CongressChecklist

List of things to do, to pack and tips on attending a congress, conference or other event, especially Chaos Communication Congress. It's been handy for general travel as well.

This list is irregularly updated (and pushed). You may want to refresh regularly. :-) Pull requests are welcome!

If you're attenting a camping event, with the great outdoors, evil daystar and foliage, you'll also want to check out [@Columbia19][144]'s [Camping-Checklist][43] in addition!

Content

• 👥 Humans
• ⏰ Things to do before traveling
• 📦 Things to send
• 🎒 Things to pack
• 🐶 If you travel with your dog
• 🚗 If you travel by car
• ⛺️ Camp
• 🔒 Securing your devices
• 📫 Staying up-to-date
• 🪽 Angel Special
• 🔙 For when you return home
• ❤️ Thanks for being awesome ✨

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👥 Humans

General considerations to make the congress a worthwhile experience for everyone, humans, robots and aliens alike. You'll also find a list of all the nice humans who have contributed to this list at the bottom.

Manners

• Be excellent to each other.
• If you spot somebody not being excellent to someone else, remind them to be excellent and ask them to apologi(s|z)e to the insulted part(y|ies), but only if the insulted wish to receive an apology. Sometimes the insulted party will just want to move on and not have any further contact with someone who was coarse to them.
• If you don't want to be called $swearword, don't behave like one.
• Help each other out.
• Read the Code of Conduct and all linked documents at [help.ccc.de][3] and live by it.
• Ask if it is OK to take a picture BEFORE taking the picture.

Children

• Tag your children with an easy way to reach you, like DECT.
• Remember that they might not understand why they are in this crazy place and why you need to talk to all these people.
• If the children are grumpy, everyone's grumpy.

⏰ Things to do before traveling

• Charge ALL the batteries!
• Make backups.
• Bonus points for even testing restore.
• Update all the software on your devices.
• You might want to empty your drives to make room for some COMPLETELY LEGAL media files that might be shared.
• Put your name on your stuff, especially on things you’ll likely lend to someone (power strips, cables etc). Mastodon handles make excellent name tags because people know how to contact you right away. Prefer permanent markers over stickers, for theft reasons.
• You DID make backups of all your devices, didn't you? That includes portable computers, servers, mobile phones, tablets, navigation devices, wrist watches and all your other $gadgets.
• Store the backups not only on the device you're backing up or another device you’re taking with you. A Swiss bank locker is good, if you have one.
• Send a pull request to this list for all the things I did not think of.
• Feed the guinea pigs.
• Water your plants.
• Feed your sourdough
• Clean your coffee-machine and take out the trash.
• Close all windows and set all radiator thermostats
• When bringing credit cards and not living in Germany: call your bank and have them pre-approve payments from Germany. Otherwise, your bank may decline all purchases when they don't know you're traveling and suspect fraud.
• Stock you pantry/freezer with some food that keeps so you have something to eat when you get home (that doesn't rely on shops/restaurants being open).
• (optional but recommended) Visit the [congress overview page][53], create account in the [congress wiki][12], [add your projects][13], [find your assembly][14] and join the [39C3 chat][54].
• (optional but recommended) [Read the Engel Guide][150] and create an account in the [Engelsystem][151].
• Install one of the Fahrplan apps for Android ([PlayStore][26], [Source][27]) or iOS ([iTunes][28])
• (optional but recommended) [Pre-order your merch][55] if the event you're visiting offers it

📦 Things to send

Stuff that you're not allowed to bring on a plane or otherwise need to send via package courier or freight train. (Depending on its size.)

Items that are explicitly forbidden to bring on a plane

• Ammunition
• Fireworks
• Explosives
• Lighter fluid
• Lighter gas (Butane)
• Matches
• Lighters (only allowed on your person)
• Butane cartridges
• Propane cartridges
• Radioactive medication
• Anything toxic
• Lead acid batteries
• Mercury (Quecksilber)
• Acids
• Bleach
• Peroxides
• Samsung Galaxy Note 7
• Batteries >=100Wh
• Self-balancing scooters (hoverboards), unless you remove the battery.
• (Strong) rare-earth magnets (really small and weak magnets, like the needle of a compass, are okay)

Not allowed or often problematic on flights, or at least not in hand luggage

• All kind of blades
  • Knives, even small pocket knives
  • This includes nail files over 6cm, for some reason
• Lockpicking equipment
• Handcuffs

Items only allowed to be carried on your body, but neither in checked in luggage nor hand luggage

• Small lighters (one per person)

🎒 Things to pack

Decoration

• Bring ridiculous amounts of LED strips and other photon emitting devices so we can illuminate ALL the things.
• Bring battery-powered LEDs/EL-wire/etc to illuminate yourself in the dark (but try not to blind others).

