East london feedback for first meet up

[tef]

We still have a lot to learn.

when should we next meet
where should we consider meeting next
were there any problems or issues, be it behaviour, accessibility or things I'm forgetting

[adacable]

As on twitter, feel free to contact me if you need someone to talk to in confidence about anything at the meetup, drop me a line and I'll sort it.

email:drcable@tarbwf.com (GPG key on servers if nsa-afraid)
twitter:drcabl3
freenode:drcable (query or mention)
tumblr:drcabl3 (anon asks on, if you don't want to leave a name)

I'm queer, not-cis, and not male, but otherwise privileged, however try my best to be an ally to most causes. While I have stated opinions on otherkin issues I'm still forming an opinion and will try to act as a good ally for the time being, and in all computer related matters.

[DRMacIver]

So my main feedback is that I thought it was great and everyone else I talked to seemed to think the same. Not ruling out the possibility of having missed something unfortunate, but so far so good.

I think the main issues I spotted were:

• The transport links were not as accessible as we'd have liked. I'm not sure what the exact state was, but it seemed to be not amazing. The pub was fine (I think?) for accessibility, but it turns out people have to actually get there.
• Wow what a crowd. I wonder if there's a way to have smaller computer meetups too for people who find crowds intimidating?
• The acoustics were such that with the aforementioned crowd it was really very loud indeed.
• It was a very white group. I don't get the impression (but privilege, so I probably wouldn't) that this was a problem for the people who were there and not white, but it's a sign that we need to do some outreach.

[qntm]

Seems like two of these issues are diametrically opposed to one another. If the next meet is more accessible, even more people might turn up, which is kind of mind-boggling

[janepipistrelle]

Agree with the above. As someone with hearing issues, I found it hard at times. But that is normal for me in pubs or even groups where several conversations are happening simultaneously.

I'm gonna be selfush & and ask if next friday would work? I'm in London that day. No worries if not, I'm sure I can still get people to pub, right? 😉

Regarding outreach, I hope being seen to be inclusive works to make folk want to come along. Personally I'm not comfortable with being targetted (eg with women-only groups) as it makes me feel like people are traating me differently because I'm part of a certain group. But totally open to suggestions of how to do outreach in ways that welcome people.

[DRMacIver]

I generally think the right way to do outreach is basically do our best to have a code of conduct that makes it clear we're aware of specific issues people are likely to face and will handle them well (e.g. we seem to be doing quite well for gender related issues) and making sure a diverse group of people know about it. My guess is that we've just not done enough of either of these on racial issues, but I don't see any impediment to us doing so.

[adacable]

@DRMacIver I think that outreach also involves going to non-computer spaces and talking about computer. like facebook, but also like uni depts/etc.

[russss]

Don't discount the first-meeting syndrome; I think a lot of people will have made a greater effort than normal to attend this one, and so I'd wait for a few to happen before making any decisions.

Additionally, controlling the frequency of meetings is probably the best way of controlling their size. I very much doubt we'll see 40 people turning up on a weekly basis.

[adacable]

@russss I was talking about this. There's a possibility this could get /bigger/ with nervous people waiting to see if it was safe, and word spreading further.

[tef]

My general thoughts

• The venue was good in that we could fit inside it, and I have had no issues raised about the people, food, or beer in the pub, and they'd like us back.
• We should run another Computer, in the Pembury on the first thursday of next month.
• If we run another computer each month, we should pick a venue around Waterloo/London Bridge, as it's easier to get to from the south of london. I think @squirmelia was interested in running this.
• People liked the novelty of the algorithm @DRMacIver proposed, and seemed interested in having a somewhat floating weekly meetup, on a different day of the week each time.
• Someone told me that they liked that it wasn't a networking meetup, and enjoyed not having to bring their day job to the meeting.

[qntm]

One data point makes poor statistics, as they say

[adacable]

@ferno If you repeat an experiment with the same conditions(as we're planning) then you will almost certainly get the same outcome.

[tef]

@ferno This is why we want to run another. :-)

[russss]

I agree with the idea of the next major meetup being at the opposite end of London at the opposite end of the month. I also like the idea of having consistent locations for events at consistent times of the month.

Unfortunately my knowledge of pubs (as indicated by http://goodpubs.org) is a bit spotty once you move away from northeast London. My only immediate suggestion is http://www.caskpubandkitchen.com/ which is near Victoria, however I can't remember how accessible it is.

[tef]

In which case i'm going to take a tinpot dictator decsion and fix the east london group to the first thursday of the month at the pembury

And try and get the other london group to pick a day and venue around the third week of the month.