Prompting the return of In-Person events.
TL;DR I'd like to get a temperature of the room for other folks appetite for the return of in person meetings / events. Pleases chime in so that leadership can see what demand may exist that is being unmet. --- What are the barriers to returning to in-person? How as a community can we help to make this happen? Is this something the community still desires? Are there supplemental events that can happen outside of the main talk-oriented meeting, like a pub afternoon / night? GTALUG has endured for nearly four decades now, I was privileged to be part of that leadership for half of it. Stepping away in the years before pandemic, and returning only for a year in the wake of Chris's passing to help the board. For me, the value of GTALUG was the long tail of social interactions that came out of the in-person meetings and events. Little side bars on niche subjects, getting to talk with fellow folks about their choices of software, hardware or latest gadgets. Get into all the details and reaffirmations of friends and colleagues. Join a group meal ahead of the meetings, and staying late at a pub afterward. All activities that can't happen in a conference call. There were also the special events, like Linux in the Park. Meetups at conventions and trade shows, or even running a booth where it made sense. The pandemic changed a lot. Old venues have locked down, and plenty of folks have legitimate reasons to remain cautious. But what hasn't changed is the desire and need for that in-person experience and affirmation of community. I've been speaking with Alan, Gord, Evan and others about this void that hasn't been closed yet. I'm aware it's a topic of discussion at the leadership level. So to the questions above, let's bring this out where we as a community can come together to ask and answer. -- Scott Sullivan
I, for one, am all for it. I am sure it will be a challenge for me to get anywhere near Toronto (I'm in Hamilton, and I hate driving) I say this as someone who has been WFH for the last 8 years, I am more than fine with online meetings, but at this point, it just feels like another zoom call at work Also beer. -nick On Wed, Jul 10, 2024 at 11:50 AM Scott Sullivan via talk <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:
TL;DR
I'd like to get a temperature of the room for other folks appetite for the return of in person meetings / events. Pleases chime in so that leadership can see what demand may exist that is being unmet.
---
What are the barriers to returning to in-person?
How as a community can we help to make this happen?
Is this something the community still desires?
Are there supplemental events that can happen outside of the main talk-oriented meeting, like a pub afternoon / night?
GTALUG has endured for nearly four decades now, I was privileged to be part of that leadership for half of it. Stepping away in the years before pandemic, and returning only for a year in the wake of Chris's passing to help the board.
For me, the value of GTALUG was the long tail of social interactions that came out of the in-person meetings and events. Little side bars on niche subjects, getting to talk with fellow folks about their choices of software, hardware or latest gadgets. Get into all the details and reaffirmations of friends and colleagues. Join a group meal ahead of the meetings, and staying late at a pub afterward. All activities that can't happen in a conference call. There were also the special events, like Linux in the Park. Meetups at conventions and trade shows, or even running a booth where it made sense.
The pandemic changed a lot. Old venues have locked down, and plenty of folks have legitimate reasons to remain cautious. But what hasn't changed is the desire and need for that in-person experience and affirmation of community. I've been speaking with Alan, Gord, Evan and others about this void that hasn't been closed yet. I'm aware it's a topic of discussion at the leadership level. So to the questions above, let's bring this out where we as a community can come together to ask and answer.
-- Scott Sullivan
--- Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org Unsubscribe from this mailing list https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
Parking is #1 issue for me (driving in from Mississauga or from Markham). -- On 2024-07-10 11:50, Scott Sullivan via talk wrote:
TL;DR
I'd like to get a temperature of the room for other folks appetite for the return of in person meetings / events. Pleases chime in so that leadership can see what demand may exist that is being unmet.
---
What are the barriers to returning to in-person?
How as a community can we help to make this happen?
Is this something the community still desires?
Are there supplemental events that can happen outside of the main talk-oriented meeting, like a pub afternoon / night?
GTALUG has endured for nearly four decades now, I was privileged to be part of that leadership for half of it. Stepping away in the years before pandemic, and returning only for a year in the wake of Chris's passing to help the board.
