[GTALUG] Prompting the return of In-Person events.

[William Park]

Parking is #1 issue for me (driving in from Mississauga or from Markham).
-- 

On 2024-07-10 11:50, Scott Sullivan via talk wrote:
> TL;DR
> 
> I'd like to get a temperature of the room for other folks appetite for 
> the return of in person meetings / events.
> Pleases chime in so that leadership can see what demand may exist that 
> is being unmet.
> 
> ---
> 
> What are the barriers to returning to in-person?
> 
> How as a community can we help to make this happen?
> 
> Is this something the community still desires?
> 
> Are there supplemental events that can happen outside of the main 
> talk-oriented meeting, like a pub afternoon / night?
> 
> 
> GTALUG has endured for nearly four decades now, I was privileged to be 
> part of that leadership for half of it. Stepping away in the years 
> before pandemic, and returning only for a year in the wake of Chris's 
> passing to help the board.
> 
> For me, the value of GTALUG was the long tail of social interactions 
> that came out of the in-person meetings and events. Little side bars on 
> niche subjects, getting to talk with fellow folks about their choices of 
> software, hardware or latest gadgets. Get into all the details and 
> reaffirmations of friends and colleagues.  Join a group meal ahead of 
> the meetings, and staying late at a pub afterward. All activities that 
> can't happen in a conference call. There were also the special events, 
> like Linux in the Park. Meetups at conventions and trade shows, or even 
> running a booth where it made sense.
> 
> The pandemic changed a lot. Old venues have locked down, and plenty of 
> folks have legitimate reasons to remain cautious. But what hasn't 
> changed is the desire and need for that in-person experience and 
> affirmation of community. I've been speaking with Alan, Gord, Evan and 
> others about this void that hasn't been closed yet. I'm aware it's a 
> topic of discussion at the leadership level. So to the questions above, 
> let's bring this out where we as a community can come together to ask 
> and answer.
>