[volunteers] offlist reply to : [SVLUG-Silicon-Valley-Linux-Users-Group] Venue for Silicon Valley Linux Users Group

[Kevin Dankwardt]

Hi,

Another question. It appears from the website that everyone is welcome to attend LUG meetings.

Do you ever use an RSVP system to limit attendance? I think we can get 100 people or more that may want to come to some talks.

Thanks a lot,
Kevin

> On Jul 1, 2014, at 10:08 PM, Mark Weisler <mark at weisler-saratoga-ca.us> wrote:
> 
> 
>> On Jul 1, 2014, at 9:47 PM, kevin dankwardt wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Rick,
>> 
>> Thanks for all of the info. I did join the volunteers mailing list. I can post meetings to the meetup as I am made aware of them. Is there a mailing list for announcements of meetings?
>> 
>> I am asking around about meeting space. Maybe I will find a backup place.
>> 
>> I also have another Linux meetup group: Silicon Valley Linux Technology. I was thinking that some joint meetings may be valuable. But the SVLT meetups usually fill the room I can get at Hacker Dojo so inviting any more people is problematic. 
>> 
>> How many people do you usually get at SVLUG meetups?
> 
> We typically have about 20 to 40 people but the room at Symantec could hold over 100 easily.
> But they are meetings not meetups although I can't precisely distinguish between the two.
> We generally have a speaker with a presentation then questions then go to dinner if interested in eating and visiting.
> To me, meetups have a less formal connotation of chatting and perhaps demos or workshops.
> Mark Weisler
> 
> 
> 
>> 
>> Best,
>> Kevin
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On Tue, Jul 1, 2014 at 5:59 PM, Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com> wrote:
>>> Quoting IrishMASMS (irishmasms at yahoo.com):
>>> 
>>> > Hey Kevin - Rick (CCed on this email) has been the great SVLUG corraller
>>> > guy since I moved to the bay area; seems whoever purchased the Meetup
>>> > dues let it expire. There is the July meeting scheduled, which I just
>>> > forwarded to the list.
>>> >
>>> > Hopefully you two can coordinate the tux love in Silicon Valley.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Hi there!  I'm also CCing Mark Weisler, the other guy who helps keep
>>> SVLUG going.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> The Meetup group was generously registered by longtime volunteer Tim
>>> Utschig.  I gather that it must have been a year ago, and that Meetup
>>> wants renewal money.  I wasn't actually aware of any of this, because I
>>> personally don't use Meetup.
>>> 
>>> And, hey, Kevin, we'd be really delighted if you were able and willing
>>> to renew the Meetup group and become its organiser.
>>> 
>>> About the Symantec venue:  It was originally negotiated for SVLUG by
>>> then-President J. Paul Reed after a peevish Google employee named Warren
>>> Turkal got our meeting space at a Google conference building cancelled.
>>> 
>>> Kevin, especially since 9/11 with South Bay companies getting very
>>> restrictive with their public access to meeting space, it's been
>>> extremely difficult to book good meeting space, especially for free,
>>> without  significant amounts of inside influence.  You pretty much
>>> always need to either provide serious funding, or have an inside
>>> employee 'sponsor' at the company, or both.  In SVLUG's case, we have so
>>> far arranged a series of inside Symantec-employee sponsors, finding new
>>> ones when, occasionally, we get blindsided by our sponsor quitting or
>>> being laid off.
>>> 
>>> In consequence, we tremendously appreciate people trying to 'find a
>>> venue' for SVLUG _in case_ we lose Symantec, because it's an excellent
>>> idea to have a backup plan.  We cannot help noticing that people new to
>>> the problem space of 'public venue for a tech talk, can't provide funds,
>>> can't be too obnoxious about security checkin, can't require us to have
>>> event insurance, can't require us to be a 501(c)(3) charity, can't
>>> rquire us to have in advance a sponsoring inside employee' frequently
>>> underestimate the difficulty of negotiating a no-cost suitable venue.
>>> 
>>> Pretty much every newcomer who ponders the problem suggests Hacker Dojo.
>>> As Kevin seems to have found out, there are strings attached to holding
>>> any event at Hacker Dojo, including ones involving funding.
>>> 
>>> Suggestion:  SVLUG has a public mailing list for core volunteers to
>>> discuss and arrange SVLUG's internal business, including meeting site
>>> arrangement.  That would be the best place to discuss all of this, and
>>> it would be good if you would join it.
>>> 
>>> http://lists.svlug.org/lists/listinfo/volunteers
>>> 
>>> I'm CCing that mailing list.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -- 
>> visit www.kcomputing.com for the best in Linux developer training.
> 
> ( You will visit the Dung Pits of Glive )
> ( soon.                                 )
>  ---------------------------------------
>    o
>     o
>         .--.
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>       //   \ \
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>     \___)=(___/
> 
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