For me, the value of GTALUG was the long tail of social interactions that came out of the in-person meetings and events. Little side bars on niche subjects, getting to talk with fellow folks about their choices of software, hardware or latest gadgets. Get into all the details and reaffirmations of friends and colleagues. Join a group meal ahead of the meetings, and staying late at a pub afterward. All activities that can't happen in a conference call. There were also the special events, like Linux in the Park. Meetups at conventions and trade shows, or even running a booth where it made sense.
The pandemic changed a lot. Old venues have locked down, and plenty of folks have legitimate reasons to remain cautious. But what hasn't changed is the desire and need for that in-person experience and affirmation of community. I've been speaking with Alan, Gord, Evan and others about this void that hasn't been closed yet. I'm aware it's a topic of discussion at the leadership level. So to the questions above, let's bring this out where we as a community can come together to ask and answer.
Hi Scott, The only real obstacle to in-person meetings right now is a suitable venue. The two previous options that we used now require passcards at the door and would be extremely inconvenient. The Toronto Public Library is fine for occasional one-off events but is disinclined to book a year's worth of regular meetings. If anyone here has access to a suitable room that we could use on a regular basis that would be fantastic. We have received one offer of meeting space in midtown; however its Tuesdays are taken so we would have to change our day of the week if we wanted that location. If anyone here has offers of or even ideas for possible venues that would easily make regular meetings doable again. - Evan On Wed, Jul 10, 2024 at 11:51 AM Scott Sullivan via talk <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:
TL;DR
I'd like to get a temperature of the room for other folks appetite for the return of in person meetings / events. Pleases chime in so that leadership can see what demand may exist that is being unmet.
---
What are the barriers to returning to in-person?
How as a community can we help to make this happen?
Is this something the community still desires?
Are there supplemental events that can happen outside of the main talk-oriented meeting, like a pub afternoon / night?
GTALUG has endured for nearly four decades now, I was privileged to be part of that leadership for half of it. Stepping away in the years before pandemic, and returning only for a year in the wake of Chris's passing to help the board.
For me, the value of GTALUG was the long tail of social interactions that came out of the in-person meetings and events. Little side bars on niche subjects, getting to talk with fellow folks about their choices of software, hardware or latest gadgets. Get into all the details and reaffirmations of friends and colleagues. Join a group meal ahead of the meetings, and staying late at a pub afterward. All activities that can't happen in a conference call. There were also the special events, like Linux in the Park. Meetups at conventions and trade shows, or even running a booth where it made sense.
The pandemic changed a lot. Old venues have locked down, and plenty of folks have legitimate reasons to remain cautious. But what hasn't changed is the desire and need for that in-person experience and affirmation of community. I've been speaking with Alan, Gord, Evan and others about this void that hasn't been closed yet. I'm aware it's a topic of discussion at the leadership level. So to the questions above, let's bring this out where we as a community can come together to ask and answer.
-- Scott Sullivan
--- Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org Unsubscribe from this mailing list https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
-- Evan Leibovitch, Toronto Canada @evanleibovitch / @el56
Linux in the park? I have no idea how you created this before, but that sounds so nifty. Having never attended in person, what are the basics you require for a meeting place? Kare On Fri, 12 Jul 2024, Evan Leibovitch via talk wrote:
Hi Scott,
The only real obstacle to in-person meetings right now is a suitable venue.
The two previous options that we used now require passcards at the door and would be extremely inconvenient. The Toronto Public Library is fine for occasional one-off events but is disinclined to book a year's worth of regular meetings.
If anyone here has access to a suitable room that we could use on a regular basis that would be fantastic. We have received one offer of meeting space in midtown; however its Tuesdays are taken so we would have to change our day of the week if we wanted that location.
If anyone here has offers of or even ideas for possible venues that would easily make regular meetings doable again.
