🗓️ Feature Concept: Seasons & Templates

Status: PR-Ready Concept
Feature Name: Seasons & Templates (internal codename: seasons-v1)

Seasons & Templates transforms the talk submission system from a simple form into a repeatable event management platform. Even for a single meetup like Rust NYC, this feature future-proofs the system by organizing submissions into time-bound "seasons" with configurable deadlines, reusable templates, and automatic archival.

/admin → Templates → Create Template

Template Name: "Monthly Rust NYC Meetup"
Default Duration: 4 weeks CFP window
Channel Naming: {date}-{submission_id}-{speaker}
Welcome Message: [Custom markdown with {{speaker}}, {{deadline}} variables]
Organizer Roles: @rust-nyc-organizers
Archive Category: "Past Events"

/admin → Seasons → New Season

Select Template: "Monthly Rust NYC Meetup"
Event Name: "Rust NYC March 2026"
Event Date: March 15, 2026
CFP Opens: February 1, 2026
CFP Closes: March 1, 2026 11:59pm EST
[Create Season]

The submission form now shows:

• Event: Rust NYC March 2026
• Deadline: 12 days remaining (closes March 1)
• Status badge: 🟢 Accepting Submissions

March 2, 2026 12:00am:
  ├── Form shows: "CFP closed for March event. Next event: April 2026"
  ├── Existing channels remain active for speaker coordination
  └── Discord channels moved to archive category after event date

-- Templates table
CREATE TABLE season_templates (
  id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
  name TEXT NOT NULL,
  default_cfp_duration_days INTEGER DEFAULT 28,
  channel_name_pattern TEXT DEFAULT '{date}-{id}-{speaker}',
  welcome_message_template TEXT,
  discord_category_pattern TEXT,
  archive_category_id TEXT,
  organizer_role_ids TEXT, -- JSON array
  created_at DATETIME DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
  updated_at DATETIME DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
);

-- Seasons table  
CREATE TABLE seasons (
  id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
  template_id INTEGER REFERENCES season_templates(id),
  name TEXT NOT NULL,
  slug TEXT NOT NULL UNIQUE,
  event_date DATE NOT NULL,
  cfp_opens_at DATETIME NOT NULL,
  cfp_closes_at DATETIME NOT NULL,
  timezone TEXT DEFAULT 'America/New_York',
  status TEXT DEFAULT 'draft' CHECK(status IN ('draft','open','closed','event_complete','archived')),
  discord_category_id TEXT,
  discord_archive_category_id TEXT,
  metadata TEXT, -- JSON for extensibility
  created_at DATETIME DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
);

-- Modify existing submissions table
ALTER TABLE talk_submissions_3 ADD COLUMN season_id INTEGER REFERENCES seasons(id);

Current (backend/index.ts:79):

const channelName = `nodate-${submissionId}-${sanitizeChannelName(speakerName)}`;

Proposed:

const season = await getActiveSeason();
const eventDate = format(season.event_date, 'yyyy-MMM-dd').toLowerCase();
const channelName = `${eventDate}-${submissionId}-${sanitizeChannelName(speakerName)}`;
// Result: "2026-mar-15-42-alice-smith"

• GET /api/admin/templates - List all templates
• POST /api/admin/templates - Create template
• PUT /api/admin/templates/:id - Update template
• DELETE /api/admin/templates/:id - Delete template

• GET /api/seasons - List seasons (public: shows active/upcoming)
• GET /api/seasons/active - Get currently accepting season
• POST /api/admin/seasons - Create season from template
• PUT /api/admin/seasons/:id - Update season
• POST /api/admin/seasons/:id/transition - Change status

• POST /api/submissions - Now requires active season, auto-assigns season_id
• GET /api/submissions?season_id=X - Filter by season

Create val
// frontend/components/TalkSubmissionForm.tsx

// Add season context display
<div className="season-banner">
  <h2>{activeSeason.name}</h2>
  <p>Event Date: {formatDate(activeSeason.event_date)}</p>
  <p>Submissions close: {formatDeadline(activeSeason.cfp_closes_at)}</p>
  <CountdownTimer deadline={activeSeason.cfp_closes_at} />
</div>

// Form disabled state when CFP closed
{!activeSeason && (
  <div className="cfp-closed">
    <p>No events are currently accepting talk submissions.</p>
    <p>Next event: {nextSeason?.name || 'TBA'}</p>
  </div>
)}

/admin
├── /admin/seasons           # Season list with status badges
├── /admin/seasons/:id       # Season detail + submission list
├── /admin/seasons/new       # Create from template
├── /admin/templates         # Template management
└── /admin/analytics         # Cross-season metrics

Rust NYC Launches Seasons & Templates: Making Community Events Repeatable

New feature brings deadline-driven CFPs and one-click event setup to the talk submission platform

Today, Rust NYC announces Seasons & Templates, a new capability in their talk submission system that transforms ad-hoc event planning into a streamlined, repeatable process. Organizers can now create reusable templates, set clear CFP deadlines, and let automation handle channel archival.

Running recurring meetups means repeating the same setup steps every month. Organizers manually create Discord categories, update welcome messages, and remind themselves when to close submissions. Submitters often miss deadlines because there's no visible countdown.

Seasons & Templates introduces:

• Templates: Save your event format once, reuse forever
• Deadline enforcement: CFP windows with visible countdowns
• Auto-archive: Past events automatically organized
• Analytics: Track submission trends across events

"Before Seasons, every monthly meetup felt like starting from scratch. Now I click 'Create Season', pick next month's date, and the system handles the rest." — Rust NYC Organizer

Start using Seasons today at your next meetup. Visit [docs link] to set up your first template.

• Create seasons and season_templates tables
• Add season_id to submissions table
• Implement getActiveSeason() helper
• Update channel naming with event date

• Template CRUD endpoints
• Season CRUD + status transitions
• Season-filtered submission queries

• Season banner on submission form
• Deadline countdown component
• "CFP Closed" state handling
• Basic admin dashboard

• Cron job for status transitions (open→closed at deadline)
• Auto-archive cron (move channels after event)
• Optional deadline reminder messages

• Cross-season analytics dashboard
• Template variable substitution engine
• Documentation and testing

If this concept is approved, the orchestrator should:

1. Create database migration file at backend/database/migrations/001_seasons.ts
2. Implement Season service at backend/services/season.ts with:
   • getActiveSeason(), createSeasonFromTemplate(), transitionSeasonStatus()
3. Add admin authentication (required for admin endpoints)
4. Design countdown timer component for deadline display
5. Set up cron trigger for deadline enforcement and archival
6. Update Discord channel creation in backend/index.ts:79-85 to use season dates

• Current channel naming: backend/index.ts:79
• Current submission flow: backend/index.ts:55-114
• Discord integration: backend/discord.ts
• Database table: talk_submissions_3 in backend/index.ts:25-34