it's over" — which are covered separately further down.

Rule 1: You Do Talk About Barcamp

The opposite of Fight Club. If you attend a barcamp, you are expected to tell people about it, share what you learned, and spread the word. Barcamps grow through word of mouth, and each one benefits from people who write about the last one.

Rule 2: You Do Blog About Barcamp

Same idea, made explicit. Blog posts, social media, shared notes, photos, videos. Barcamps depend on documentation. The more you put out there, the more the event gives back to everyone, including people who were not in the room.

Rule 3: Write Your Topic and Name in a Slot

If you want to present, you grab a slot on the grid. Write your name, write your topic, done. No program committee, no review process. The schedule is built by the people who show up, usually the morning of the event. At many barcamps today, the process starts with a short pitch: you describe your session in a sentence or two, and the organizers assign a time and room, sometimes based on a show of hands to gauge interest and match room sizes.

Rule 4: Only Three-Word Intros

When the day starts, everyone introduces themselves in three words. No job titles, no company pitches, no five-minute life stories. Three words and move on. It keeps the opening short and puts everyone on the same level. Some barcamps have dropped this, others still do it.

Rule 5: As Many Sessions as Facilities Allow

If there are five rooms, run five sessions in parallel. Do not limit yourself to fewer tracks than the space allows. The more sessions running at the same time, the more choice participants have and the better the law of two feet works.

Rule 6: No Pre-Scheduled Sessions, No Tourists

Nothing is decided before the day. People who show up are participants, not an audience. Everyone is expected to contribute, whether that means hosting a session, joining a discussion, asking good questions, or helping out. Nobody just sits and watches.

Rule 7: Sessions Go On as Long as They Need To

If a session wraps up in fifteen minutes, that is fine. Do not pad a short topic to fill the slot. If the conversation is still going when the time slot ends, move it to the hallway or a corner table. Do not run into the next session. The person who prepared that session and the people who chose to attend it deserve a clean start.

Rule 8: First-Timers Have to Present

The original wording on the wiki adds: "Ok, you don't really HAVE to, but try to find someone to present with, or at least ask questions and be an interactive participant." The point is to lower the barrier. A session can be a question you want answered, a problem you want help with, or a five-minute demo. It does not have to be polished.

Commonly Adopted Additions

Many barcamps also follow conventions that are not in the original eight but have become common practice.

No sales pitches. The BarCamp wiki listed this as an additional guideline: sessions promoting specific commercial products are discouraged. Case studies and side projects are fine. Company slide decks are not.

Open Space principles. Most barcamps have adopted Harrison Owen's Open Space Technology principles. "Whoever comes are the right people." "When it is over, it is over." And the law of two feet: if you are in a session where you are neither learning nor contributing, leave and go somewhere else.

The Unwritten Rules

Beyond the explicit rules, barcamps have a culture that is hard to put into bullet points. Help clean up at the end. Thank the organizers. Share your wifi password if the venue connection is bad. Introduce yourself to someone you don't know. Be generous with what you know and honest about what you don't.

The barcamp format works because people generally act like decent guests at someone else's party. The rules just make sure everyone is on the same page about how the day is structured.