- Evan
On Wed, Jul 10, 2024 at 11:51 AM Scott Sullivan via talk <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:
TL;DR
I'd like to get a temperature of the room for other folks appetite for the return of in person meetings / events. Pleases chime in so that leadership can see what demand may exist that is being unmet.
---
What are the barriers to returning to in-person?
How as a community can we help to make this happen?
Is this something the community still desires?
Are there supplemental events that can happen outside of the main talk-oriented meeting, like a pub afternoon / night?
GTALUG has endured for nearly four decades now, I was privileged to be part of that leadership for half of it. Stepping away in the years before pandemic, and returning only for a year in the wake of Chris's passing to help the board.
For me, the value of GTALUG was the long tail of social interactions that came out of the in-person meetings and events. Little side bars on niche subjects, getting to talk with fellow folks about their choices of software, hardware or latest gadgets. Get into all the details and reaffirmations of friends and colleagues. Join a group meal ahead of the meetings, and staying late at a pub afterward. All activities that can't happen in a conference call. There were also the special events, like Linux in the Park. Meetups at conventions and trade shows, or even running a booth where it made sense.
The pandemic changed a lot. Old venues have locked down, and plenty of folks have legitimate reasons to remain cautious. But what hasn't changed is the desire and need for that in-person experience and affirmation of community. I've been speaking with Alan, Gord, Evan and others about this void that hasn't been closed yet. I'm aware it's a topic of discussion at the leadership level. So to the questions above, let's bring this out where we as a community can come together to ask and answer.
-- Scott Sullivan
--- Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org Unsubscribe from this mailing list https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
-- Evan Leibovitch, Toronto Canada @evanleibovitch / @el56
| From: Evan Leibovitch via talk <talk@gtalug.org> | The two previous options that we used now require passcards at the door and | would be extremely inconvenient. I thought I remembered that at Toronto Metropolitan University we could let people in at the door but that it was otherwise locked. (You may have corrected me before but sometimes my old memories are sticky.) If my memory is correct, all we'd need was a single person with a pass card and someone to volunteer to be at the door to let people in (alternatively: catch phone calls with requests to be let in). If we made it clear in meeting announcements that the door would not be opened after a certain time, the door person would not even have to miss any of the meeting. This worked satisfactorily for various meetings at the Mozilla offices.
You remember the challenge correctly for the room. T?he critical difference isn't at the room doors, but now the building doors. Those were open access, letting anyone into the building through the half dozen different entry points. I was led to understand that was curtailed during the pandemic. So there are now to points of access control for ingress. That is significant friction increase. I've not gotten recent ground truth as to how real a problem this remains. On 2024-07-12 18:19, D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk wrote:
| From: Evan Leibovitch via talk <talk@gtalug.org>
| The two previous options that we used now require passcards at the door and | would be extremely inconvenient.
I thought I remembered that at Toronto Metropolitan University we could let people in at the door but that it was otherwise locked. (You may have corrected me before but sometimes my old memories are sticky.)
If my memory is correct, all we'd need was a single person with a pass card and someone to volunteer to be at the door to let people in (alternatively: catch phone calls with requests to be let in).
If we made it clear in meeting announcements that the door would not be opened after a certain time, the door person would not even have to miss any of the meeting.
This worked satisfactorily for various meetings at the Mozilla offices. --- Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org Unsubscribe from this mailing list https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
-- Scott Sullivan
Toronto Metropolitan University, Computer Science dept is still happy to host. (I'm Chair of the department.) For whatever reasons, the university does require card access, both to the outside door and to the lab door. If there were 2 volunteers, one to let people in the outside door, and one to be in the lab and let people in there, I'm sure we can arrange for a staff member to let those 2 volunteers in, although I was thinking more like 18:00 than 19:00. ../Dave On Mon, 15 Jul 2024 at 16:56, Scott Sullivan via talk <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:
You remember the challenge correctly for the room. T?he critical difference isn't at the room doors, but now the building doors. Those were open access, letting anyone into the building through the half dozen different entry points. I was led to understand that was curtailed during the pandemic. So there are now to points of access control for ingress. That is significant friction increase.
