[vox] Social gathering tonight! (Tue 3/7)

[Scot A]

Rick,
I will look further into both the first place (which BTW is Raleys.)
Guess I should have mentioned that to begin with. (Sorry)
As I said, I am feeling a hopeful vibe thus far.
I will keep y'all posted.
Namaste'
Scot

On Sat, Apr 1, 2017 at 10:11 PM, Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com> wrote:

> Quoting Scot A (gvlt55 at gmail.com):
>
> > Rick,
> > Thank you for those insights.
>
> You're more than welcome.
>
> > At this time, I think that between the timing of this endeavor and
> > some matters I am handling, it will be a few months.  Given that I
> > need to return for a follow up surgery, I am pretty sure of that.  I
> > just wanted to get the ball rolling.  I will poke a bit more and find
> > out just how stringent they are going to be.
>
> Obviously, I don't know what place you're referring to (not a
> complaint), so you're in a better position to guess their internal
> dynamics than I am.  In my _own_ experience, by the time they've rolled
> out the 'Are you a non-profit?' question, even if there's nothing about
> their situation restricting them to non-profits, it's already too late
> to do things like reassure them about being good guests, benefits
> they'll get from hosting you, and mentioning any employee ('sponsor')
> connections you might have.
>
> You might find it most expedient (when you have time, again) to just
> switch tactics and scout out more-promising venues.  I list in the User
> Group HOWTO:  'ISPs, colleges, pizza parlours, brewpubs, coffeehouses,
> computer-training firms, GNU/Linux-oriented companies, hackerspaces, or
> other friendly institutions'.
>
> The great thing about pizza parlours is that you're not just
> monopolising space but also buying pizzas, so they definitely want you
> there and don't give a rat's ass whether you're non-profit, 501(c)(3),
> insured, vouched for by insiders, or a partridge in a pear tree.  ;->
> What's a little more complex is _reserving_ a room at a pizza parlour or
> similar place (places where there are back or upper rooms).  Typically
> that's a matter of signing up before other groups, and believably
> promising a minimum crowd size.
>
> Down here in Silicon Valley, we noticed that after 9/11, previously
> hospitable corporations (Cisco Systems and many others) started becoming
> extremely tough to arrange meeting space in, for outside groups like
> LUGs.  They usually cited security as the reason, but this always seemed
> a lot more like an excuse than a reason.
>
>
> > Rick, I think I tend to disarm with charm. (In a nice way mind you.)
> > Thus far, the company staff has been civil.  A few of the staff have
> > been a bit...suspect but, nothing that I seemingly could not handle.
>
> That's an encouraging start, to be sure.
>
> It _may_ be that the 'Are you a non-profit?' question was merely, as I
> was suggesting is often the case, a passive-aggressive way of saying
> 'No, because we don't know you and have no reason to do you a favour.'
> You might be able to melt the ice:  Worth a try, anyway.
>
> > I will go back to the Linuxmafia site and read some more.
> > Also, I sense that the meetings could be scheduled for about 2 to 3
> hours.
> > They generally have the room open from 10:00 AM PST until 10:00 PM PST.
> > The place is open until 11:00 PM PST.
>
> That's promising.  LUGs that do lecture meetings typically start at 7pm
> or 7:30pm on a weekday.  (People need to time to get their through
> traffic from wherever.)  There's usually a little vamping and brief
> announcements to accomodate late-comers and do essential business, and
> then usually a 1-2 hour presentation, because that's the duration crowds
> and speakers both usually expect.  Afterwards, usually people want to
> hang around and chat, and also you want time for a couple of volunteers
> to tidy up if necessary, and be out the door before you annoy the
> janitors and site security.
>
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