Havent We Learned From Clark
January 16, 2026Tags:
Today, CodeMash announced CodeMash East. I wish them the best of luck.
For those wondering where I stand on this…
Not the First Multi-Kalahari Conference
This isn’t the first time a coding conference has gone to multiple Kalahari resorts. THAT Conference was the first to do that. They were in Wisconsin Dells for their first conferences, and they eventually expanded to the Round Rock Kalahari Resort in Texas. And yes, that’s past tense.
If you build it, they will come.
This is more than just “putting on a conference at another Kalahari”. You need ties to their local communities. You need those communities to care enough to see the need for the conference. You need sponsors who care enough that they will invest in the conference. You need to also set the expectation that although it is a sister conference, it’s a new one - so it won’t have the same numbers or feel as the parent conference. It’s going to have an identity of its own, even as a sister conference. The communities in the Heartland District (OH/MI/KY/TN) are not the same as those in Virginia. Each will have their own feel. By their local communities combined, it could be a really great conference!
Chaos at Home
I’m concerned that there is still too much chaos at home for them to expand successfully. Let me paint this out clearly:
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The only people who would’ve had a great registration experience for CodeMash 2026 are solo people who didn’t have to worry about anything else.
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Sponsor tickets couldn’t purchase add-ons like Artemis without a workaround.
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Speaker tickets couldn’t purchase add-ons either without this workaround.
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KidzMash registrations were messy as well. There were quite a few times where I had to talk with others about the
+addressing that Gmail offers to save them some headache.
I used to think that this platform mismatch was a fluke. Conferences as mature as CodeMash should be on more stable platforms that match that maturity. Unfortunately, though, this platform seems to match the chaos within.
The only reasons why I’m still caring about CodeMash are (1) I still care about the local tech communities and (2) it’s an opportunity to see my teammates at a conference that’s close to home for most of us. But organizationally, it’s too chaotic and my internal “fight or flight” chose “flight”. I stepped away because the organizational chaos isn’t a problem I was brought on to solve and I felt it was too much for me. I hoped that they would have wrangled it - but instead, I had people asking me why CodeMash felt more chaotic this year. I really wish they would fix their problems at home before expanding.
Haven’t We Learned from Clark?
I had heard rumors of expansion over the years. I watched THAT Conference come and go. It breaks my heart to watch what Clark and his crew built and see it crumble. I managed to make it to 1 THAT Conference and could feel that community right when I walked in - such a great community.
Every time I heard these rumors, it would push a fire in me. Haven’t they learned from Clark?! Clearly, they have not.
But this is different, so they say. Yes, Clark had a different approach to the community side. But is it really different? A community-run conference at a resort with sponsorship not keeping up… with personal stake on the line… is it really different?
Conclusion
I wish them a lot of luck on their expansion to CodeMash East. I once again walk away from a CodeMash conference, though, hoping that they get their act together for CodeMash for next year.