I've not gotten recent ground truth as to how real a problem this remains.
On 2024-07-12 18:19, D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk wrote:
| From: Evan Leibovitch via talk <talk@gtalug.org>
| The two previous options that we used now require passcards at the door and | would be extremely inconvenient.
I thought I remembered that at Toronto Metropolitan University we could let people in at the door but that it was otherwise locked. (You may have corrected me before but sometimes my old memories are sticky.)
If my memory is correct, all we'd need was a single person with a pass card and someone to volunteer to be at the door to let people in (alternatively: catch phone calls with requests to be let in).
If we made it clear in meeting announcements that the door would not be opened after a certain time, the door person would not even have to miss any of the meeting.
This worked satisfactorily for various meetings at the Mozilla offices. --- Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org Unsubscribe from this mailing list https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
-- Scott Sullivan
--- Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org Unsubscribe from this mailing list https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
On 2024-07-16 09:33, David Mason via talk wrote:
Toronto Metropolitan University, Computer Science dept is still happy to host. (I'm Chair of the department.)
For whatever reasons, the university does require card access, both to the outside door and to the lab door. If there were 2 volunteers, one to let people in the outside door, and one to be in the lab and let people in there, I'm sure we can arrange for a staff member to let those 2 volunteers in, although I was thinking more like 18:00 than 19:00.
../Dave
Sounds pretty good to me. I'd love to attend an in-person meetup. Alternatively, my apartment's rooftop lounge can host ~ 30 people. I've been looking into starting a local NOG / NUG (Network Operators' / Network users'). Warm regards, -- Mark Prosser
Hi, I have never been to an online meetup because I don't really enjoy the format. I would like to go to an IRL meetup. I used to plan events like this but haven't done so for a while so my rolodex is not up to date. Assuming $0 cost is the goal, this is where I would start to look: - one of the community maker spaces or hack spaces - if someone is a university student, or if there is a related club or association that would be willing, they have lots of rooms unused in the evenings and can easily be booked; but long term it can become annoying for various reasons - back rooms or sections of bars or coffee shops (this is usually free to the organization but obviously there is a cost borne by individual attendees) - look at events held by similar groups and see what venues they are using; consider contacting them for advice as they have likely been through this whole process and will be able to narrow things down karen's question about the requirements is relevant. non exhaustively can think about - size of group. you obviously want to have enough space for everyone. but if you book a commercial space, they are expecting that you will bring a certain amount of business so you can't over-estimate - expected time/duration of meetings (including any set up or tidying at the end) - technical requirements: wifi, power outlets/extensions, projector/screen...? audio out? do you want to do a hybrid IRL/online meeting or are these IRL only? - tables, chairs other furniture? do people need to set up any gadgets for talks or demos? some people can't sit on the ground. - bathrooms: distance, stairs to get get there, single occupancy, baby change station, generally being well maintained, accessibility features like size rails etc - ambient noise/music, acoustics, lighting - food/drinks: are you wanting to bring? have it available for purchase? - need a private space or ok to have randoms in same area? - children: people have children they might want to bring with them. a park might be better for some age groups than a maker space where a lot of tools are sitting around - atmosphere and venue-inherent aspects: some people are not comfortable in venues where alcohol is served. parks can be uncomfortable with asthma/allergies. places give a vibe that is offputting to some people; eg are you ok with meeting in a church?. commercial establishments can be unfriendly to people who don't have money to drop on food/drinks. - weather contingencies - stairs, ramps, elevators, small doors, uneven surfaces and other considerations to getting into meeting space - vehicle parking, transit, pedestrian and bike parking There is no perfect venue for all purposes. Need to consider what is needed. It's worthwhile to make an effort for the accessibility stuff even if no currently active members have known needs because otherwise those people will never even try to show up and don't know who you are missing. But at minimum might want to ask if anyone who is currently interested in attending has any firm needs such (but not limited to) as listed above. Make known a specific person who can be notified privately in case they don't want to broadcast their business for the whole list. On Wed, Jul 10, 2024, at 3:50 PM, Scott Sullivan via talk wrote:
TL;DR
I'd like to get a temperature of the room for other folks appetite for the return of in person meetings / events. Pleases chime in so that leadership can see what demand may exist that is being unmet.
