Hecklers (was Possible future talk; interest?)

[Meng Cheah]

James Knott wrote:
> Meng Cheah wrote:
>   
>> Richard Weait wrote:
>>     
>>> On Sat, 2009-05-16 at 12:26 -0400, Meng Cheah wrote:
>>>  
>>>       
>>>> Richard Weait wrote:
>>>>    
>>>>         
>>>>> On Fri, 2009-05-15 at 15:53 -0400, James Knott wrote:
>>>>>        
>>>>>           
>>>>>> Talks at TLUG meetings tend to be "intermittent" because of all the
>>>>>> hecklers.  ;-)
>>>>>>             
>>>>>>             
>>>>> Is the heckling one of the benefits of TLUG meetings?          
>>>>>           
>>>> I thought they were contributors to the talk :-)
>>>>     
>>>>         
>>> Heckling presenters at TLUG is mentioned once in a while on this list
>>> and during and after presentations.  I guesstimate that "attendee
>>> contributions" at TLUG are two to four times more frequent than the
>>> other dozen LUGs I've attended in the last year. 
>>> Meng Cheah's smiley above, suggests that hecklers are not contributing
>>> to the talk. 
>>> Would anybody like to discuss the place of heckling at TLUG meetings? 
>>> Is the heckling one of the benefits of TLUG meetings?  Is it a sign of
>>> rapt attention and engagement in the presentation?  Is it a sign of
>>> respect for the speaker?  Is it a benefit to the LUG in general, to the
>>> attendee contributor, to the other attendees and to the speaker?    
>>>       
>> Robert Brockway's talk on backups is the first meeting I have attended
>> for a long time.
>> This absence is not due to heckling. Since I have not been attending
>> the meetings, I am
>> in no position to judge the present trend of meetings.
>>
>> If only questions are allowed, it will make for a dull meeting.
>> And how do you allow a question and not allow a counterpoint or an
>> illustration/experience from the trenches?
>> That is what I meant as contributions, from a diverse range of
>> experiences and sets of skills.
>>
>>     
>
> Some speakers request all questions and comments be held until after the
> presentation.  That format works.  At TLUG, I often found the heckling
> trashed the presentation.  Is that what you want?
>   
Since you asked, "No" :-)

You stated:
"In some meetings I've attended, the method was to raise your hand and
the presenter responded when convenient. The audience members *DO NOT*
speak, until acknowledged by the presenter."

I too have witnessed this and it is what I do when I have a question.

At the beginning of his talk, Robert Brockway laid out the format.
He welcomed questions throughout the talk as he preferred it that way.

It is up to TLUG to define the format of the presentation and of course, 
the presenter.
Mostly, I believe it is up to the members/audience to practice courtesy 
and self restraint.

Of course, there will be occasional incidents of (over)enthusiasm :-)

Cheers

Meng







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