[SWLUG] Meeting Locations

[Matthew Moore]

On 08/07/11 17:26, P.G. Richardson wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I'm just wondering if it's worth starting a list somewhere that gives
<snip>
>> Good Idea/Bad Idea?
>>

Good idea.  Well it's on the right track.  We hold meetings too often 
currently.  We also only do them in Cardiff (barely) and Carmarthen. The 
Swansea meeting is already dead.  The Cardiff one doesn't have a pulse 
and Carmarthen isn't doing great either.  Folk have commented that going 
to a pub to talk IT related stuff for an evening isn't all that 
interesting.  Which is fair enough.  To throw some ideas out there as to 
what we could do to improve things:

Quarterly meetings, or every other month.  Certainly worth trying to 
bring back Swansea on a say Quarterly basis.

Meetings in different places (only one meeting per month, per place), eg 
we start in say Newport, then Cardiff, Bridgend, Swansea, Carmarthen 
etc.  So that way the LUG meetings in your local area are much less 
often, so instead of saying, like many of us do, 'I'll go to the next 
one', they're only in Cardiff/Swansea/Carmarthen every 3/4 months. 
Makes it more of an event.  Might mean people make the effort?

Combine talks with the social side of things.  Talks in the afternoon 
and then a social in a pub/restaurant.

Different, non-pub locations for the social stuff.  Coffee shops?  Curry 
house?

If the meeting schedule is arranged in advance, for more 'worthwhile' 
events, then we can try and get some publicity going.

But this all requires someone to organise things.  I've already said I'm 
not interested.  It's worth pointing out to anyone thinking that it'll 
be too much work, that it isn't.  Once you get started lots of people 
offer to help so you don't actually do that much.  I certainly got lots 
of help when I organised a few talks a couple of years ago.  If you're 
interested in organising stuff, I'd be happy to help/give some pointers.

Cheers,

Matt