---
What are the barriers to returning to in-person?
How as a community can we help to make this happen?
Is this something the community still desires?
Are there supplemental events that can happen outside of the main talk-oriented meeting, like a pub afternoon / night?
GTALUG has endured for nearly four decades now, I was privileged to be part of that leadership for half of it. Stepping away in the years before pandemic, and returning only for a year in the wake of Chris's passing to help the board.
For me, the value of GTALUG was the long tail of social interactions that came out of the in-person meetings and events. Little side bars on niche subjects, getting to talk with fellow folks about their choices of software, hardware or latest gadgets. Get into all the details and reaffirmations of friends and colleagues. Join a group meal ahead of the meetings, and staying late at a pub afterward. All activities that can't happen in a conference call. There were also the special events, like Linux in the Park. Meetups at conventions and trade shows, or even running a booth where it made sense.
The pandemic changed a lot. Old venues have locked down, and plenty of folks have legitimate reasons to remain cautious. But what hasn't changed is the desire and need for that in-person experience and affirmation of community. I've been speaking with Alan, Gord, Evan and others about this void that hasn't been closed yet. I'm aware it's a topic of discussion at the leadership level. So to the questions above, let's bring this out where we as a community can come together to ask and answer.
-- Scott Sullivan
--- Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org Unsubscribe from this mailing list https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
Thanks for kicking this discussion off y'all. I'm close to downtown so naturally it's less effort for me, but I'm interested of course. Mike Sent with Proton Mail secure email. On Wednesday, July 10th, 2024 at 3:50 PM, Scott Sullivan via talk <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:
TL;DR
I'd like to get a temperature of the room for other folks appetite for the return of in person meetings / events. Pleases chime in so that leadership can see what demand may exist that is being unmet.
---
What are the barriers to returning to in-person?
How as a community can we help to make this happen?
Is this something the community still desires?
Are there supplemental events that can happen outside of the main talk-oriented meeting, like a pub afternoon / night?
GTALUG has endured for nearly four decades now, I was privileged to be part of that leadership for half of it. Stepping away in the years before pandemic, and returning only for a year in the wake of Chris's passing to help the board.
For me, the value of GTALUG was the long tail of social interactions that came out of the in-person meetings and events. Little side bars on niche subjects, getting to talk with fellow folks about their choices of software, hardware or latest gadgets. Get into all the details and reaffirmations of friends and colleagues. Join a group meal ahead of the meetings, and staying late at a pub afterward. All activities that can't happen in a conference call. There were also the special events, like Linux in the Park. Meetups at conventions and trade shows, or even running a booth where it made sense.
The pandemic changed a lot. Old venues have locked down, and plenty of folks have legitimate reasons to remain cautious. But what hasn't changed is the desire and need for that in-person experience and affirmation of community. I've been speaking with Alan, Gord, Evan and others about this void that hasn't been closed yet. I'm aware it's a topic of discussion at the leadership level. So to the questions above, let's bring this out where we as a community can come together to ask and answer.
-- Scott Sullivan
--- Post to this mailing list talk@gtalug.org Unsubscribe from this mailing list https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
I think that in-person meetings are great thing. The side discussions, the dinner, and the pub were an important things that are hard to replicate on-line. (I won't yet be attending since my family is still avoiding indoor activities because of COVID, but that's now an idiosyncrasy.)
participants (10)
-
bitmap -
D. Hugh Redelmeier -
David Mason -
Evan Leibovitch -
Karen Lewellen -
Mark Prosser -
Mike Holloway -
Nick Accad -
Scott Sullivan -
William Park