This applies to the Congress Center as well as your hotel windows.

Documents

• Train/plane tickets (including verification documents for self-printed DB tickets. Check the List of accepted documents! [Muss ich mich zu meinem Online-Ticket im Zug zusätzlich ausweisen?][41])
• Congress tickets (printed or digital. iOS passbook/wallet, PDF)
  • have them ready before your line up at the cash desk!
  • use PassAndroid (via F-Droid, via Google Play), KDE Itinerary (Linux/Android) or FossWallet (Android)
• Passport or other kind of photo ID (Personalausweis)
• Driver's license (even an international one)
• Hotel booking
• Ham radio license (CEPT license)
• [Hackerspace passport][5]
• An [organ donor card][21] (We really hope you won't need it, but just in the case: you might save a life!)
• Health insurance card
• Vaccination documents or history (Impfpass)
• "Business cards" to hand out to people with essential information like email address and OpenPGP fingerprint. Optionally other ways to reach you as well. Normally simple DIN A4 paper strips with the information printed on is enough. No need to get fancy.
• Note with the most important telephone numbers, e.g. family, roommates, lawyer in case you no longer have access to your devices.
• Prepare a list of postal addresses to which you might want to send postcards from the event.

Payment stuff

When using ATMs/Cash Machines/Bankomaten/Geldautomaten give them a good wiggle before inserting your card. During 32C3 a Skimmer device had been found at an ATM at Bahnhof Dammtor. This is just a reminder, you should do that every time you use your card.

• Some cash (€uros, or other local currency)
• Credit card
• Maestro card (Bankomatkarte, EC-Karte)
• Coins (€uros, for automated vending machines, like public transport tickets)
• Bitcoin wallet (the encrypted fashion with a good passphrase) or one for your preferred kind of crypto-currency
• Emergency numbers for your bank so you can lock your credit card/debit card/Bankomatkarte in case it gets lost/stolen/left behind.
  • German cards can be locked via the [locking hotline][34] 116 116 (or +49 - 30 4050 4050)
  • For your Bankomat Karte (EC debit card) check if the “Geo Control” of your bank allows withdrawing in your destination country.

Mobility

• Cards, PINs, Apps (and required account data) for Car- and bicycle sharing
• An app to show local public transport times. Not all cities are available in Google/Apple/You-name-it Maps applications.
• A [towel][49]

Emergency Information for Events

If you're in an emergency shout HELP!

If you need help, call for help, there are many, many friendly people around to help you.

Event and location related emergency information is in a separate document for the corresponding event in this repository! You may want to copy that info to a notes application on your smartphone or have a printed card in your wallet.

Personal hygiene

• Tooth brush (plus charger if it is an electrical one)
• Toothpaste
• Dental floss
• Shower gel
• Flip-flops for shared showers
• Shampoo (to avoid bad hair days)
• Conditioner
• Tampons
• Sanitary towels
• Condoms, dental dams and other protective gear (Make sure the condoms are not beyond their usage date! (Yes, it really happens…))
• Lubricant (silicone or water based, to be compatible with condoms)
• Disinfectants
• Soap
• Deodorant, antiperspirant
• Hairbrush/comb (to avoid bad hair days)
• Hair-band (Zopfringerl) to tame your mane
• Handkerchiefs
• Towel. Never hitchhike the Galaxy without one.
• Contact lenses
  • cleaning fluid
  • contact lens container (make sure it fits flight regulations for fluids if you travel by plane.)
  • replacement contact lenses
  • replacement glasses
  • eye drops
• Glass Eye(s)
  • case
  • cleaning utilities
• Glasses
  • Spectacle case
  • Cleaning cloth
• Oropax or other things to plug into your ears for a good “night”'s sleep.
• Hair dryer (in case your place/hotel doesn't supply one, or you have cool ideas to use it for hacking)

Cosmetics

• Make up
• Nail polish, also handy to secure screws on your laptop and have a tamper indicator, especially when using one with glitter.
• Nail polish remover
• Nail scissors
• Nail file
• Razor (with spare bla