The recent where to meet discussions

[Karsten M. Self]

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Nice summary, Sean.

on Thu, Jan 03, 2002 at 09:09:21AM -0800, Sean 'Shaleh' Perry (shalehperry@=
attbi.com) wrote:
> Recently there has been discussion over where to meet and where to eat.  =
Let's
> look at the issues that must be considered.
>=20
> 1) we have people with dietary requirements.
>   =20
>    Some of our group are vegetarian (either by health, religion, or
>    moral belief).  Meeting at places that do not cater to these people
>    would be a shame.  Tihs immediately rules out places like steak
>    houses, bbq joints, etc.  When Biella is in town she can not eat
>    anything wheat, I believe there are one or two others in a similar
>    boat.  I am not saying we should make special care for one person.
>    I am just saying dietary issues are key.
>=20
> 2) the bay area is a big place
>=20
>    Not everyone drives.  Not everyone wants to.  Some of our group
>    likes SF and just won't leave it.  Same goes for the San Jose
>    crowd.  Forcing a meeting to be held in only one locale immediately
>    reduces the number of attendeees.  As Rick said, ask the people in
>    San Jose if they want to meet in San Jose and you are skewing the
>    statistics.  This is why BAD moves.

Speaking for myself, I'm moving to Napa this month.  Berkeley and SF are
reachable, but heading to SJ on the tail of rush-hour traffic is a
three-hour trek.  No thanks.

I'll repeat my suggestion for a rotating schedule, hitting spots on a
quarterly basis.

> 4) this is about fun and the joy of talking to someone else who uses Debi=
an
>=20
>    Trying to make this into work or routine is against the idea of
>    BAD.  It is supposed to be about a few of us chatting about
>    whatever it is we happen to care about that month.  If someone
>    wants to setup a speaking arrangement I doubt most of us will mind.
>    However discussion of beginning user topics will likely empty the
>    room or more likely just stop people from coming.

I'm strongly in favor of this.  SVLUG became "the GNU/Linux Speakers
Forum" after ballooning on a presentation by Linus.  I've been to a few
LUGs around the globe, and styles vary.  I would prefer a _less_
regimented system allowing for more free interaction.  Tightly
scheduled, speakers, etc., simply doesn't appeal.

I'd also add:  nice plus is wireless connectivity.  Not essential, but a
number of places are offering this, and it's pretty slick.

Peace.

--=20
Karsten M. Self <kmself@ix.netcom.com>        http://kmself.home.netcom.com/
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